Earth's Atmosphere

The atmosphere is a mixture of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), and other gases (1%) that surrounds Earth. High above the planet, the atmosphere becomes thinner until it gradually reaches space. It is divided into five layers. Most of the weather and clouds are found in the first layer.

The atmosphere is an important part of what makes Earth livable. It blocks some of the Sun's dangerous rays from reaching Earth. It traps heat, making Earth a comfortable temperature. And the oxygen within our atmosphere is essential for life.

Over the past century, greenhouse gases and other air pollutants released into the atmosphere have been causing big changes like global warming, ozone holes, and acid rain.

<a
  href="/earth/Atmosphere/clouds/mammatus.html&edu=elem&dev=1">Mammatus
  clouds</a> are pouches of clouds that hang underneath the base of a cloud.
  They are usually seen with <a
  href="/earth/Atmosphere/clouds/cumulonimbus.html&edu=elem&dev=1">cumulonimbus
  clouds</a> that produce very <a
  href="/earth/Atmosphere/tstorm.html&edu=elem&dev=1">strong
  storms</a>. This photograph of mammatus clouds was taken on June 21, 2006 in
  Boulder, Colorado, at sunset. Notice how the light from the sun highlights
  the round features of these clouds.<p><small><em>       Courtesy of Roberta Johnson</em></small></p><a
  href="/earth/Atmosphere/tstorm/tstorm_lightning.html&edu=elem&dev=1">Lightning</a>
  is the most spectacular element of a <a
  href="/earth/Atmosphere/tstorm.html&edu=elem&dev=1">thunderstorm</a>.
  A single stroke of lightning can <a
  href="/earth/Atmosphere/temperature.html&edu=elem&dev=1">heat</a>
  the air around it to 30,000 degrees Celsius (54,000 degrees Fahrenheit)! This
  extreme heating causes the air to expand explosively. The expansion creates a
  shock wave that turns into a booming <a
  href="/earth/Atmosphere/tstorm/lightning_thunder.html&edu=elem&dev=1">sound
  wave</a>, better known as thunder.<p><small><em> Image Courtesy of University Corporation for Atmospheric Research/Carlye Calvin</em></small></p><a href="/earth/Atmosphere/NLC.html&edu=elem&dev=1">Noctilucent</a>
  clouds are the highest clouds in the sky, but they are not associated with
  weather like the <a
  href="/earth/Atmosphere/clouds/cloud_types.html&edu=elem&dev=1">other
  clouds</a> we regularly see in the sky. Noctilucent clouds form very high in
  the <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/overview.html&edu=elem&dev=1">atmosphere</a>,
  in the <a
  href="/earth/Atmosphere/mesosphere.html&edu=elem&dev=1">mesosphere</a>.
  They are best seen from Earth at sunset. This image was taken on June 15,
  2007, in Budapest, Hungary. Normally seen from locations near the <a
  href="/earth/polar/polar.html&edu=elem&dev=1">poles</a> of
  the Earth, in recent years they have also been seen at much lower-latitude
  locations.<p><small><em> Image Courtesy of NASA/Veres Viktor</em></small></p><a
  href="/earth/Atmosphere/clouds/stratocumulus.html&edu=elem&dev=1">Stratocumulus
  clouds</a> belong to the <a
  href="/earth/Atmosphere/clouds/low_cloud.html&edu=elem&dev=1">Low
  Cloud</a> (surface-2000m) group. These clouds are low, lumpy, and gray.  Only light <a
  href="/earth/Atmosphere/precipitation.html&edu=elem&dev=1">precipitation</a>,
  generally in the form of <a
  href="/earth/Atmosphere/precipitation/drizzle.html&edu=elem&dev=1">drizzle</a>,
  occurs with stratocumulus clouds. To distinguish between a stratocumulus and
  an <a
  href="/earth/Atmosphere/clouds/altocumulus.html&edu=elem&dev=1">altocumulus</a>
  cloud, point your hand toward the cloud. If the cloud is about the size of
  your fist, then it is stratocumulus.<p><small><em>            Courtesy of Carlye Calvin/UCAR</em></small></p>How did life evolve on <a href="/earth/earth.html&edu=elem&dev=1">Earth</a> during the <a href="/earth/past/Archean.html&edu=elem&dev=1">Archean</a>, when the <a href="/sun/sun.html&edu=elem&dev=1">Sun</a> was about 25% weaker than today?  The Earth should have been <a href="/earth/polar/cryosphere_glacier1.html&edu=elem&dev=1">glaciated</a>, if <a href="/earth/climate/earth_greenhouse.html&edu=elem&dev=1">greenhouse</a> gas concentration was the same as today.  <a href="http://www.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/news/display/?id=10798">Researchers</a> studying the <a href="/physical_science/physics/atom_particle/isotope.html&edu=elem&dev=1">isotopic</a> signatures of Earth's early atmosphere in <a href="/earth/geology/rocks_intro.html&edu=elem&dev=1">rocks</a> from Northern Australia have ruled out high levels of <a href="/physical_science/chemistry/nitrogen_molecular.html&edu=elem&dev=1">nitrogen</a> as a possible way to increase warming from <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/overview.html&edu=elem&dev=1">atmospheric</a> <a href="/physical_science/chemistry/carbon_dioxide.html&edu=elem&dev=1">carbon dioxide</a>.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of Manchester University</em></small></p>An image of Hurricane Sandy taken by the GOES-13 satellite on October 28.  This category 1 <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/hurricane/hurricane.html&edu=elem&dev=1">hurricane</a> was huge, spanning a horizontal distance of about one-third the US continental landmass.  The storm came onshore in New Jersey, and gradually moved northeast.  The storm disrupted the lives of tens of millions in the eastern US, doing billions of dollars in damage, resulting in over 30 deaths.  Visit the National Hurricane Center's webpage on <a href="http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/">Hurricane Sandy</a> for details.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of NASA</em></small></p>

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