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The atmosphere is a thin band made of gas and other elements above the surface of the Earth that acts as a protective blanket for this planet and its biodiversity. However, this atmosphere consists of several components that play an important role for the living species on Earth. The composition of gases is spread between numerous layers of this atmosphere and the amount of these components also changes relating to the change of the layers. Different functions are done by each of these components and relating to these functions, the significance of these components increases.
Composition of Atmosphere
Description of atmosphere
The atmosphere is located at the surface of Earth, which goes above 6214 miles, and this is the result of the Gravitational force of Earth. A major difference between Earth and the other planets in the Solar system is the presence of the atmosphere. The Gravitational Force of Earth helps to keep the atmosphere above this planet as it attracts all the components of the atmosphere to the core of Earth. Thus, it allows the planet to maintain Biodiversity and provide necessary elements to all living creatures. It can be considered as the separation line between Earth and Space as the outer layer of the atmosphere aligns within the Space. All the components of the atmosphere are spread along with its five major layers as Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, Exosphere and Ionosphere.
The composition of elements becomes thin as the layers of the atmosphere rise above thus; the effectiveness of each layer varies related to these composition elements. This leads to a lower pressure of air because of the presence of fewer components in higher atmospheric layers. According to the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), these layers are divided based on the temperature, as it is the main factor for distinguishing these layers. Different opinions about the extension of layers of the atmosphere can be observed as per NASA, the outer layer of the atmosphere Exosphere is spread up to 10000 km.
Major components of the atmosphere
The atmosphere of Earth consists of three major gases, which are Nitrogen, Oxygen and Argon; however, the percentage of Nitrogen is more than others. Almost 78% of the atmosphere is Nitrogen, 21% is Oxygen and 0.9% of the atmosphere is composed of Argon. Apart from these major gases, 0.1% of the rest of the atmosphere consists of elements like Carbon-Di-Oxide, Methane, Water Vapour, Neon and other elements. Therefore, a dividend of elements can be observed depending on the atmospheric layers as the percentage of these components decreases with higher altitude. However, each of these components’ percentage and amount in these layers is also different; for example; the presence of water vapour is limited to the Troposphere Layer. Water sources are required to create water vapour as Troposphere is the lowest layer of the atmosphere, it gets the most availability to watersheds. Therefore, the presence of these elements also depends on other factors apart from the height as per this information. The concentration of Ozone Molecules is also one of the major components of the atmosphere as it lies on the Stratosphere above 50 km from the Tropopause.
Importance of the composition of the atmosphere
The atmospheric composition plays an important role in becoming Earth the only planet that has lived. The availability of Oxygen has helped animals and humans to conduct respiration; on the other hand, carbon dioxide has helped in the growth of plants. The composition of oxygen and hydrogen in the atmosphere leads to the creation of water on this planet, which is necessary to maintain biodiversity. The atmosphere is also a part of the climatic rotation and changes in Earth that have made this planet liveable for living things. The presence of the atmosphere is the only reason behind all of these natural phenomena. Earth would also have become similar to other solar planets.
Around 78% of the nitrogen in the atmosphere helps in the growth of plants and provides nutrition to the human body. Other than this, the presence of the Ozone layer has been effective to protect the living organism on the Earth. The UV rays of the Sun would have destroyed this living planet in the absence of the ozone gas in the atmosphere. Clouds are also created with the help of dust particles, water vapour and other atmospheric gases that bring rain into this Earth’s surface.
Conclusion
This study has focused on the atmospheric composition of Earth and its significance to preserve the biodiversity on this planet. Five layers have been identified of the atmosphere and all the atmospheric components are spread within these layers. Four major gases have been identified that are present in the atmosphere and microelements like dust, smoke and other gases are also a part of these atmospheric components. Each of these components proceeds with the functionality that increases the importance of these components. The presence of these lifesaving gases is the major source of breathing and respiration of humans. Thus, the preservation of the atmosphere and each of its components is important for the maintenance of biodiversity on this planet.
