Atmosphere of Earth

The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, commonly known as

air, retained by Earth's gravity, surrounding the planet Earth and
forming its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects
life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for liquid water to exist on
the Earth's surface, absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the
surface through heat retention (greenhouse effect), and reducing
temperature extremes between day and night (the diurnal temperature
variation).
NASA photo showing Earth's
By volume, dry air contains 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93%
atmosphere at sunset, with Earth
argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other gases.[8]
silhouetted
Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor, on average
around 1% at sea level, and 0.4% over the entire atmosphere. Air
composition, temperature, and atmospheric pressure vary with
altitude, and air suitable for use in photosynthesis by terrestrial plants
and breathing of terrestrial animals is found only in Earth's
troposphere and in artificial atmospheres.

Earth's atmosphere has changed much since its formation as primarily

a hydrogen atmosphere, and has changed dramatically on several
occasions—for example, the Great Oxidation Event 2.4 billion years
ago, greatly increased oxygen in the atmosphere from practically no
Blue light is scattered more than
oxygen to levels closer to present day. Humans have also contributed
other wavelengths by the gases in
to significant changes in atmospheric composition through air
the atmosphere, surrounding Earth in
pollution, especially since industrialisation, leading to rapid
a visibly blue layer when seen from
environmental change such as ozone depletion and global warming. space on board the ISS at an altitude
of 335 km (208 mi).[1]
The atmosphere has a mass of about 5.15 × 1018 kg,[9] three quarters
of which is within about 11 km (6.8 mi; 36,000 ft) of the surface. The
atmosphere becomes thinner and thinner with increasing altitude, with
no definite boundary between the atmosphere and outer space. The Kármán line, at 100 km (62 mi), or 1.57%
of Earth's radius, is often used as the border between the atmosphere and outer space. Atmospheric effects
become noticeable during atmospheric reentry of spacecraft at an altitude of around 120 km (75 mi). Several
layers can be distinguished in the atmosphere, based on characteristics such as temperature and composition.

The study of Earth's atmosphere and its processes is called atmospheric science (aerology), and includes
multiple subfields, such as climatology and atmospheric physics. Early pioneers in the field include Léon
Teisserenc de Bort and Richard Assmann.[10] The study of historic atmosphere is called paleoclimatology.

Contents
Composition
Stratification
Exosphere
Thermosphere
 Mesosphere
Stratosphere
Troposphere
Other layers
Physical properties
Pressure and thickness
Temperature and speed of sound
Density and mass
Optical properties
Scattering
Absorption
Emission
Refractive index
Circulation
Evolution of Earth's atmosphere
Earliest atmosphere
Second atmosphere
Third atmosphere
Air pollution
Images from space
See also Composition of Earth's atmosphere
References by volume, excluding water vapor.
Lower pie represents trace gases
External links that together compose about
0.043391% of the atmosphere
(0.04402961% at April 2019
Composition concentration [2][3]). Numbers are
mainly from 2000, with CO2 and
The three major constituents of Earth's atmosphere are nitrogen, methane from 2019, and do not
oxygen, and argon. Water vapor accounts for roughly 0.25% of the represent any single source.[4]
atmosphere by mass. The concentration of water vapor (a greenhouse
gas) varies significantly from around 10 ppm by volume in the coldest
portions of the atmosphere to as much as 5% by volume in hot, humid
air masses, and concentrations of other atmospheric gases are typically
quoted in terms of dry air (without water vapor).[11] The remaining
gases are often referred to as trace gases,[12] among which are the
greenhouse gases, principally carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide,
and ozone. Besides argon, already mentioned, other noble gases,
neon, helium, krypton, and xenon are also present. Filtered air Mean atmospheric water vapor
includes trace amounts of many other chemical compounds. Many
substances of natural origin may be present in locally and seasonally
variable small amounts as aerosols in an unfiltered air sample, including dust of mineral and organic
composition, pollen and spores, sea spray, and volcanic ash. Various industrial pollutants also may be present
as gases or aerosols, such as chlorine (elemental or in compounds), fluorine compounds and elemental mercury
vapor. Sulfur compounds such as hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide (SO2 ) may be derived from natural
sources or from industrial air pollution.
 Major constituents of dry air, by volume[8]

Gas Volume(A)

Name Formula in ppmv(B) in %

Nitrogen N2 780,840 78.084

Oxygen O2 209,460 20.946

Argon Ar 9,340 0.9340

Carbon dioxide
CO2 413.61 0.041361
(April, 2020)(C)[13]
Neon Ne 18.18 0.001818
Helium He 5.24 0.000524
Methane CH4 1.87 0.000187

Krypton Kr 1.14 0.000114

Not included in above dry atmosphere:

Water vapor(D) H2O 0–30,000(D) 0–3%(E)

notes:

(A) volume fraction is equal to mole fraction for ideal gas only,
also see volume (thermodynamics)
(B) ppmv: parts per million by volume
(C) The concentration of CO has been increasing in recent decades
2
(D) Water vapor is about 0.25% by mass over full atmosphere
(E) Water vapor varies significantly locally[11]

The average molecular weight of dry air, which can be used to calculate densities or to convert between mole
fraction and mass fraction, is about 28.946[14] or 28.96[15] g/mol. This is decreased when the air is humid.

The relative concentration of gases remains constant until about 10,000 m (33,000 ft).[16]

Stratification
In general, air pressure and density decrease with altitude in the
atmosphere. However, temperature has a more complicated profile
with altitude, and may remain relatively constant or even increase
with altitude in some regions (see the temperature section, below).
Because the general pattern of the temperature/altitude profile, or
lapse rate, is constant and measurable by means of instrumented
balloon soundings, the temperature behavior provides a useful metric
to distinguish atmospheric layers. In this way, Earth's atmosphere can The volume fraction of the main
be divided (called atmospheric stratification) into five main layers. constituents of the Earth's
Excluding the exosphere, the atmosphere has four primary layers, atmosphere as a function of height
which are the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and according to the MSIS-E-90
thermosphere.[17] From highest to lowest, the five main layers are: atmospheric model.

Exosphere: 700 to 10,000 km (440 to 6,200 miles)

Thermosphere: 80 to 700 km (50 to 440 miles)[18]
 Mesosphere: 50 to 80 km (31 to 50 miles)
Stratosphere: 12 to 50 km (7 to 31 miles)
Troposphere: 0 to 12 km (0 to 7 miles)[19]

Exosphere

The exosphere is the outermost layer of Earth's atmosphere (i.e. the

upper limit of the atmosphere). It extends from the exobase, which is
located at the top of the thermosphere at an altitude of about 700 km
above sea level, to about 10,000 km (6,200 mi; 33,000,000 ft) where
it merges into the solar wind.

This layer is mainly composed of extremely low densities of

hydrogen, helium and several heavier molecules including nitrogen,
oxygen and carbon dioxide closer to the exobase. The atoms and
molecules are so far apart that they can travel hundreds of kilometers
without colliding with one another. Thus, the exosphere no longer
behaves like a gas, and the particles constantly escape into space.
These free-moving particles follow ballistic trajectories and may
migrate in and out of the magnetosphere or the solar wind. Earth's atmosphere Lower 4 layers
of the atmosphere in 3 dimensions
The exosphere is located too far above Earth for any meteorological as seen diagonally from above the
phenomena to be possible. However, the aurora borealis and aurora exobase. Layers drawn to scale,
australis sometimes occur in the lower part of the exosphere, where objects within the layers are not to
they overlap into the thermosphere. The exosphere contains most of scale. Aurorae shown here at the
the satellites orbiting Earth. bottom of the thermosphere can
actually form at any altitude in this
atmospheric layer.
Thermosphere

The thermosphere is the second-highest layer of Earth's atmosphere. It extends from the mesopause (which
separates it from the mesosphere) at an altitude of about 80 km (50 mi; 260,000 ft) up to the thermopause at an
altitude range of 500–1000 km (310–620 mi; 1,600,000–3,300,000 ft). The height of the thermopause varies
considerably due to changes in solar activity.[18] Because the thermopause lies at the lower boundary of the
exosphere, it is also referred to as the exobase. The lower part of the thermosphere, from 80 to 550 kilometres
(50 to 342 mi) above Earth's surface, contains the ionosphere.

The temperature of the thermosphere gradually increases with height. Unlike the stratosphere beneath it,
wherein a temperature inversion is due to the absorption of radiation by ozone, the inversion in the
thermosphere occurs due to the extremely low density of its molecules. The temperature of this layer can rise
as high as 1500 °C (2700 °F), though the gas molecules are so far apart that its temperature in the usual sense
is not very meaningful. The air is so rarefied that an individual molecule (of oxygen, for example) travels an
average of 1 kilometre (0.62 mi; 3300 ft) between collisions with other molecules.[20] Although the
thermosphere has a high proportion of molecules with high energy, it would not feel hot to a human in direct
contact, because its density is too low to conduct a significant amount of energy to or from the skin.

This layer is completely cloudless and free of water vapor. However, non-hydrometeorological phenomena
such as the aurora borealis and aurora australis are occasionally seen in the thermosphere. The International
Space Station orbits in this layer, between 350 and 420 km (220 and 260 mi).

Mesosphere
The mesosphere is the third highest layer of Earth's atmosphere, occupying the region above the stratosphere
and below the thermosphere. It extends from the stratopause at an altitude of about 50 km (31 mi; 160,000 ft)
to the mesopause at 80–85 km (50–53 mi; 260,000–280,000 ft) above sea level.

Temperatures drop with increasing altitude to the mesopause that marks the top of this middle layer of the
atmosphere. It is the coldest place on Earth and has an average temperature around −85 °C (−120 °F;
190 K).[21][22]

Just below the mesopause, the air is so cold that even the very scarce water vapor at this altitude can be
sublimated into polar-mesospheric noctilucent clouds. These are the highest clouds in the atmosphere and may
be visible to the naked eye if sunlight reflects off them about an hour or two after sunset or similarly before
sunrise. They are most readily visible when the Sun is around 4 to 16 degrees below the horizon. Lightning-
induced discharges known as transient luminous events (TLEs) occasionally form in the mesosphere above
tropospheric thunderclouds. The mesosphere is also the layer where most meteors burn up upon atmospheric
entrance. It is too high above Earth to be accessible to jet-powered aircraft and balloons, and too low to permit
orbital spacecraft. The mesosphere is mainly accessed by sounding rockets and rocket-powered aircraft.

Stratosphere

The stratosphere is the second-lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere. It lies above the troposphere and is
separated from it by the tropopause. This layer extends from the top of the troposphere at roughly 12 km
(7.5 mi; 39,000 ft) above Earth's surface to the stratopause at an altitude of about 50 to 55 km (31 to 34 mi;
164,000 to 180,000 ft).

The atmospheric pressure at the top of the stratosphere is roughly 1/1000 the pressure at sea level. It contains
the ozone layer, which is the part of Earth's atmosphere that contains relatively high concentrations of that gas.
The stratosphere defines a layer in which temperatures rise with increasing altitude. This rise in temperature is
caused by the absorption of ultraviolet radiation (UV) radiation from the Sun by the ozone layer, which
restricts turbulence and mixing. Although the temperature may be −60 °C (−76 °F; 210 K) at the tropopause,
the top of the stratosphere is much warmer, and may be near 0 °C.[23]

The stratospheric temperature profile creates very stable atmospheric conditions, so the stratosphere lacks the
weather-producing air turbulence that is so prevalent in the troposphere. Consequently, the stratosphere is
almost completely free of clouds and other forms of weather. However, polar stratospheric or nacreous clouds
are occasionally seen in the lower part of this layer of the atmosphere where the air is coldest. The stratosphere
is the highest layer that can be accessed by jet-powered aircraft.

Troposphere

The troposphere is the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere. It extends from Earth's surface to an average height
of about 12 km (7.5 mi; 39,000 ft), although this altitude varies from about 9 km (5.6 mi; 30,000 ft) at the
geographic poles to 17 km (11 mi; 56,000 ft) at the Equator,[19] with some variation due to weather. The
troposphere is bounded above by the tropopause, a boundary marked in most places by a temperature
inversion (i.e. a layer of relatively warm air above a colder one), and in others by a zone which is isothermal
with height.[24][25]

Although variations do occur, the temperature usually declines with increasing altitude in the troposphere
because the troposphere is mostly heated through energy transfer from the surface. Thus, the lowest part of the
troposphere (i.e. Earth's surface) is typically the warmest section of the troposphere. This promotes vertical
mixing (hence, the origin of its name in the Greek word τρόπος, tropos, meaning "turn"). The troposphere
contains roughly 80% of the mass of Earth's atmosphere.[26] The troposphere is denser than all its overlying
atmospheric layers because a larger atmospheric weight sits on top of the troposphere and causes it to be most
severely compressed. Fifty percent of the total mass of the atmosphere is located in the lower 5.6 km (3.5 mi;
18,000 ft) of the troposphere.

Nearly all atmospheric water vapor or moisture is found in the troposphere, so it is the layer where most of
Earth's weather takes place. It has basically all the weather-associated cloud genus types generated by active
wind circulation, although very tall cumulonimbus thunder clouds can penetrate the tropopause from below
and rise into the lower part of the stratosphere. Most conventional aviation activity takes place in the
troposphere, and it is the only layer that can be accessed by propeller-driven aircraft.

Other layers

Within the five principal layers above, that are largely determined by
temperature, several secondary layers may be distinguished by other
properties:

The ozone layer is contained within the stratosphere. In

this layer ozone concentrations are about 2 to 8 parts per
million, which is much higher than in the lower atmosphere Space Shuttle Endeavour orbiting in
but still very small compared to the main components of the the thermosphere. Because of the
atmosphere. It is mainly located in the lower portion of the angle of the photo, it appears to
stratosphere from about 15–35 km (9.3–21.7 mi; 49,000– straddle the stratosphere and
115,000 ft), though the thickness varies seasonally and mesosphere that actually lie more
geographically. About 90% of the ozone in Earth's than 250 km (160 mi) below. The
atmosphere is contained in the stratosphere. orange layer is the troposphere,
which gives way to the whitish
The ionosphere is a region of the atmosphere that is
stratosphere and then the blue
ionized by solar radiation. It is responsible for auroras.
mesosphere.[27]
During daytime hours, it stretches from 50 to 1,000 km (31
to 621 mi; 160,000 to 3,280,000 ft) and includes the
mesosphere, thermosphere, and parts of the exosphere.
However, ionization in the mesosphere largely ceases during the night, so auroras are normally
seen only in the thermosphere and lower exosphere. The ionosphere forms the inner edge of
the magnetosphere. It has practical importance because it influences, for example, radio
propagation on Earth.
The homosphere and heterosphere are defined by whether the atmospheric gases are well
mixed. The surface-based homosphere includes the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere,
and the lowest part of the thermosphere, where the chemical composition of the atmosphere
does not depend on molecular weight because the gases are mixed by turbulence.[28] This
relatively homogeneous layer ends at the turbopause found at about 100 km (62 mi; 330,000 ft),
the very edge of space itself as accepted by the FAI, which places it about 20 km (12 mi;
66,000 ft) above the mesopause.

Above this altitude lies the heterosphere, which includes the exosphere and most of the
thermosphere. Here, the chemical composition varies with altitude. This is because the
distance that particles can move without colliding with one another is large compared with
the size of motions that cause mixing. This allows the gases to stratify by molecular weight,
with the heavier ones, such as oxygen and nitrogen, present only near the bottom of the
heterosphere. The upper part of the heterosphere is composed almost completely of
hydrogen, the lightest element.

The planetary boundary layer is the part of the troposphere that is closest to Earth's surface and
is directly affected by it, mainly through turbulent diffusion. During the day the planetary
boundary layer usually is well-mixed, whereas at night it becomes stably stratified with weak or
 intermittent mixing. The depth of the planetary boundary layer ranges from as little as about 100
metres (330 ft) on clear, calm nights to 3,000 m (9,800 ft) or more during the afternoon in dry
regions.

The average temperature of the atmosphere at Earth's surface is 14 °C (57 °F; 287 K)[29] or 15 °C (59 °F;
288 K),[30] depending on the reference.[31][32][33]

Physical properties

Pressure and thickness

The average atmospheric pressure at sea level is defined by the

International Standard Atmosphere as 101325 pascals
(760.00 Torr; 14.6959 psi; 760.00 mmHg). This is sometimes
referred to as a unit of standard atmospheres (atm). Total
atmospheric mass is 5.1480×1018 kg (1.135×1019 lb),[35] about
2.5% less than would be inferred from the average sea level
pressure and Earth's area of 51007.2 megahectares, this portion
being displaced by Earth's mountainous terrain. Atmospheric
pressure is the total weight of the air above unit area at the point
where the pressure is measured. Thus air pressure varies with
location and weather.

If the entire mass of the atmosphere had a uniform density equal

to sea level density (about 1.2 kg per m3 ) from sea level
Comparison of the 1962 US Standard
upwards, it would terminate abruptly at an altitude of 8.50 km
Atmosphere graph of geometric altitude
(27,900 ft). It actually decreases exponentially with altitude,
against air density, pressure, the speed of
dropping by half every 5.6 km (18,000 ft) or by a factor of 1/e sound and temperature with approximate
every 7.64 km (25,100 ft), the average scale height of the
altitudes of various objects.[34]
atmosphere below 70 km (43 mi; 230,000 ft). However, the
atmosphere is more accurately modeled with a customized
equation for each layer that takes gradients of temperature, molecular composition, solar radiation and gravity
into account.

In summary, the mass of Earth's atmosphere is distributed approximately as follows:[36]

50% is below 5.6 km (18,000 ft).

90% is below 16 km (52,000 ft).
99.99997% is below 100 km (62 mi; 330,000 ft), the Kármán line. By international convention,
this marks the beginning of space where human travelers are considered astronauts.

By comparison, the summit of Mt. Everest is at 8,848 m (29,029 ft); commercial airliners typically cruise
between 10 and 13 km (33,000 and 43,000 ft) where the thinner air improves fuel economy; weather balloons
reach 30.4 km (100,000 ft) and above; and the highest X-15 flight in 1963 reached 108.0 km (354,300 ft).

Even above the Kármán line, significant atmospheric effects such as auroras still occur. Meteors begin to glow
in this region, though the larger ones may not burn up until they penetrate more deeply. The various layers of
Earth's ionosphere, important to HF radio propagation, begin below 100 km and extend beyond 500 km. By
comparison, the International Space Station and Space Shuttle typically orbit at 350–400 km, within the F-
layer of the ionosphere where they encounter enough atmospheric drag to require reboosts every few months.
Depending on solar activity, satellites can experience noticeable atmospheric drag at altitudes as high as 700–
800 km.

Temperature and speed of sound

The division of the atmosphere into layers mostly by reference to

temperature is discussed above. Temperature decreases with altitude
starting at sea level, but variations in this trend begin above 11 km,
where the temperature stabilizes through a large vertical distance
through the rest of the troposphere. In the stratosphere, starting above
about 20 km, the temperature increases with height, due to heating
within the ozone layer caused by capture of significant ultraviolet
radiation from the Sun by the dioxygen and ozone gas in this region.
Still another region of increasing temperature with altitude occurs at
very high altitudes, in the aptly-named thermosphere above 90 km.

Because in an ideal gas of constant composition the speed of sound Temperature trends in two thick
depends only on temperature and not on the gas pressure or density, layers of the atmosphere as
the speed of sound in the atmosphere with altitude takes on the form measured between January 1979 and
of the complicated temperature profile (see illustration to the right), December 2005 by Microwave
and does not mirror altitudinal changes in density or pressure. Sounding Units and Advanced
Microwave Sounding Units on NOAA
weather satellites. The instruments
Density and mass record microwaves emitted from
oxygen molecules in the
The density of air at sea level is about 1.2 kg/m3 (1.2 g/L, 0.0012 atmosphere. Source:[37]
g/cm3 ). Density is not measured directly but is calculated from
measurements of temperature, pressure and humidity using the
equation of state for air (a form of the ideal gas law). Atmospheric
density decreases as the altitude increases. This variation can be
approximately modeled using the barometric formula. More
sophisticated models are used to predict orbital decay of satellites.

The average mass of the atmosphere is about 5 quadrillion (5 × 1015 )

tonnes or 1/1,200,000 the mass of Earth. According to the American
National Center for Atmospheric Research, "The total mean mass of
Temperature and mass density
the atmosphere is 5.1480 × 1018 kg with an annual range due to water
against altitude from the NRLMSISE-
vapor of 1.2 or 1.5 × 1015 kg, depending on whether surface pressure
00 standard atmosphere model (the
or water vapor data are used; somewhat smaller than the previous eight dotted lines in each "decade"
estimate. The mean mass of water vapor is estimated as are at the eight cubes 8, 27, 64, ...,
1.27 × 1016 kg and the dry air mass as 5.1352 ±0.0003 × 1018 kg." 729)

Optical properties
Solar radiation (or sunlight) is the energy Earth receives from the Sun. Earth also emits radiation back into
space, but at longer wavelengths that we cannot see. Part of the incoming and emitted radiation is absorbed or
reflected by the atmosphere. In May 2017, glints of light, seen as twinkling from an orbiting satellite a million
miles away, were found to be reflected light from ice crystals in the atmosphere.[38][39]
Scattering

When light passes through Earth's atmosphere, photons interact with it through scattering. If the light does not
interact with the atmosphere, it is called direct radiation and is what you see if you were to look directly at the
Sun. Indirect radiation is light that has been scattered in the atmosphere. For example, on an overcast day
when you cannot see your shadow there is no direct radiation reaching you, it has all been scattered. As
another example, due to a phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering, shorter (blue) wavelengths scatter more
easily than longer (red) wavelengths. This is why the sky looks blue; you are seeing scattered blue light. This
is also why sunsets are red. Because the Sun is close to the horizon, the Sun's rays pass through more
atmosphere than normal to reach your eye. Much of the blue light has been scattered out, leaving the red light
in a sunset.

Absorption

Different molecules absorb different wavelengths of radiation. For

example, O2 and O3 absorb almost all wavelengths shorter than 300
nanometers. Water (H2 O) absorbs many wavelengths above 700 nm.
When a molecule absorbs a photon, it increases the energy of the
molecule. This heats the atmosphere, but the atmosphere also cools by
emitting radiation, as discussed below. Rough plot of Earth's atmospheric
transmittance (or opacity) to various
The combined absorption spectra of the gases in the atmosphere leave wavelengths of electromagnetic
"windows" of low opacity, allowing the transmission of only certain radiation, including visible light.
bands of light. The optical window runs from around 300 nm
(ultraviolet-C) up into the range humans can see, the visible spectrum
(commonly called light), at roughly 400–700 nm and continues to the infrared to around 1100 nm. There are
also infrared and radio windows that transmit some infrared and radio waves at longer wavelengths. For
example, the radio window runs from about one centimeter to about eleven-meter waves.

Emission

Emission is the opposite of absorption, it is when an object emits radiation. Objects tend to emit amounts and
wavelengths of radiation depending on their "black body" emission curves, therefore hotter objects tend to
emit more radiation, with shorter wavelengths. Colder objects emit less radiation, with longer wavelengths. For
example, the Sun is approximately 6,000 K (5,730 °C; 10,340 °F), its radiation peaks near 500 nm, and is
visible to the human eye. Earth is approximately 290 K (17 °C; 62 °F), so its radiation peaks near 10,000 nm,
and is much too long to be visible to humans.

Because of its temperature, the atmosphere emits infrared radiation. For example, on clear nights Earth's
surface cools down faster than on cloudy nights. This is because clouds (H2 O) are strong absorbers and
emitters of infrared radiation. This is also why it becomes colder at night at higher elevations.

The greenhouse effect is directly related to this absorption and emission effect. Some gases in the atmosphere
absorb and emit infrared radiation, but do not interact with sunlight in the visible spectrum. Common examples
of these are CO2 and H2 O.

Refractive index
The refractive index of air is close to, but just greater than 1.
Systematic variations in refractive index can lead to the bending of
light rays over long optical paths. One example is that, under some
circumstances, observers onboard ships can see other vessels just over
the horizon because light is refracted in the same direction as the
curvature of Earth's surface.

The refractive index of air depends on temperature,[40] giving rise to

refraction effects when the temperature gradient is large. An example
of such effects is the mirage.

Distortive effect of atmospheric

Circulation refraction upon the shape of the sun
at the horizon.
Atmospheric circulation is the large-scale movement of air through the
troposphere, and the means (with ocean circulation) by which heat is
distributed around Earth. The large-scale structure of the atmospheric
circulation varies from year to year, but the basic structure remains
fairly constant because it is determined by Earth's rotation rate and the
difference in solar radiation between the equator and poles.

Evolution of Earth's atmosphere

Earliest atmosphere

The first atmosphere consisted of gases in the solar nebula, primarily An idealised view of three pairs of
hydrogen. There were probably simple hydrides such as those now large circulation cells.
found in the gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn), notably water vapor,
methane and ammonia.[41]

Second atmosphere

Outgassing from volcanism, supplemented by gases produced during the late heavy bombardment of Earth by
huge asteroids, produced the next atmosphere, consisting largely of nitrogen plus carbon dioxide and inert
gases.[41] A major part of carbon-dioxide emissions dissolved in water and reacted with metals such as
calcium and magnesium during weathering of crustal rocks to form carbonates that were deposited as
sediments. Water-related sediments have been found that date from as early as 3.8 billion years ago.[42]

About 3.4 billion years ago, nitrogen formed the major part of the then stable "second atmosphere". The
influence of life has to be taken into account rather soon in the history of the atmosphere, because hints of
early life-forms appear as early as 3.5 billion years ago.[43] How Earth at that time maintained a climate warm
enough for liquid water and life, if the early Sun put out 30% lower solar radiance than today, is a puzzle
known as the "faint young Sun paradox".

The geological record however shows a continuous relatively warm surface during the complete early
temperature record of Earth – with the exception of one cold glacial phase about 2.4 billion years ago. In the
late Archean Eon an oxygen-containing atmosphere began to develop, apparently produced by
photosynthesizing cyanobacteria (see Great Oxygenation Event), which have been found as stromatolite
fossils from 2.7 billion years ago. The early basic carbon isotopy (isotope ratio proportions) strongly suggests
conditions similar to the current, and that the fundamental features of the carbon cycle became established as
early as 4 billion years ago.

Ancient sediments in the Gabon dating from between about 2.15 and 2.08 billion years ago provide a record
of Earth's dynamic oxygenation evolution. These fluctuations in oxygenation were likely driven by the
Lomagundi carbon isotope excursion.[44]

Third atmosphere

The constant re-arrangement of continents by plate tectonics

influences the long-term evolution of the atmosphere by transferring
carbon dioxide to and from large continental carbonate stores. Free
oxygen did not exist in the atmosphere until about 2.4 billion years
ago during the Great Oxygenation Event and its appearance is
indicated by the end of the banded iron formations.

Before this time, any oxygen produced by photosynthesis was

consumed by oxidation of reduced materials, notably iron. Molecules Oxygen content of the atmosphere
of free oxygen did not start to accumulate in the atmosphere until the over the last billion years[45][46]
rate of production of oxygen began to exceed the availability of
reducing materials that removed oxygen. This point signifies a shift
from a reducing atmosphere to an oxidizing atmosphere. O2 showed major variations until reaching a steady
state of more than 15% by the end of the Precambrian.[47] The following time span from 541 million years ago
to the present day is the Phanerozoic Eon, during the earliest period of which, the Cambrian, oxygen-requiring
metazoan life forms began to appear.

The amount of oxygen in the atmosphere has fluctuated over the last 600 million years, reaching a peak of
about 30% around 280 million years ago, significantly higher than today's 21%. Two main processes govern
changes in the atmosphere: Plants using carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and releasing oxygen, and then
plants using some oxygen at night by the process of photorespiration with the remainder of the oxygen being
used to breakdown adjacent organic material. Breakdown of pyrite and volcanic eruptions release sulfur into
the atmosphere, which oxidizes and hence reduces the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere. However,
volcanic eruptions also release carbon dioxide, which plants can convert to oxygen. The exact cause of the
variation of the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere is not known. Periods with much oxygen in the
atmosphere are associated with rapid development of animals. Today's atmosphere contains 21% oxygen,
which is great enough for this rapid development of animals.[48]

Air pollution

Air pollution is the introduction into the atmosphere of chemicals, particulate matter or biological materials that
cause harm or discomfort to organisms.[49] Stratospheric ozone depletion is caused by air pollution, chiefly
from chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone-depleting substances.

The scientific consensus is that the anthropogenic greenhouse gases currently accumulating in the atmosphere
are the main cause of climate change.[50]

Images from space

On October 19, 2015, NASA started a website containing daily
images of the full sunlit side of Earth on http://epic.gsfc.nasa.gov/.
The images are taken from the Deep Space Climate Observatory
(DSCOVR) and show Earth as it rotates during a day.[51]

Play media
Animation shows the buildup of
tropospheric CO2 in the Northern
Hemisphere with a maximum around
May. The maximum in the vegetation
cycle follows in the late summer.
Following the peak in vegetation, the
drawdown of atmospheric CO2 due to
photosynthesis is apparent,
particularly over the boreal forests.

Blue light is scattered The geomagnetic storms Limb view, of Earth's

more than other cause displays of aurora atmosphere. Colors
wavelengths by the gases across the atmosphere. roughly denote the layers
in the atmosphere, giving of the atmosphere.
Earth a blue halo when
seen from space.
This image shows the Earth's atmosphere backlit
Moon at the centre, with by the Sun in an eclipse
the limb of Earth near the observed from deep
bottom transitioning into space onboard Apollo 12
the orange-colored in 1969.
troposphere. The
troposphere ends abruptly
at the tropopause, which
appears in the image as
the sharp boundary
between the orange- and
blue-colored atmosphere.
The silvery-blue
noctilucent clouds extend
far above Earth's
troposphere.

See also
Aerial perspective
Air (classical element)
Air glow
Airshed
Atmospheric dispersion modeling
Atmospheric electricity
Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility (ARM) (in the U.S.)
Atmospheric stratification
Biosphere
Climate system
Earth's energy budget
COSPAR international reference atmosphere (CIRA)
Environmental impact of aviation
Global dimming
Historical temperature record
Hydrosphere
Hypermobility (travel)
 Kyoto Protocol
Leaching (agriculture)
Lithosphere
Reference atmospheric model

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External links
Interactive global map of current atmospheric and ocean surface conditions. (https://earth.nullsc
hool.net/)

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