This breaking is caused due to a highly non-linear interaction between the vertically propagating planetary waves and the isolated high potential vorticity region known as the polar vortex. While the stratosphere is dry, additional water vapor is produced in situ by the photochemical oxidation of methane (CH4). Once you leave the stratosphere, and enter the mesosphere, the temperature dramatically decreases until plummeting to around -184 degrees Fahrenheit. The stratosphere is actually crucial to allowing us to live on earth, because within the stratosphere you will find the ozone layer. High-energy X-rays and UV radiation from the Sun are absorbed in the thermosphere, raising its temperature to hundreds or at times thousands of degrees. She earned her bachelor's in Physics and Astronomy from the University of North Carolina at Asheville. Moreover, the distance between the molecules increases as you move up the different layers. This layer is 22 miles (35 kilometers) thick. 34. Its upper edge has maximum ozone concentration, referred to as the ozone belt. [18] When the vortex is strong, it keeps the cold, high-pressure air masses contained in the Arctic; when the vortex weakens, air masses move equatorward, and results in rapid changes of weather in the mid latitudes. It surrounds our planet, keeps us warm, gives us oxygen to breathe, and it is where our weather happens. Ozone protects life on Earth from the Sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Damage to the ozone layer of the stratosphere occurs naturally when volcanic gases and dust reach the stratosphere, but people have been contributing to this as well with the use of aerosol's containing CFCs. The stratosphere is where youll find the very important ozone layer. The atmosphere comprises five layers: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere. Providing an environment conducive to good instruction and motivation in which there is an atmosphere of self-motivation and self-discipline in the areas of personal development, character, and academic integrity. The coldest temperatures in Earth's atmosphere, about -90 C (-130 F), are found near the top of this layer. It contains 80% of the atmospheric weight, making it the densest layer. Thats the opposite of how the layers work in the troposphere, where we live. During northern hemispheric winters, sudden stratospheric warmings, caused by the absorption of Rossby waves in the stratosphere, can be observed in approximately half of winters when easterly winds develop in the stratosphere. 2. Along with the neutral upper atmosphere, the ionosphere forms the boundary between Earth's lower atmosphere where we live and breathe and the vacuum of space. This list does not contain all the data available about the stratosphere but highlights the key facts and characteristics of this layer. It sets it apart from the other atmospheric layers by temperature rising instead of dropping as altitude increases, a process called temperature inversion. Thats almost as wide as Earth itself. Overall, the attenuation of solar UV at wavelengths that damage DNA by the ozone layer allows life to exist on the surface of the planet outside of the ocean. It not only examines what the stratosphere is but also looks at the characteristics or facts that define it. This vertical stratification, with warmer layers above and cooler layers below, makes the stratosphere dynamically stable: there is no regular convection and associated turbulence in this part of the atmosphere. As it absorbs the UV light, it absorbs energy. Atmosphere | NASA Climate Kids https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stratosphere&oldid=1140010063, This page was last edited on 18 February 2023, at 00:23. Thermosphere | NASA Space Place - NASA Science for Kids The site owner may have set restrictions that prevent you from accessing the site. The stratosphere is abundant in ozone, a type of oxygen molecule that absorbs the sun's ultraviolet radiation and uses it to heat this layer in the atmosphere. Although it is situated above the upper reaches of conventional aircraft, scientists are still able to study it through the use of weather balloons, high-altitude aircraft, and also weather (sounding) rockets. An interesting feature of stratospheric circulation is the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) in the tropical latitudes, which is driven by gravity waves that are convectively generated in the troposphere. Instead, clouds condense in the troposphere. The HO2 radical produced by the reaction of OH with O3 is recycled to OH by reaction with oxygen atoms or ozone. [2] [3] The stratosphere is an atmospheric layer composed of stratified temperature layers, with the warm layers of air high in the sky and the cool layers of air in the low sky, close . The troposphere is where we breath in and is also referred to as the lower atmosphere. Since blue light has short wavelengths, it gets reflected more compared to other colors. Atmosphere Layers: Facts About the Atmosphere Layers Ionosphere plays a vital role in radio signals broadcast on the earths surface. At an altitude of 100 km above sea level, a border represents the separation between the atmosphere and outer space. The contrails usually become thin at low humidity and high altitudes. It is located just above the troposphere, which is the first layer of the atmosphere closest to the ground. Gases and dust from volcanic eruptions often meet the same fate, remaining trapped in the stratosphere for months or even longer. The coldest temperatures are found in the mesopause. Ozone layer (highest concentration of ozone in the atmosphere) The ozone layer is a thin layer of the stratosphere made of a gas called ozone. Unlike the troposphere, it contains little water vapor so there are no clouds in this layer of the atmosphere. Ozone is a gas made up of three oxygen atoms (O 3). Facts about the Earth's Atmosphere - Odyssey Magazine Also, magnetic and south poles reverse at uneven intervals of hundreds of thousands of years. All Rights Reserved. 3. This results in an increase in temperature from about -76 degrees Fahrenheit to around 5 degrees Fahrenheit. 7. The temperatures decrease by 6.5 degrees Celsius each kilometer, reaching -55 degrees Celsius at the top limit of the troposphere, commonly known as the tropopause. Weather balloons also rise up to this level of the atmosphere to collect data without interference of storm clouds. Each year, this large amount of water is recycled about 40 times. OH is formed by the reaction of electrically excited oxygen atoms produced by ozone photolysis, with water vapor. As the ozone layer absorbs UV radiation, it causes the temperature in this layer to increase. The troposphere, the lowest layer, is right below the stratosphere. Ozone, which is actually a molecule made up of three oxygen atoms linked together by covalent bonds, absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation that enters the Earth's atmosphere as part of sunlight. There are some species of birds capable of flying in the stratosphere. Stratosphere is the second layer. Different definitions place the top of the exosphere somewhere between 100,000 km (62,000 miles) and 190,000 km (120,000 miles) above the surface of Earth. What are 3 interesting facts about Mercury? The overall circulation of the stratosphere is termed as Brewer-Dobson circulation, which is a single-celled circulation, spanning from the tropics up to the poles, consisting of the tropical upwelling of air from the tropical troposphere and the extra-tropical downwelling of air. The temperatures in the ozone belt are higher than in the troposphere since the ozone absorbs the ultraviolet rays. 110 lessons. Due to this effect, temperatures in the stratosphere actually increase from about negative {eq}60 {/eq} F up to about negative {eq}5 {/eq} F with altitude. The mesosphere is a layer of Earth's atmosphere. Troposphere. The stratosphere also traps certain gasses known as CFC's, which are chemicals derived from aerosol. Requested URL: byjus.com/chemistry/stratosphere/, User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 15_5 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/605.1.15 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/15.5 Mobile/15E148 Safari/604.1. Since almost almost weather activity is limited to the troposphere and almost no water vapor is present in the stratosphere, Polar Stratospheric Clouds is the only visual meteorological phenomenon that can be observed in the stratosphere. The stratosphere is the second layer of the atmosphere. Air pressure drops, and temperatures get colder, as you climb higher in the troposphere. The stratosphere is one of five layers of the atmosphere. Discover fun facts about the stratosphere and stratosphere characteristics. That means that to get to outer space, you have to be really far from Earth. In fact, the ozone layer absorbs most of the UV radiation the sun sends to us. 10. Blue jets are an extremely rare form of lightning or electrical discharge from clouds in the troposphere. . Strat means layer. (The fuel consumption depends on the drag, which is related to the lift by the lift-to-drag ratio.) The stratosphere is a layer of Earth's atmosphere. Mercury has an atmosphere that changes with its distance to the Sun. Due to the lack of vertical convection in the stratosphere, materials that get into the stratosphere can stay there for long times. 4. This includes its location, what it is composed of, the temperature range, and its density. It reaches up to the mesosphere, with another thin layer of air called the stratopause separating them. Theexosphereis really, really big. 18. The oxygen atom product combines with atmospheric molecular oxygen to reform O3, releasing heat. Since the stratosphere has increasing temperature with elevation, convection is very rare. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. These gases are found in layers (troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere) defined by unique features such as temperature and pressure. . Stratosphere Facts - Softschools.com Air is roughly a thousand times thinner at the top of the stratosphere than it is at sea level. 16. 3. PSCs are also called nacreous clouds. Interesting Facts About Mercury. 8. Exosphere | NASA Space Place - NASA Science for Kids The top of the stratosphere occurs at an altitude of 50 km (31 miles). It also allows the airplane to stay above the turbulent weather of the troposphere. Unlike the troposphere however it is colder closer to the earth and warmer as it gets closer to the mesosphere. As a result, it tends to trap any and all gases that enter this region of the atmosphere. The stratosphere contains approximately 19% of the earth's total atmospheric gases. We take a closer look at the stratosphere and its defining characteristics. It has increased the number of respiratory conditions such as asthma. Convection is the process whereby warm air rises and cooler air descends. 3090 Center Green Drive, Boulder, CO 80301, Virtual Ballooning to Explore the Atmosphere, ACOM | Atmospheric Chemistry Observations & Modeling, CISL | Computational & Information Systems, EdEC | Education, Engagement & Early-Career Development, Government Relations & External Engagement. One wild characteristic of the stratosphere is a phenomenon that occurs, which is known as blue jets. Ozone depletion | Facts, Effects, & Solutions | Britannica It is easy & understandable to view our atmosphere as a continuous layer of air. 11. They are a combination of supercooled water and nitric acid that develop at very low temperatures. Due to the high speed of the meteor, it generates a lot of heat resulting from high friction between the particles and the meteor. In fact, the air in the exosphere is constantly - though very gradually - "leaking" out of Earth's atmosphere into outer space. 3090 Center Green Drive, Boulder, CO 80301, Air pressure drops, and temperatures get colder, as you climb higher in the troposphere, ACOM | Atmospheric Chemistry Observations & Modeling, CISL | Computational & Information Systems, EdEC | Education, Engagement & Early-Career Development, Government Relations & External Engagement. There are a few other atmospheric layers as well -- you can take a look at a diagram of these below. Convection is when gases cool as they rise, allowing them to condense on air molecules which form clouds. In many ways, the thermosphere is more like outer space than a part of the atmosphere. This is due to gravity, but mostly due to the temperature inversion in the tropopause that prevents gases from entering the layer.
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