ATM OCN (Meteorology) 100

PHYSICAL & CHEMICAL COMPOSITION of the EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE

Summer 2001

Lecture #2-A scheduled for:

19 JUN 2001 (T)

Today's Lecture Objectives:

To locate the homosphere and the heterosphere and distinguish the features of each region.
To rank the major gaseous constituents found in the present earth's atmosphere according to their relative volumetric concentration.
To discuss the importance of the atmospheric components: major fixed gases, carbon dioxide, water vapor, ozone and dust.
To identify how the earth's atmospheric constituents have evolved by outlining the principal events in the evolution of the earth's atmosphere.
To explain how human activities could influence the composition of the present earth's atmosphere.
To identify the factors that determine the capability of a planet to maintain an atmosphere.
To locate the ionosphere and describe its origin and implications for radio transmission.
To locate the region of maximum auroral activity and explain its occurrence.

Outline:

A. PRACTICAL QUESTIONS

B. PRESENT EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE

Background

Early Classical Greek Thought
Modern Chemistry Terminology (Elements, Compounds, Mixtures)

Vertical Variations of the Atmospheric Composition

HOMOSPHERE
HETEROSPHERE

Constituents of Air in the Homosphere

Principal Fixed Permanent Gases of Dry Air in the Homosphere
Principal Variable gases in the Homosphere
Anthropogenic Substances
Aerosols (Liquids or solids suspended in the Atmosphere)

Principal Gases in the Heterosphere

C. ORIGIN & EVOLUTION OF THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE

General History of the Atmosphere
Rationale for Current Composition
Effects of Human Intervention

D. ATMOSPHERES OF OTHER PLANETS - COMPARATIVE PLANETOLOGY

General Composition Considerations
Atmospheric Composition of the Planets

E. VARIATION OF CHARGED PARTICLES WITH HEIGHT

Composition (Ions)
Location

Ionosphere
Magnetosphere

Implications

Radio communications
Aurora Borealis (Australis)

The Reasons for the Ionosphere

Links to Other References:

Additional information can be found on the Internet through the following sites:

Concentrations of Atmospheric Trace Gases from Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center
Trace Gas Emissions from Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center
Graphs of concentrations of various Halocarbons and Carbon Cycle Greenhouse gases from NOAA's CMDL (Climate Monitoring & Diagnostics Laboratory)
Web site for Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii
Background material on CFCs

NOAA's Space Weather Page from Space Environment Center
The Aurora Page From Michigan Tech
Aurora Borealis - The Northern Lights
Auroral activity maps from Univ. of Alaska-Fairbanks
Planetary information from National Space Science Data Center (NASA in NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD).
NASA Lewis Participation in Mars Pathfinder

Last revision 4 June 2001 (1325 UTC)

Produced by Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D.

Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI 53706

hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu

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