Meteo

• The Earth's atmosphere is divided into layers: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere, each with specific altitudes, temperatures, and characteristics

  
• Layers of the Earth's atmosphere:

  • Troposphere: where most weather phenomena occur and the highest concentration of clouds can be observed
  • Stratosphere: where the protective ozone layer is located
  • Mesosphere: where most meteors burn up due to high-speed entry's intense heat and friction
  • Thermosphere: where the International Space Station orbits

  
• The troposphere is the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere, where weather occurs and where we live and breathe
• The stratosphere is above the troposphere and contains the ozone layer, shielding the Earth from harmful UV radiation
• The mesosphere is where meteors burn up upon entry into the Earth's atmosphere, creating shooting stars
• The thermosphere is where the auroras occur, such as the Northern Lights and Southern Lights
• The exosphere is the outermost layer of the atmosphere, transitioning into the vacuum of space and where satellites are found
• The atmosphere is a thin, gaseous envelope mostly of nitrogen and oxygen, with small amounts of other gases like water vapor and carbon dioxide
• The atmosphere extends upward for many hundreds of kilometers, with 99% lying within 30 km of Earth's surface
• The atmosphere has no definite upper limit, becoming thinner and eventually merging with empty space
• The atmosphere's upper boundary is roughly at 10,000 km, with a challenging task to determine the precise boundary between the atmosphere and space
• Nitrogen and oxygen are the main gases in the atmosphere, with nitrogen occupying about 78% and oxygen about 21% of the total volume
• Nitrogen is removed from the atmosphere primarily by biological processes involving soil cyanobacteria, while oxygen is removed when organic matter decays and combines with other substances
• Photosynthesis is a biological process that produces oxygen and stores energy in organic compounds, crucial for maintaining the Earth's atmosphere
• Water vapor is a gaseous state of water that varies in the atmosphere, produced by evaporation, boiling, or sublimation
• Latent heat is the energy required to trigger a change in physical state, like from vapor to liquid, releasing heat important for atmospheric energy in storms
• The Earth's atmosphere is divided into layers: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere, each with specific altitudes and temperatures

  
• Water vapor is a potent greenhouse gas that absorbs a portion of the Earth's outgoing radiant energy, playing a significant role in the Earth's heat energy balance
• Precipitation occurs when water droplets or ice crystals in a cloud fall as liquid water or snow, with different forms like graupel and hail
• The carbon cycle involves the interchange of various carbon compounds among the biosphere, geosphere, pedosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere
• The carbon cycle includes processes like photosynthesis, decomposition, consumption by animals, and combustion of fossil fuels
• Methane, a natural gas, is a principal component of natural gas and is released from sources like wetlands, oceans, and cattle digestion
• Nitrous oxide, known as laughing gas, forms in the soil through bacterial processes and is a byproduct of fertilizer and fuel combustion
• Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are greenhouse gases that were widely used in spray cans, refrigerants, and insulation, contributing to ozone depletion
• Air temperature affects the rate of evaporation, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, and precipitation patterns and types
• Layers of the Earth's atmosphere:

  • Troposphere: where most weather phenomena occur and the highest concentration of clouds can be observed
  • Stratosphere: where the protective ozone layer is located
  • Mesosphere: where most meteors burn up due to high-speed entry's intense heat and friction
  • Thermosphere: where the aurora borealis and aurora australis occur
  • Exosphere: where satellites orbit
  • Exobase: the point of differentiation between Earth's atmospheric conditions and outer space
  • Karman Line: where Earth's atmosphere meets outer space

  
• The layers of Earth's atmosphere: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere, each with distinct characteristics like the aurora borealis in the thermosphere and thin air in the exosphere

  
• Temperature scales:

  • Celsius: 0 is water freezing, 100 is boiling (°C = 5/9(°F - 32))
  • Fahrenheit: 32 is freezing, 212 is boiling (°F = (9/5 × °C) + 32)
  • Kelvin: zero is where molecular motion ceases (K = °C + 273.15)
  • Rankine: related to Fahrenheit scale (°R = °F + 459.67)
• Vapor pressure:

  • High actual vapor pressure indicates more water vapor molecules
  • Low actual vapor pressure indicates fewer vapor molecules
  • Actual vapor pressure shows total water vapor content, while saturation vapor pressure indicates saturation level at a given temperature
• Humidity:

  • Warmer air holds more water vapor, leading to higher humidity in summer
  • Relative humidity is the ratio of actual water vapor in the air to the maximum required for saturation
• Dew point:

  • The temperature at which air would have to be cooled for saturation to occur
  • Dew forms when air cools below the dew point, condensing water vapor
• Adiabatic cooling:

  • Lifting air expands, cools, and can lead to cloud formation
  • Orographic lifting, frontal lifting, convergence, and convection are mechanisms for adiabatic cooling