THE ATMOSPHERE

The air has a special place among the conditions necessary for life. The air is a mixture of
several gases. The air surrounding the Earth is called the atmosphere. The atmosphere is an
integral part of our Earth. It is connected with the earth due to the gravitational force of the
earth. It protects life on earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warning the surface by
heat retention (greenhouse effect), and reducing temperature extremes between day and night
(the diurnal temperature variation).

COMPOSITION OF THE ATMOSPHERE

GAS AMOUNT, %
A. Main
1 Nitrogen 78.1
2 Oxygen 20.9
B. Secondary
1 Argon 0.9
2 Carbon Dioxide 0.03
3 Hydrogen 0.01
4 Neon 0.0018
5 Helium 0.0005
6 Ozone 0.00006
7 Others

IMPORTANCE OF GASES IN THE ATMOSPHERE

 Nitrogen
-Atmospheric nitrogen is converted into nitrogen compounds (nitrites and nitrates) by bacteria
on plant roots (legumes such as clover, soy bean and alfalfa) and by lightning from t-storms.
-Dilutes oxygen and prevents rapid burning at the earth’s surface.
 Oxygen
-It is essential for respiration.
-It is necessary for combustion and burning.
 Argon
-It is used in electrical light bulbs.
-It is important in metal industry as an inert gas shield in arc welding and cutting.
 Carbon Dioxide
-Affects the earth's climate and plays a large support role in the biosphere, the collection of living
things that populate the earth's surface.
 Ozone
- It protects the living beings by absorbing the ultraviolet rays of the sun.
-If there was no ozone gas in the atmosphere, there would not have been existence of living beings
and plants on the earth surface.
  Hydrogen/Water Vapour
-Despite its relative scarcity, atmospheric water probably has more of an impact on the earth than
any of the major gases, aside from oxygen.
-Water vapour participates in the hydrologic cycle, the process that moves water between the
oceans, the land surface waters, the atmosphere, and the polar ice caps. This water cycling drives
erosion and rock weathering, determines the earth's weather, and sets up climate conditions that
make land areas dry or wet, habitable or inhospitable.
-When cooled sufficiently, water vapour forms clouds by condensing to liquid water droplets, or
at lower temperatures, solid ice crystals. Besides creating rain or snow, clouds affect Earth's
climate by reflecting some of the energy coming from the sun, making the planet somewhat
cooler.
-Water vapour is also an important greenhouse gas. It is concentrated near the surface and is
much more prevalent near the tropics than in the polar regions.

PRINCIPAL LAYERS OF THE ATMOSPHERE

 TROPOSPHERE
-This is the lowest layer of the atmosphere.
-The height of this layer is about 18 kms on the equator and 8 kms on the poles. The main reason
of higher height at the equator is due to presence of hot convection currents that push the gases
upward.
-This is the most important layer of the atmosphere because all kinds of weather changes take
place only in this layer. Due to these changes development of living world take place on the earth.
The air never remains static in this layer. Therefore, this layer is called changing sphere or
troposphere.
-The environmental temperature decreases with increasing height of atmosphere. It decreases at
the rate
of 10 C at the height of 165 metre. This is called Normal lapse rate.
-The upper limit of the troposphere is called tropopause. This is a transitional zone. In this zone
characteristics of both the troposphere and ionosphere are found.
 STRATOSPHERE
-This layer is above the troposphere.
-This layer is spread up to the height of 50 kms from the Earth’s surface. Its average extent 40
kms.
- The temperature remains almost the same in the lower part of this layer upto the height of 20
kms.
After this the temperature increases slowly with the increase in the height. The temperature
increases
due to the presence of ozone gas in the upper part of this layer
-Weather related incidents do not take place in this layer. The air blows horizontally here.
Therefore, this layer is considered ideal for flying of aircrafts.
 MESOSPHERE
-It is the third layer of the atmosphere spreading over stratosphere.
-It spreads up to the height of 80 kms. from the surface of the earth. It’s extent is 30 kms.
-Temperature goes on decreasing and drops up to – 1000C.
-It is the coldest layer.
- ‘Meteors’ or falling stars occur in this layer.
  THERMOSPHERE
-This is the fourth layer of the atmosphere. It is located above the mesosphere.
-This layer spreads up to the height of 400 kms. from the surface of the earth. The width of this
layer is about 300 kms.
-The temperature starts increasing again with increasing height in this layer.
-It includes ionosphere wherein electrically charged currents flows in the air in this sphere. Radio
waves are reflected back on the earth from this sphere and due to this radio broadcasting has
become possible.
-This layer is clearly cloudless and free of water vapour. However, non-hydrometeorogical such
as the aurora borealis and aurora australis are occasionally seen in this layer.
 EXOSPHERE
-This is the last layer of the atmosphere located above ionosphere and extends to beyond 400 km
above the earth.
-Gases are very sparse in this sphere due to the lack of gravitational force. Therefore, the density
of air is very less here.

CLOUD PHYSICS
It is the study of the physical processes that lead to the formation, growth and precipitation of
atmospheric clouds.

 Clouds
-A cloud is aggregate of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air. Some are found
only at high elevations whereas others nearly touch the ground. They can be thick or thin, big or
little and exist in a seemingly endless variety of forms.
-Clouds are a key step in the hydrological cycle.
-Clouds help regulate earth’s energy balance by reflecting and scattering solar radiation and by
absorbing the earth’s infrared energy.

CLASSIFICATIONS OF CLOUDS
High Clouds Middle Clouds Low Clouds Clouds with vertical
Development
Cirrus Altostratus Stratus Cumulus
Cirrostratus Altocumulus Stratocumulus Cumulonimbus
Cirrocumulus Nimbostratus

High Clouds - Generally form above 20,000 ft. (6000m)

 Cirrus Clouds – characterized by thin, wispy strands, giving the type its name from the Latin
word cirrus, meaning a ringlet or curling lock of hair.
 Cirrostratus – cloud forming a thin, more or less uniform, semitranslucent layer at high altitude.
 Cirrocumulus – a high-altitude cloud composed of a series of small, regularly arranged cloudlets
in the form of ripples or grains.
Middle Clouds - have bases between about 6500 and 23,000 ft.(2000 and 7000 m).
 Altostratus – gray to bluish-green and sheet or layer. Usually covers the whole sky.
 Altocumulus – small mid-level layers or patches of clouds, called cloudlets, which most
commonly exist in the shape of rounded clumps.
Low Clouds- their bases lying below 6500 ft. (2000 m)
 Stratus – thick, large, heavy looking gray clouds that dominate the sky.
 Stratocumulus - it is a low, lumpy cloud layer
 Nimbostratus - A dark gray cloud, associated with more or less continuously falling rain.
Clouds with vertical development - clouds of this type range in height from less than 1.6 km (1 mi) to
more than 13 km (8 mi) above the earth.
 Cumulus- are dome-shaped, woolpack clouds most often seen during the middle and latter part
of the day, when solar heating produces the vertical air currents necessary for their formation.
These clouds usually have flat bases and rounded, cauliflowerlike tops.
 Cumulonimbus - are dark, heavy-looking clouds rising like mountains high into the atmosphere,
often showing an anvil-shaped veil of ice clouds, false cirrus, at the top. Popularly known as
thunderheads, cumulonimbus clouds are usually accompanied by heavy, abrupt showers.

What causes clouds to form?

1. Surface heating - This happens when the ground is heated by the sun which heats the air in contact
with it causing it to rise. The rising columns are often called thermals. Surface heating tends to produce
cumulus clouds.
2. Topography or orographic forcing - The topography - or shape and features of the area - can cause
clouds to be formed. When air is forced to rise over a barrier of mountains or hills it cools as it rises.
Layered clouds are often produced this way.
3. Frontal - Clouds are formed when a mass of warm air rises up over a mass of cold, dense air over large
areas along fronts. A 'front' is the boundary between warm, moist air and cooler, drier air.
4. Convergence - Streams of air flowing from different directions are forced to rise where they flow
together, or converge. This can cause cumulus cloud and showery conditions.
5. Turbulence - A sudden change in wind speed with height creating turbulent eddies in the air.

The range of ways in which clouds can be formed and the variable nature of the atmosphere
results in an enormous variety of shapes, sizes and textures of clouds. To find out more about different
types of clouds and how you can identify them, read our cloud spotting guide.

FRONTALS

When air masses meet is a front, the collision often causes storms and weather changes. A front
may be 15 to 200 kilometers wide and extend as much as 10 kilometers up to the troposphere. The kind
of front that develops depends on the characteristics of the air masses and how they move.

Kinds of fronts

 Cold Front – A cold air mass is replacing a warmer air mass. Cold fronts move faster than warm
fronts. The weather activity in a cold front is often violent and happens directly at the front.
Cold fronts have sudden gusty winds high in the air creating turbulence.
 Warm Front – Warm air mass replacing a cooler air mass. The weather activity in a warm front
generally happens before the front passes. In a warm front the cloud formation is very low often
creating situations of poor visibility.
 Occluded Front – When a warm front is trapped by 2 cold fronts.
 Stationary Front – A front that stops moving or is moving very slowly.