Never miss out again when another interesting and helpful article is released and stay updated, while also receiving helpful tips & information by simplyclicking on this link .Until next time, keep your eye on the weather! Temperature decreases with height throughout the mesosphere. The following list highlights the characteristics and facts of the stratosphere in more detail. . The stratosphere contains the ozone layer, which shields the Earth from harmful radiation emitted from the Sun. The image above illustrates the layers of Earth's atmosphere and their approximate distances from the Earth's surface. The word 'stratosphere' is derived from the word 'strato' meaning layer, and 'sphere' which is earth's shape. Terms & Conditions Meteors burn up in the coldest layer, the mesosphere. The stratosphere is actually crucial to allowing us to live on earth, because within the stratosphere you will find the ozone layer. The mesosphere is directly above the stratosphere and below the thermosphere. The stratosphere is a layer of Earth's atmosphere. Thats the opposite of how the layers work in the troposphere, where we live. The next higher layer above the stratosphere is the mesosphere. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stratosphere&oldid=1140010063, This page was last edited on 18 February 2023, at 00:23. The coldest temperatures in Earth's atmosphere, about -90 C (-130 F), are found near the top of this layer. Be grateful! This is due to the temperature changes within the stratosphere. This is just an estimate, however, as the lower and upper boundaries actually vary with the latitude of the earth. We live in one layer, called the troposphere, where the clouds and most of the water vapor reside. [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 particles in this layer are electrically charged, and when they hit each other, aurora australis can be observed. These are generated when cold atmospheric air blends with the hot, humid exhaust. Between the troposphere and stratosphere is the tropopause border that demarcates the beginning of the temperature inversion. Polar Stratospheric Clouds develop in this layer near the poles at an altitude of 15 - 25 kilometers. The particles in the exosphere do not behave like gases. It is enough to cover the entire earths surface with 1 cm of rain. As you rise through the troposphere, the temperature decreases to around -60 degrees Fahrenheit. Other gases that make up the remaining 0.1 percent include trace amounts of carbon dioxide, methane, water vapour, and neon. As harmful UV rays from the sun become absorbed in the ozone layer, this layer heats up. The stratosphere ends where it transitions to the mesosphere, around 50 kilometers above the earth. 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. 7. It is the only atmospheric layer where temperature inversion occurs and the region where the ozone layer is situated. In fact, the ozone layer absorbs most of the UV radiation the sun sends to us. The more humid the atmosphere is, the thicker the contrails will be. In the stratosphere - 'strato' means layer and sphere is the shape of the earth. Variations in the amount of energy coming from the Sun exert a powerful influence on both the height of the top of this layer and the temperature within it. 1. Earths atmosphere has six different layers. Solar ultraviolet radiation (sunlight) separates an oxygen molecule into two different oxygen atoms in the first step. Large volcanic eruptions and major meteorite impacts can fling aerosol particles up into the stratosphere where they may linger for months or years, sometimes altering Earth's global climate. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'ownyourweather_com-large-billboard-2','ezslot_3',116,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-ownyourweather_com-large-billboard-2-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'ownyourweather_com-large-billboard-2','ezslot_4',116,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-ownyourweather_com-large-billboard-2-0_1');if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'ownyourweather_com-large-billboard-2','ezslot_5',116,'0','2'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-ownyourweather_com-large-billboard-2-0_2');if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'ownyourweather_com-large-billboard-2','ezslot_6',116,'0','3'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-ownyourweather_com-large-billboard-2-0_3'); .large-billboard-2-multi-116{border:none !important;display:block !important;float:none !important;line-height:0px;margin-bottom:3px !important;margin-left:auto !important;margin-right:auto !important;margin-top:3px !important;max-width:100% !important;min-height:250px;min-width:300px;padding:0;text-align:center !important;}Recent Posts, Copyright 2023 by Own Your Weather. An increase of altitude in the troposphere makes temperatures decrease, which is why it is much colder on the top of a mountain than on sea level. The air in the stratosphere is about 1000 thinner than the air at sea level in the troposphere. [4] Temperatures range from an average of 51C (60F; 220K) near the tropopause to an average of 15C (5.0F; 260K) near the mesosphere. The atmosphere has nearly 37.5 million billion gallons of water at any given time. Despite Mercury's weak magnetic field, it behaves similarly to Earth's. Air density in this layer gradually decreases as you go higher. I feel like its a lifeline. The importance of the stratosphere is highlighted by the presence of the ozone layer, without which no life on Earth will be possible. 27. It has increased the number of respiratory conditions such as asthma. [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 to the planetary surface of the Earth. But there are no mountains high enough to reach the stratosphere, so you dont have to worry about that. 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. There are some species of birds capable of flying in the stratosphere. They have been observed by airline pilots and the international space station. When greenhouse gases rise into the atmosphere, they form chloride ions that destroy the ozone layer by making holes in it. To learn more about each layer of the atmosphere, click the images below. The atmosphere has nearly 37.5 million billion gallons of water at any given time. Close to the tropopause, temperatures start at approximately -51 Celsius (-60 Fahrenheit) and continue to rise until reaching the stratopause, where temperatures reach -15 Celsius (5 Fahrenheit). Thats the opposite of how the layers work in the troposphere, where we live. The ozone layer is a layer of gas within the stratosphere that protects the Earth's surface from harmful ultraviolet sun rays. He concluded that there was another layer in the atmosphere above the troposphere, which he called the stratosphere. The stratosphere is home to the ozone layer, which is a thin layer of concentrated ozone which plays an essential role in protecting the Earth from dangerous solar radiation. The mesosphere is a layer of Earth's atmosphere. [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. The water ice appears younger than we would expect. Just like the troposphere, its depth varies with latitude. It means temperatures rise as altitude increases in this region, unlike the other four layers, which are characterized by a drop in temperature as altitude increases. Ozone (O3) photolysis produces O and O2. The stratosphere is where youll find the very important ozone layer. It is called stratosphere because it is stratified in temperature, with warmer layers higher up and cooler layers farther down. Biosphere forms part of the troposphere where life exists. 3. A rare type of electrical discharge, somewhat akin to lightning, occurs in the stratosphere. For this reason, humans would not be able to survive at this altitude without being inside of a plane, rocket, or some type of enclosed environment where air density can be regulated. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. The stratosphere is composed primarily of nitrogen and oxygen. But its not the same everywhere. 3 It borders the stratosphere below through a thin transitional space called the stratopause. The atmosphere gradually changes as the climate and weather change. Above the stratosphere lies the mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere. While the stratosphere is dry, additional water vapor is produced in situ by the photochemical oxidation of methane (CH4). It is seen in high latitude areas as shimmering curtains of lights that are visible at night. These free-moving elements continuously escape into space due to ballistic trajectories. Moreover, the distance between the molecules increases as you move up the different layers. Ionization takes place in the ionosphere caused by the suns radiation. That means that to get to outer space, you have to be really far from Earth. The stratosphere has many defining features that make it a unique part of the atmosphere. The stratosphere is a layer of Earths atmosphere. This is exactly the opposite of the behavior in the troposphere in which we live, where temperatures drop with increasing altitude. Earth's atmosphere is a jacket of gases that surrounds our planet. Dr. Rachel Tustin has a PhD in Education focusing on Educational Technology, a Masters in English, and a BS in Marine Science. [21] Bar-headed geese (Anser indicus) sometimes migrate over Mount Everest, whose summit is 8,848m (29,029ft). A.A. Scaife, J.R. Knight, G.K. Vallis, C.K. Because of this, the top of the thermosphere can be found anywhere between 500 and 1,000 km (311 to 621 miles) above the ground. ], While looking up at the sky on a cloud-free day, one will see what looks like a continuous piece of[], The stratosphere is the second layer of the atmosphere, It extends from a height of approximately 10 km. The stratosphere extends from the tropopause at about 10 to 17 km (about 6 to 11 miles) altitude to its upper boundary (the stratopause) at . It surrounds the globe and protects it by absorbing the infrared rays from the sun. Approximately 90 percent of the atmosphere's ozone occurs in the stratosphere, the region extending from 10-18 km (6-11 miles) to approximately 50 km (about 30 miles) above Earth's surface. In the lower atmosphere (the troposphere) near the Earth's surface, ozone is created by chemical reactions between air pollutants . This layer of our atmosphere has its own set of layers. Blue jets are an extremely rare form of lightning or electrical discharge from clouds in the troposphere. Thislayerseparates the rest of the atmosphere from outer space. The temperatures in the ozone belt are higher than in the troposphere since the ozone absorbs the ultraviolet rays. This site is owned and operated by Autumn Skies Online Pty Ltd, a limited liability company headquartered in Somerset West, South Africa. As the altitude increases, the atmosphere diminishes which is the reason why the air pressure in the exosphere is shallow. The atmosphere comprises five layers: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere. The contrails usually become thin at low humidity and high altitudes. In the 1900s, Hungarian physicist Theodore von Krmn determined the boundary to be around 50 miles up, or roughly 80 kilometers above sea level. One wild characteristic of the stratosphere is a phenomenon that occurs, which is known as blue jets. Thus it means layer which surrounds the earth. The lack of particles in the air causes less friction to hold an aircraft back, which requires less power to travel faster and further. 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 electrically charged atoms and molecules that are formed in this way are called ions, giving the ionosphere its name and endowing this region with some special properties. Clouds form due to convection, which is uncommon in the stratosphere. The troposphere is the lowest layer of our atmosphere. This part of the atmosphere is the most dense. Certain birds can fly to this altitude, including cranes, swans, and vultures. A single chlorine atom can destroy more than a hundred thousand ozone molecules. The ozone layer is very important, as it protects life on Earth from the majority of the UV rays emitted from the sun. Most airplanes or jets travel in the lower part of the stratosphere. The ozone layer is situated within this layer. The atmosphere is dense near the surface of the Earth and protects life on the planet Earth. The wind, which is the air current, is generated when the hot air rises and gets replaced by colder air. However, the air in this layer is so thin that it would feel freezing cold to us! Its concentration in the atmosphere naturally fluctuates depending on seasons and latitudes, but it was . Planes that are low on fuel also fly at this altitude because they can cover more distance than in the troposphere while using less fuel and encountering less turbulence. Moving upward from ground level, these layers are called the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere. If you were to climb a mountain in the stratosphere you would have to take off your warm clothes as you got closer to the top rather than putting them on like we usually do.
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