I wrote this on October 6, 2004 for Earth Science class.
Earth Science divides the Earth and Space into four spheres: the Cosmosphere (Outer Space), the Atmosphere (Earth’s sky), the Geosphere (Earth’s interior), and the Hydrosphere (Earth’s oceans). Meteorology is the study of the atmosphere and weather.
The atmosphere is composed of four layers. The first is the troposphere, the bottom layer in which we live. This is where most weather takes place. The higher you go up in the troposphere, the cooler the temperature gets and the lighter the air gets. 50% of all air lies a little bit lower than 6 km. above sea level. This means that at the top of Mount Everest, there is a very low quantity of air. The next layer is the stratosphere. In the stratosphere, the temperature remains constant until the altitude of 50 km.. The ozone layer is situated in this level. Therefore, temperatures increase at this altitude. In the next level, the mesosphere, the temperature against begins to decrease. At an altitude of 80 km., the temperature reaches -90º Celsius. The last layer is the thermosphere. It has no well defined outer limit. Temperatures here reach extremely high values due to very short wave, high energy, electromagnetic solar radiation. These temperatures are not defined in the same way as we think of temperature because the heat is not concentrated.
Seasons affect the weather. Earth’s rotating on its axis is what causes the seasons. On the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, all of the Earth receives an equal amount of sunlight. Temperature is caused by the angle that the Sun’s rays are coming in. When there is less sunlight, the Sun comes in at a more indirect angle, therefore making lower temperatures. This is what happens in the Winter. In the Summer, temperatures are higher because the Sun comes in at a more direct angle. The Sun only shines directly between the Tropic of Cancer at 23.3º N. Latitude and the Tropic of Capricorn at 23.3º S. Latitude. This area is known as the tropics and as a result, it doesn’t see such a variance in temperature and hours or daylight. The Sun shines at 0º Latitude, the Equator, on the equinoxes, and at the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn at the Summer and Winter Solstices respectively.
Topic: Meteorology (Read 2191 times)