Layers Of Atmosphere

Earth is home to all the known living creatures in the universe. It has life and all the things which support its existence. There have been various disasters and tragedies, but this is the only planet known to support life for billions of years now. It has seen various ages and phases. It was covered with ice for numerous years and there have been several events of mass extinctions. All of this is possible because of the atmosphere. 

Earth is the only planet with an atmosphere. It is what makes earth different from other planets. It is known that the atmosphere was not always present on earth and so did life. The process commenced around half a billion years ago when the earth had a devastating collision with a body smaller than itself. The event is said to have triggered the process of atmosphere creation on earth. It is said that before this event, the earth could not sustain life, but the collision resulted in many volcanic eruptions, which produced a lot of lava. 

During the initial phases, the lava was boiling and produced a lot of gases, but as it started to cool down, the gases solidified into forming a layer between earth and outer space. After forming the atmosphere, the other three major earth components were formed to support life, namely lithosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. All these components are different from each other but coexist and the absence of any of them can make it impossible to survive living creatures.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere is the outer layer of the earth that protects it from outer space. It is a combination of various gases in different proportions. The proportion of gases is considered perfect for the existence of this planet as different planets have different combinations of gases that do not have life due to imbalance proportion and lack of major vital gases such as oxygen in the required amount. The composition of gases on earth consists of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.04% carbon dioxide and the remaining gases constitute 1%. 

There are various other gases available in the atmosphere as well, such as helium, hydrogen and many noble gases, but they don’t have a significant proportion. The presence of water vapour is also observed. The earth’s atmosphere also consists of various other essential things, such as the ozone layer. 

The rays which come from the sun have many harmful chemicals which can severely harm the inner part of life on earth, but all of it gets filtered by the ozone layer. It is the shield of earth and life on it but the process of pollution has degraded it and there have been many holes found in it at some places, making it dangerous. Further description of the atmosphere is given below.

Layers of atmosphere

There are different layers in the atmosphere at different heights and the characteristics of all of them are different from each other. The explanation below is given from the lowest to the highest layer of the atmosphere.

Troposphere– It is the lowest layer of the atmosphere that starts from the earth’s surface to a height of 10 to 12 kilometres approximately. The troposphere is the densest and most significant portion of the atmosphere as it contains winds and all the water vapour. All the rain, wind and snow happens through this layer.

Stratosphere– This layer is above the troposphere and has the protective shield of earth called the ozone layer. Most of the ozone layer is found in the stratosphere and there is almost no wind which makes it less dense and active than the troposphere. If a particle enters these layers, it becomes stable and can stick in this layer for a comparatively more extended period of time because of less wind. All the flights stay in the stratosphere because of their stability and it starts above 15 kilometres of the surface and extends to 65 kilometres.

Mesosphere– Mesosphere is the layer that is above the stratosphere and is the third layer above the earth’s surface. It starts from 64 kms above the earth’s surface and extends to 85 km. The temperature is the lowest in the thin layer and the point marking it is known as menopause. It is also named the Karman line because the mesopause, present in the mesosphere, is also the lowest point of outer space on earth. There is a biosphere available in this layer that activates radio communication. It is the place where most of the meteors entering the atmosphere are destroyed.

Thermosphere–  The rays and light which comes from the sun are incredibly intense and cannot be handled by the biosphere. They are all absorbed in the thermosphere along with the x-rays and ultraviolet rays. The fascinating aurora lights are also found in this layer.

The exosphere is the outermost layer of the atmosphere where all the particles are at much more distance than each other than any other art. It also does not have any kind of external part and it actually mixes up with space.

Conclusion

The earth’s atmosphere is the perfect combination for life on it and has various vital layers and gases. Unfortunately, in the last 100 years, the earth’s ozone layer has experienced deterioration due to global warming and pollution, and it is imperative to save the protection which earth has from outer space.