Bishop Kenny NJROTC Naval Science Two Lesson Atmosphere

1. CHAPTER 1
OUR ATMOSPHERE

2. Our atmosphere has many layers up to
about 1,000 miles above the Earth’s
surface.
TROPOSPHERE (UP to 11 MILES)
STRATOSPHERE (11 to 30 MILES)
MESOSPHERE (30 to 50 MILES)
THERMOSPHERE (50 to 3721 MILES)
EXOSPHERE (372 to 18,000 MILES)

3. Atmosphere
The gaseous envelope surrounding
the Earth; the air

4. Our atmosphere is a mixture
of different gases.
argon 1%
oxygen
21%
nitrogen
78%

5. Scattered within the atmosphere is about
1 percent water vapor, called humidity.

6. Humidity
Amount of moisture in the air

7. Polar
Equatorial
Polar
The amount of water vapor is greater in
equatorial regions than in polar regions.

8. Water is nearly incompressible. A cubic
foot of surface water weighs about the
same as a cubic foot taken from the
Marianas Trench.

9. Incompressible
Not compressible

10. However, with air,
a cubic foot taken
from a lower
altitude weighs
more than a cubic
foot taken at a
higher altitude,
therefore it is
compressible.

11. Compressible
To press together; force into less
space; to condense

12. Mesosphere 50 miles
Stratosphere 30 miles
11 miles
Troposphere
3.5 miles

13. Virtually all of the
Earth’s weather
(tempestuous air
ocean) occurs
within the first
3.5 miles of our
atmosphere.

14. Tempestuous
Tumultuous; turbulent

15. About 99% of the
atmospheric
gases lie below
20 miles.
20 MILES
Troposphere

16. 11 MILES
20 MILES
20 MILES
322 MILES
Beyond 45 miles, only
helium and hydrogen
exist in minute amounts.

17. THE THE TROPOSPHERE
EARTH 20 MILES
THE STRATOSPHERE
20 MILES
THE MESOSPHERE
20 MILES
THE THERMOSPHERE
322 MILES
THE EXOSPHERE
39,600 MILES
The atmosphere consists of five
principal layers.

18. 18,000
372
50
30 Chemosphere
11 miles (Ozone)
Tropopause

19. 18,000
372
50
30 Chemosphere
11 miles (Ozone)
The tropopause lies between the
troposphere and the stratosphere.

20. 18,000
372
50
30
11 miles
Tropopause
The chemosphere (ozone layer) lies
mainly between the stratosphere and
mesosphere.

21. 18,000
500
372
Ionosphere
50
30 Chemosphere
11 miles (Ozone)
Tropopause
The ionosphere is the whole area
encompassing the mesosphere
and the thermosphere.

22. What element or gas makes up the
majority of the Earth’s atmosphere?
a. Nitrogen
b. Oxygen
c. Argon
d. Carbon dioxide

23. What element or gas makes up the
majority of the Earth’s atmosphere?
a. Nitrogen
b. Oxygen
c. Argon
d. Carbon dioxide

24. THE
EARTH 11 MILES
THE TROPOSPHERE
The troposphere extends to a height
of about 11 miles above the equator,
some 7.5 miles in the temperate zones,
and only about 5 miles above the poles.

25. Troposphere
The lowest layer of the atmosphere,
within which there is a steady drop
in temperature with increasing
altitude and within which nearly all
cloud formations occur and weather
conditions manifest themselves

26. Nearly all clouds are in the troposphere,
so it is here that weather occurs. Air
heated by the Earth rises, in a process
called convection.

27. Convection
The transport of atmospheric properties
upward

28. 85 °F
Troposphere
In the troposphere,
the air automatically
changes about 5½°
for each 1,000 feet
traveled vertically.
This is called
adiabatic warming
or cooling.
56 °F (Sea level)

29. Adiabatic
The constant rate change in temperature
with altitude

30. Swift movement of cold air masses
about the vast Antarctic continent is
a major factor in determining the
world’s weather.

31. New
Zealand South
America
Antarctica

32. 50
30
11 miles
The tropopause is a transitional zone
between the troposphere and the near
void of the stratosphere. It starts just
above the troposphere (5 - 11 miles) and
is divided into three overlapping areas:
• Tropical • Extra-tropical • Arctic

33. Tropopause
The boundary, or transitional layer,
between the troposphere and the
stratosphere

34. Jet Stream
Located in the area between 20,000 and
40,000 feet is the jet stream. It is most
prominent above the extra tropical and
Arctic tropopause overlap.

35. Jet Stream
Strong, generally westerly winds
concentrated in a relatively narrow
and shallow stream in the upper
troposphere of the Earth

36. The jet stream was discovered in WW II,
when B-29 bombers flying about 4 miles
high, found great assistance from
westerly winds of up to 300 mph.

37. Summer Jet Stream
It has been found that jet streams are
the strongest over Japan and the New
England states.

38. Three major jet streams move over the
North American continent in winter, one
of which nearly blankets the United States.

39. The jet streams move with cooler air
masses near the Earth’s surface. In
winter the jet streams are over the
temperate zones, while in summer, the
jet streams move much farther north,
out of most of the main commercial
lanes.

40. In which layer of the atmosphere is the
“jet stream” located?
a. Stratosphere
b. Ionosphere
c. Tropopause
d. Exosphere

41. In which layer of the atmosphere is the
“jet stream” located?
a. Stratosphere
b. Ionosphere
c. Tropopause
d. Exosphere

42. THE
EARTH
THE STRATOSPHERE
30 MILES
The stratosphere lies just above the
tropopause and extends to an altitude
of about 30 miles. There is almost no
weather here due to the thin air and
few clouds.

43. Stratosphere
The region of the upper atmosphere
extending upward from the
tropopause to about 30 miles (50 km)
above the Earth, characterized by little
vertical change in temperature (a
fairly constant -40 to -50 °F)

44. Modern commercial airlines seek to fly
in the stratosphere when not using the
jet stream because there is so much
less air resistance. This makes for
better fuel mileage, little turbulence,
and flight at top speeds.

45. Commercial airline pilots favor flying in
the ________ because there is less air
resistance and no turbulence.
a. tropopause
b. stratosphere
c. ionosphere
d. exosphere

46. Commercial airline pilots favor flying in
the ________ because there is less air
resistance and no turbulence.
a. tropopause
b. stratosphere
c. ionosphere
d. exosphere

47. 18,000
500
372
50
30
11 miles
The ionosphere is an area of electrically
charged ions lying above the
stratosphere. It begins 30 - 40 miles up
and extends to about 500 miles.

48. Ionosphere
The region of the Earth’s atmosphere
between the stratosphere and the
exosphere, consisting of several
ionized layers and extending from
about 50 - 250 mi. (80 - 400 km)
above the surface of the Earth

49. Ion
An electrically charged atom or group
of atoms formed by the loss or gain
of one or more electrons

50. Disturbances from the Sun can cause
changes in the ionosphere’s form.
These magnetic and electrical storms
cause the Northern Lights.

51. The ionosphere
will reflect radio
waves of certain
frequencies.
By determining the
best frequencies
and times of day to
transmit messages,
communications are
greatly enhanced.

52. THE
11 MILES
EARTH
THE MESOSPHERE
30 MILES
The lowest level of the ionosphere, the
mesosphere, extends from 30 - 50 miles
above the Earth. Temperatures range
from a high of 32 °F to a low of minus
100 °F.

53. Mesosphere
The region between the ionosphere
and the exosphere, extending from
about 30 - 50 mi. above the surface
of the Earth

54. THE
EARTH
THE THERMOSPHERE
322 MILES
The thermosphere is the highest layer
of the ionosphere. The principal radio
reflecting layers are here. Temperatures
in the thermosphere may reach 1,700 °F
at 300 miles up.

55. Thermosphere
The region of the upper atmosphere
in which temperature increases
continuously with altitude,
encompassing essentially all of the
atmosphere above the mesosphere

56. 18,000
372
50
30
11 miles
Starting below and extending into the
ionosphere is the chemosphere (ozone
layer). It begins at about 15 miles up
and shields the Earth from the harmful
ultraviolet rays of the Sun.

57. Chemosphere
The region of the atmosphere most
characterized by chemical,
especially photochemical activity,
starting in the stratosphere and
including the mesosphere and
perhaps part of the thermosphere

58. Ozone Layer
The layer of the upper atmosphere
where most atmospheric ozone is
concentrated, from about 8 - 30 mi.
(12 - 48 km) above the Earth, with
the maximum ozone concentration
occurring at an altitude of about
12 mi. (19 km.)

59. The ozone layer is being depleted by
fluorocarbons used as propellants for
aerosol cans and refrigerants used for
air conditioning systems.

60. Fluorocarbons
Any of a class of compounds
produced by substituting fluorine
for hydrogen in a hydrocarbon, and
characterized by great chemical
stability: used chiefly as a lubricant,
refrigerant, fire extinguishing agent,
and in industrial and other
applications in which chemical,
electrical, flame, and heat resistance
is essential; banned as an aerosol
propellant in the U.S. because of
concern about ozone layer depletion

61. Propellant
A compressed inert gas that serves
to dispense the contents of an
aerosol container when the pressure
is released

62. The ozone layer shields the Earth from
the harmful ultraviolet rays of the Sun.
Another name for this layer is
the _________.
a. chemosphere
b. thermosphere
c. mesosphere
d. exosphere

63. The ozone layer shields the Earth from
the harmful ultraviolet rays of the Sun.
Another name for this layer is
the _________.
a. chemosphere
b. thermosphere
c. mesosphere
d. exosphere

64. The exosphere
begins about 500
miles above the
Earth’s surface
and continues
out about 18,000 18,000
miles. Only light
hydrogen and
helium atoms
exist because of
intense cosmic radiation.
Temperatures may range from 4,500 °F
to near absolute zero.

65. Exosphere
The highest region of the atmosphere,
where the air density is so low that a
fast-moving air molecule is more than
50 percent likely to escape from the
atmosphere instead of hitting other
molecules

66. Located within the exosphere are intense
radiation areas called the Van Allen
Radiation Belts.
Van Allen Radiation Belts

67. Van Allen Radiation Belt
Either of two regions of high-energy-
charged particles surrounding the
Earth
The Inner region is centered at an
altitude of 2,000 mi. (3,200 km) and
the outer region at an altitude
between 9,000 and 12,000 mi.
(14,500 and 19,000 km).

68. The inner belt is located about 400 -
3,400 miles above the Earth. It contains
high-energy protons.
Inner
Belt
Van Allen Radiation Belts

69. The outer belt is located 8,000 - 40,000
miles above the Earth. It contains high-
energy electrons.
Outer
Belt
Van Allen Radiation Belts

70. Manned space
missions are
intentionally flown
well below the
lower limits of the
Van Allen Belts,
and satellites
operating in these
regions must be
shielded against
the radiation
encountered there.

71. What layer of our atmosphere has
intense cosmic radiation?
a. Tropopause
b. Stratosphere
c. Ionosphere
d. Exosphere

72. What layer of our atmosphere has
intense cosmic radiation?
a. Tropopause
b. Stratosphere
c. Ionosphere
d. Exosphere

73. The weight of the atmosphere varies
with the amount of water vapor present,
the temperature, and the height above
the Earth’s surface. A barometer
measures variations in atmospheric
pressure.

74. Generally employed
for use at sea, the
mercurial type
barometer consists
of an accurately
calibrated glass tube
filled with mercury.
It is used at shore
activities to check
aneroid barometers
for accuracy.
Mercurial Barometer

75. Mercurial
Containing the metal mercury

76. Calibrated
Divided or marked with gradations,
graduations, or other indexes of
degree, quantity, etc., as on a
thermometer, measuring cup, or
the like

77. Aneroid
Using no fluid

78. The aneroid, or
Aneroid Barometer
Pointer dry barometer,
contains a small
metallic cell that
Spindle
atmospheric
pressure
Lever increases and
expands when
pressure
Vacuum Chamber decreases
moving a needle
that points to a
graduated scale.

79. Graduated
Marked with divisions or units of
measurement

80. Barometers can be graduated in either
inches of mercury or millibars. Millibars
are normally used on weather charts.

81. Millibar
The metric unit of measurement for
air pressure
A centimeter-gram-second unit of
pressure equal to one thousandth
of a bar or 1000 dynes per square
centimeter, used to measure air
pressure

82. The average atmospheric pressure at
the Earth’s surface is 29.92 inches, or
1,013.2 millibars.

83. An air mass is a large body of air with
the same temperature and humidity. It
generally takes on the characteristics of
the surface over which it forms but has
different characteristics.

84. Air Mass
A body of air covering a relatively
wide area, exhibiting approximately
uniform properties through any
horizontal section

85. It takes more heat to warm water
temperatures than soil temperatures.

86. In seawater, heat is absorbed to depths
in excess of 80 feet.

87. Only a few inches of topsoil will
absorb radiation. This means oceans
are slower to warm up and cool down
than landmasses.

88. Winter
Air Masses
In winter, the United States is swept
by continental air masses from the
cold Arctic.

89. Summer
Air Masses
In summer, we are swept by warm,
moist maritime air masses.

90. When warm and cold air masses touch,
the boundary between them is called a
front.

91. Front
An interface or zone of transition
between two dissimilar air
masses

92. Cold Front Warm Front
A warm front is formed when a warm air
mass moves over a cold air mass; when
the reverse occurs, it is called a cold
front.

93. Warm Front
A transition zone between a mass
of warm air and the colder air it is
replacing

94. Cold Front
A transition zone between a mass
of cold air and the warmer air it is
replacing

95. Cold
Warm
Front
Front
Stationary
Front
When neither
mass advances
on the other, a
stationary front is
said to exist.

96. Stationary Front
A front between warm and cold air
masses that is moving very slowly,
or not at all
When a warm or cold front stops
moving, it becomes a stationary
front.

97. Violent frontal weather systems can
be predicted from a chart showing
atmospheric pressures.

98. Weather charts usually illustrate
barometric pressures as millibar reading
points. The lines on the above map,
drawn through points of equal pressure,
are called isobars, which never join or
cross.

99. Isobars
A line drawn on a weather map
that connects points at which
the barometric pressure is the
same

100. Isobars give a rough indication of the
amount of wind in an area. The closer
the bars, the stronger the wind in that
area.

101. The weight of the atmosphere varies
from place to place depending on
which of the following?
a. Wind, temperature, pressure
b. Temperature, height, wind
c. Water vapor, temperature,
height
d. Water vapor, pressure, wind

102. The weight of the atmosphere varies
from place to place depending on
which of the following?
a. Wind, temperature, pressure
b. Temperature, height, wind
c. Water vapor, temperature,
height
d. Water vapor, pressure, wind

103. Weather is the condition of the
atmosphere, expressed in terms of its
heat, pressure, wind, and moisture.

104. It is heat, and the transfer of heat, that
causes the weather. Without it there
would be no winds, varying air
pressures, storms, rain, or snow. All
weather changes are caused by
temperature changes in different parts
of the atmosphere.

105. Fundamental natural laws determine
weather changes:
• Warm air is lighter
in weight and can
hold more water
vapor than cold
air.
• Cold air is heavier
and has a tendency
to flow toward the
rising warm air.

106. Fundamental natural laws determine
weather changes:
• As air moves, wind
is created. This is
beginning of the
complex forces that
cause the changing
weather.

107. The Sun is our principal source of
energy:
• It bombards the Earth with 126 trillion
horsepower each second.
• Its energy waves, or radiation, travel
at 186,300 miles per second (speed
of light).
• About 43% of the radiation reaching
our planet is changed into heat.

108. Solar energy is referred to as insolation.

109. Insolation
(INcoming SOLar radiATION)
Solar radiation received at the
Earth’s surface

110. Clouds and other atmospheric influences
absorb some of the incoming radiation,
but they reflect much of it.

111. • Clouds reflect back 75% of sunlight.
• Earth’s average cloudiness is 52%.
• About 36% of the total insolation never
reaches Earth.

112. Dense forests absorb 95% of insolation.

113. Water reflects 60 - 96% of insolation,
depending on the angle the light hits the
surface.

114. In effect, the Earth’s
cloud cover acts like
the glass of a
greenhouse. It lets
short solar rays
pass through; the
Earth absorbs the
ones that get
through, then
re-radiates long
heat rays.

115. Long heat waves
cannot all get
through the
atmosphere
because they are
Atmosphere absorbed by water
vapor, so they
stay within the
Heat “greenhouse” in a
continual cycle.
Earth

116. Without atmosphere, the Earth would be
like the Moon with boiling temperatures
during the day and sub-freezing
temperatures during the night.

117. Even though clouds and other
atmospheric influences absorb some of
the incoming radiation from the Sun,
____ percent of the sunlight is reflected
back into space.
a. 70
b. 75
c. 80
d. 85

118. Even though clouds and other
atmospheric influences absorb some of
the incoming radiation from the Sun,
____ percent of the sunlight is reflected
back into space.
a. 70
b. 75
c. 80
d. 85

119. Steam Point 212°F
The Navy and most
civilians in America
use thermometers
Ice Point 32°F with a Fahrenheit
(F) scale.
Fahrenheit

120. Fahrenheit
Noting, pertaining to, or measured
according to a temperature scale in
which 32° represents the freezing
point and 212° the boiling point

121. Boiling
100°C
Point
Temperatures in
meteorology and
most other sciences,
Freezing however, are usually
0°C Point expressed according
to the Celsius (C)
scale.
Celsius

122. Celsius
Pertaining to or noting a temperature
scale in which 0° represents the
freezing point and 100° the boiling
point of water

123. The Celsius scale is a metric system, which one
day is supposed to be the principal measurement
system used in the United States as it already is in
most of the rest of the world.

124. There are 5 °C temperature for every
9 °F.
Formula: C = 5/9 (F - 32)
Since 32 °F is equivalent to 0 °C, to
change a Fahrenheit reading to
Celsius, you subtract 32° and then
multiply the remainder by 5/9.

125. What is the temperature in Celsius
if it is 59 °F?

126. What is the temperature in Celsius
if it is 59 °F?
59 °
- 32 ° 27 ° 5
X = 15 °C
27 ° 1 9

127. Conversion Formula
This process is reversed to convert
Fahrenheit to Celsius.
Formula: F = 9/5 C + 32°

128. What is the temperature in Fahrenheit
if it is 15 °C?

129. What is the temperature in Fahrenheit
if it is 15 °C?
27 °
15 ° 9 + 32 °
X = 27 °
1 5 59 °F

130. Alcohol in Glass
If you compare these
thermometers, you will
note that the top of the
column of alcohol is in
the shape of a curve
called a meniscus. The
Mercury in Glass
accurate reading for an
alcohol thermometer is
at the bottom of this
curve; for mercury it is
at the top.

131. Meniscus
A crescent or a crescent-shaped
body
The convex or concave upper
surface of a column of liquid, the
curvature of which is caused by
surface tension

132. Heat causes evaporation of millions of
tons of water daily.

133. A process called transpiration causes
additional huge amounts of water to enter
the air from the green leaves of plants.

134. Transpiration
The passage of water through a plant
from the roots through the vascular
system to the atmosphere

135. As warm, moist air rises, it expands and
cools, eventually reaching its saturation
level (100% relative humidity) and causes
the vapor to condense into a liquid. Water
droplets form in the clouds, and
precipitation occurs.

136. Precipitation
Falling products of condensation in
the atmosphere, as rain, snow, or
hail

137. This hydrologic cycle of evaporation,
condensation, and precipitation is
continually in process.
Moisture
over Land Precipitation
on Ocean
Precipitation
on Land
Evaporation
from Land Evaporation
from Ocean

138. Hydrologic Cycle
The natural sequence through which
water passes into the atmosphere as
water vapor, precipitates to Earth in
liquid or solid form, and ultimately
returns to the atmosphere through
evaporation

139. Since warm air can hold more moisture than
cold air, relative humidity goes up when air
with a given amount of water vapor cools,
and drops when that air is heated.

140. Relative Humidity
The amount of water vapor in the air,
expressed as a percentage of the
maximum amount that the air can
hold at the given temperature

141. When air is cooled to its dew point temperature,
small water droplets condense on objects and
dew is formed.

142. Dew Point
The temperature to which air must
be cooled, at a given pressure and
water vapor content for it to reach
saturation
The temperature at which dew
begins to form

143. Relative humidity
is measured using
a psychrometer.
Psychrometer

144. Psychrometer
An instrument for determining the
atmospheric humidity by the reading
of two thermometers, the bulb of one
being kept moist and ventilated

145. Sling Psychrometer
Sling psychrometers are often used aboard
ship to speed up the process of getting
accurate wet and dry-bulb readings.

146. Sling Psychrometer
A psychrometer so designed that
the wet-bulb thermometer can be
ventilated, to expedite evaporation,
by whirling in the air

147. The process by which millions of tons
of water from the green leaves of plants
enter into the atmosphere is called
__________.
a. evaporation
b. transportation
c. perspiration
d. transpiration

148. The process by which millions of tons
of water from the green leaves of plants
enter into the atmosphere is called
__________.
a. evaporation
b. transportation
c. perspiration
d. transpiration

149. Q.1. TRUE or FALSE. The harsh
Russian winter weather was a
factor that helped defeat Hitler
in World War II.

150. Q.1. TRUE or FALSE. The harsh
Russian winter weather was a
factor that helped defeat Hitler
in World War II.
A.1. TRUE

151. Q.2. Who invented the
thermometer?

152. Q.2. Who invented the
thermometer?
A.2. Galileo

153. Q.3. Who developed a system for
organizing weather
observations?

154. Q.3. Who developed a system for
organizing weather
observations?
A.3. Leverrier

155. Q.4. Who developed air-mass and
polar-front theories of weather?

156. Q.4. Who developed air-mass and
polar-front theories of weather?
A.4. Bjerknes

157. Q.5. What does synoptic
meteorology mean?

158. Q.5. What does synoptic
meteorology mean?
A.5. A general view of the weather

159. Q.6. How do meteorologists use
satellites?

160. Q.6. How do meteorologists use
satellites?
A.6. As observational tools

161. Q.7. What name is given to the
science of weather?

162. Q.7. What name is given to the
science of weather?
A.7. Meteorology

163. Q.8. What was the first
meteorological instrument to
be developed?

164. Q.8. What was the first
meteorological instrument to
be developed?
A.8. A crude hygrometer

165. Q.9. What is the troposphere?

166. Q.9. What is the troposphere?
A.9. An ocean of air immediately
above the Earth’s surface

167. Q.10. What is the tropopause?

168. Q.10. What is the tropopause?
A.10. The transitional zone between
the troposphere and the near
void of the stratosphere

169. Q.11. What is adiabatic warming and
cooling?

170. Q.11. What is adiabatic warming and
cooling?
A.11. The consistent temperature
change due to change in
altitude

171. Q.12. What is a jet stream?

172. Q.12. What is a jet stream?
A.12. A current of air that moves
swiftly from west to east
around the Earth

173. Q.13. In the Navy, what two types of
barometers are used?

174. Q.13. In the Navy, what two types of
barometers are used?
A.13. Mercurial and aneroid

175. Q.14. What is the topmost layer of
the atmosphere?

176. Q.14. What is the topmost layer of
the atmosphere?
A.14. Exosphere

177. Q.15. What is the lowest level of the
ionosphere?

178. Q.15. What is the lowest level of the
ionosphere?
A.15. Mesosphere

179. Q.16. What is the highest level of the
ionosphere?

180. Q.16. What is the highest level of the
ionosphere?
A.16. Thermosphere

181. Q.17. What is a front?

182. Q.17. What is a front?
A.17. When warm and cold air
masses touch, the boundary
between them is a front.

183. Q.18. What is an air mass?

184. Q.18. What is an air mass?
A.18. A large body of air with the
same temperature, humidity,
and pressure

185. Q.19. Which layer shields the Earth
from the Sun's harmful
ultraviolet rays?

186. Q.19. Which layer shields the Earth
from the Sun's harmful
ultraviolet rays?
A.19. The chemosphere or ozone
layer