Composition of atmosphere

• Gases in atmosphere

  • Nitorgen = 79%
  • Oxygen = 20%
  • Argon = 1%
  • traces of water, carbon dioxide and methane
• Troposhere

  • 0-12km
  • Warmer at bottom getting cooler higher up
  • air is mixed here
• Stratosphere

  • 20-50km
  • stays stable in lower stratosphere then rises with altitude
  • Ozone layer
  • no air mixing or turbulance
• Mesosphere

  • 50-80km
  • the temperature decreases here
  • most meteors burn up here
  • some material lingers causing high concentration of iron and other metal atoms
• Thermosphere

  • 80-100km
  • temp can reach 2000 degrees
  • nitrogen and oxygen absorb a lot of radiation from space
  • northern lights occur here as particles ionised by the sun