Different temperature gradients create different layers within the atmosphere. The troposphere is heated from the ground, so temperature decreases with altitude. Because warm air rises and cool air sinks, the troposphere is unstable. In the stratosphere, temperature increases with altitude.

Heat is produced in the process of the formation of Ozone and this heat is responsible for temperature increases from an average -60°F (-51°C) at tropopause to a maximum of about 5°F (-15°C) at the top of the stratosphere. This increase in temperature with height means warmer air is located above cooler air.

Temperature in the stratosphere rises with increasing altitude, because the ozone layer absorbs the greater part of the solar ultraviolet radiation. The ozone layer is an absorbing agent that protects life on Earth.

The lower boundary of the stratosphere is called the tropopause; the upper boundary is called the stratopause. Ozone, an unusual type of oxygen molecule that is relatively abundant in the stratosphere, heats this layer as it absorbs energy from incoming ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.

Extremely low temperatures are a general characteristic of the lower stratosphere, with a range from –40° to –80°C. A dominant feature in the chemical characteristics of the lower stratosphere is the presence of ozone.

The temperature structure of the troposphere is typically one of colder air above warmer air. Air heated at the surface will rise into the colder air. Convection refers to the overturning and mixing of warmer and colder air layers. No, convection never occurs in the stratosphere because of this temperature structure.

The stratosphere is where you’ll find the very important ozone layer. The ozone layer helps protect us from ultraviolet radiation (UV) from the sun. In fact, the ozone layer absorbs most of the UV radiation the sun sends to us. Life as we know it wouldn’t be possible without this layer of protection.

In the stratosphere, temperature increases with altitude. A layer of ozone molecules absorbs solar radiation, which heats the stratosphere. Unlike in the troposphere, the air in the stratosphere is stable because warmer, less dense air sits over cooler, denser air.

troposphere

equator

The atmosphere is comprised of layers based on temperature. These layers are the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere and thermosphere. A further region at about 500 km above the Earth’s surface is called the exosphere.

Mars’ atmosphere is 96% carbon dioxide. MOXIE works by separating oxygen atoms from carbon dioxide molecules, which are made up of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms.

First of all, even though we need to breathe oxygen to survive, oxygen is not the most abundant gas in the atmosphere. Nitrogen is, by far. There’s nearly four times as much nitrogen as there is oxygen!

Nitrogen, oxygen and argon are the three most abundant elements in the atmosphere, but there are other key components that are required for supporting life as we know it on earth. One of those is carbon dioxide gas. Carbon dioxide makes up 0.04 percent of the Earth’s atmosphere.

Nitrogen and oxygen are the only gases that exist in the dry atmosphere that have concentrations above one percent near the earth’s surface. The third most abundant gas in the dry atmosphere is argon (Ar). Argon is also considered a permanent gas.

The most variable of these is water vapor, which is the gas form of water (literally molecules of H2O moving around with the rest of the gases in the atmosphere)….Composition of the atmosphere.