To discover how the atmosphere can be divided into layers based on temperature changes at different heights, by making a graph.
BACKGROUND:
The
... [Show More] atmosphere can be divided into four layers based on temperature variations. The layer closest to the Earth is called the troposphere. Above this
layer is the stratosphere, followed by the mesosphere, then the thermosphere. The upper boundaries between these layers are known as the
tropopause, the stratopause, and the mesopause, respectively.
Temperature variations in the four layers are due to the way solar energy is absorbed as it moves downward through the atmosphere. The Earth’s
surface is the primary absorber of solar energy. Some of this energy is reradiated by the Earth as heat, which warms the overlying troposphere. The
global average temperature in the troposphere rapidly decreases with altitude until the tropopause, the boundary between the troposphere and the
stratosphere.
The temperature begins to increase with altitude in the stratosphere. This warming is caused by a form of oxygen called ozone (O3) absorbing
ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Ozone protects us from most of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, which can cause cancer, genetic mutations, and
sunburn. Scientists are concerned that human activity is contributing to a decrease in stratospheric ozone. Nitric oxide, which is the exhaust of
high- flying jets, and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are used as refrigerants, may contribute to ozone depletion.
At the stratopause, the temperature stops increasing with altitude. The overlying mesosphere does not absorb solar radiation, so the temperature
decreases with altitude. At the mesopause, the temperature begins to increase with altitude, and this trend continues in the thermosphere. Here solar
radiation first hits the Earth’s atmosphere and heats it. Because the atmosphere is so thin, a thermometer cannot measure the
temperature accurately and special instruments are needed. [Show Less]