The Significance of Our Atmosphere

 All living things on our planet need water to survive. Animals need oxygen as well ,while plants need
carbon dioxide. Most living thing we know cannot survive temperature much warmer or colder than
are found on earth ,nor can they live long while exposed to large doses of the sun's ultraviolet
radiation.
 Blanket of air - the atmosphere serves as an insulator , maintaining the livable temperature we find
on earth ,w/out atmosphere ,the earth would experience great temperature extreme of as much as
500°F/260°C between day and night.
 Shield - blocking out much of the sun's ultraviolet radiation, as well as protecting us from showers of
meteors.
Weather & Climate
 Weather -the state of the air and atmosphere at a particular time and place
 Climate -a region with particular weather patterns or conditions
 : the usual weather conditions in a particular place or region

Weather and climate are of prime interest to the physical geographer because they affect and are in
interrelated w/ other parts of the earth system. The changing condition of atmospheric elements,like
temperature,rainfall,wind and etc. affect soils and vegetation , erode landforms and causes flooding of towns
and farms.

States of Matter
 The 3 States of Water

 The gaseous state (water vapor ) - which is invisible

 The liquid state
 The solid state

 When
water
vapor

condenses to liquid water ,it releases heat called the lantent heat of condensation.
 Ablation - ice can change directly into water vapor.
Composition of the Atmosphere

 Oxygen and Carbon dioxide - one of the most important of the atmospheric gases is oxygen ,while all
animals , including
man ,use to oxidize (burn)
the food they eat
 Carbon dioxide- is important to the climate ,as it absorbs heat from the climate both the upper
atmosphere and the earth and them emits about half of the heat energy back to the earth. This
process helps maintain the warmth of the earth and is a factor in the earth's heat energy budget.
Carbon dioxide is also involved in the cycle of life on the earth,in that plants through a process known
as photosynthesis.
 Ozone - is another vital gases in the earth's atmosphere.The ozone molecule is a cousin of the
oxygen molecule as it made up of 3 atoms of oxygen while regular oxygen is made up of only 2.Ozone
is important to climate because it is capable of absorbing large amount of the sun's ultraviolet
radiation.
 Liquid and Solids - in addition to the numerous gases ,liquid water also exist in the atmosphere as
rain a fine droplets in clouds ,mist and solid is found in the atmosphere in the form of ice crystals
,snow and hail. Suspended in the atmosphere are many other solids such as dust,soil particles ,pollen
, microscopic animals , bacteria ,smoke particles,seeds ,spores and salts from ocean spray.
Atmospheric Controls
 Latitude
 Land and Water relationship
 Ocean currents
 Altitude
 Landforms barriers
 Man controls