STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION OF THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE (HILARIO)

1.1 COMPOSITION OF EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE

The Earth’s atmosphere is composed of different gasses and particles. C.W. Montgomery (2011), said

that the atmosphere consists of three principal elements, on average, Nitrogen comprised of 77% of the

total weight; oxygen, about 23%; the inert gas argon, close to 1%; water vapor with significantly up to 3%

of the total and everything else in the atmosphere together makes up less than 1% of it. In addition to this,

the atmosphere also contains huge number of solids and liquids particles called “aerosols” [CITATION

Tiw \l 1033 ].

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a meteorologically a very important gas and is largely responsible for the

greenhouse effect. When the volume of other gases remains constant in the atmosphere, the volume of

the carbon dioxide has been rising in the past few decades mainly because of the burning of fossil fuels.

This rising volume of carbon dioxide is the main reason for global warming. [ CITATION Cle17 \l 1033 ]

According to A.E. Egger, the major components of the atmosphere vary little today, they have changed

dramatically over Earth's history, about 4.6 billion years. The early atmosphere was hardly the life-

sustaining blanket of air that it is today; most geologists believe that the main constituents then were

nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide, but no free oxygen. In fact, there is no evidence for free oxygen in the

atmosphere until about 2 billion years ago, when photosynthesizing bacteria evolved and began taking in

atmospheric carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. The amount of oxygen in the atmosphere has risen

steadily from 0 percent 2 billion years ago to about 21 percent today.

1.2 STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE

The Earth’s atmosphere can be divided into 5 different layers depending on the diversity of

temperature and density. The 5 layers of the atmosphere are troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere,

thermosphere or ionosphere, and exosphere.

The troposphere is the atmospheric layer between the earth’s surface and an altitude of 8 km at the

poles and 18 km at the equator. The thickness is greater at the equator, because the heated air rises to

greater heights. The troposphere ends with the tropopause. The temperature in this layer, as one goes

upwards, falls at the rate ‘ of 6.5°C per kilometre, and reaches -45°C at the poles and -80°C over the
equator at tropopause[ CITATION Tiw \l 1033 ] . According to ClearIAS (2017), the air in this layer never

remains static, therefore, calling this layer the “changing sphere” or troposphere and the environmental

temperature decreases with increasing height of the atmosphere (decreasing at the rate of 1 degree

Celsius every 165 m of height), thus calling it Normal Lapse Rate.

The second layer is the stratosphere. It lies beyond troposphere, up to an altitude of 50 km from the

earth’s surface. The temperature in this layer remains constant for some distance but then rises to reach

a level of 0°C at 50 km altitude. This rise is due to the presence of ozone. Sometimes, cirrus clouds are

present at lower levels in this layer[ CITATION Tiw \l 1033 ] . ClearIAS (2017), stated that, weather related

incident do not take place in this layer, the air blows horizontally here. Therefore this layer is considered

ideal for flying of aircraft.

Third layer is the mesosphere. Tiwari (2014),stated that, this is an intermediate layer beyond the

ozone layer and continues upto an altitude of 80 km from the earth’s surface. The temperature gradually

falls to -100°C at 80 km altitude. Meteors or falling stars occur in this layer and the upper limit of the

mesosphere is known as mesopause[ CITATION Cle17 \l 1033 ].

The fourth layer is the thermosphere or the ionosphere. This layer is located between 80 km and 400

km and is an electrically charged layer. This layer is characterized by ionisation of atoms. Because of the

electric charge, radio waves transmitted from the earth are reflected back to the earth by this layer.

Temperature again starts increasing with height because of radiation from the sun [ CITATION Tiw \l

1033 ].

The last and the outermost layer is the exosphere. According to P. Tawari (2014), this is the

uppermost layer of the atmosphere extending beyond the ionosphere above a height of about 400 km.

The air is extremely rarefied and the temperature gradually increases through the layer. Gases are very

sparse in this sphere due to the lack of gravitational force. Therefore, the density of air is very less

here[ CITATION Cle17 \l 1033 ].

POLLUTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE (PELAYO)

1.1 Pollution
 The problem caused by pollution can go beyond its effects to man, it can also affect plants and

animal directly through environmental contact and/or simply respiration and being consumers in the food

chain. and Atmospheric pollutants can either be solid such as soot, dust, pollens and residue of chemical

usage and gases such as sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxides, oxides of nitrogen and hydrocarbons.

According to Holtzclaw and Robinson (1981), the partial effects of the most common gases are as

follows:

 Sulfur Oxides - cause acute leaf injuries and attract trees; irritate human respiratory tract; corrode

metals and other building materials; disintegrate book pages and leathers; ruin textiles and paint

pigment; errode statues and is the principal cause of acid rain.

 Particulates (solids) - obscure vision; aggravate lung illnesses; deposit grime on buildings and

personal belongings; corrode metals.

 Carbon monoxide - causes headaches, dizziness and nausea; reduces oxygen in the blood

impairing mental processes; in sufficient amount, death.

 Nitrogen Oxides - causes leaf damage and stunt plant growth; irritate eyes and nasal membrane;

cause brown pungent haze; corrode metals and other building materials; damge rubber; smog

produced from the reaction induces by sunlight in a mixture of nitrogen oxides, ozone and

hydrocarbons.

 Hydrocarbons - may be carcinogenic; retard plan growth and cause abnormal leaf an dbud

development; produce smog with nitrogen oxide and ozone.

 Photochemical oxidants:

a. Ozone and resultant chemical products - discolor leaves of many

crops, trees, and shrubs; damage and fade textiles; reduce physical abilitity including

athletic performance; speed deterioration of rubber; disturb lung functions; irritate eyes,

nose and throat; induce coughing; produce smog with nitrogen oxides and

hydrocarbons.

b. Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) - discolors leaves; iritates eyes;

distrubs lung functions.

gasoline and natural gases which are largely hydrocarbons. If combustion takes place completely, carbon

burns and produce only carbon dioxide while hydrocarbons produce carbon dioxide and water. Other

materials contributing to arepollution may come from vaporization of liquid, introduction to the air through

abraision of solid particles or grinding of materials.

1.2 Air Pollution affecting Climate Change

Air pollution includes greenhouse gases. One of these is carbon dioxide, a common part of the

exhaust from cars and trucks. Greenhouse gases cause global warming by trapping heat from the sun in

the Earth’s atmosphere. Greenhouse gases are a natural part of the atmosphere but in the last 150 years,

the amount present has increased (Gardiner, 2008).

These materials emit radiation which depletes the ozone layer and its infrared absorption band, the

strongest band traps the heat escaping the earth's atmosphere thus, increasing the surface temperature

and contributes to global warming. The strength of the of the chlorofluorocarbon as well as the

susceptbility of the atmosphere to foreign objects are both factors affecting the greenhouse effect of the

chloroflouorcarbons. Where the atmosphere is thin and transparent, the effect of the greenhouse gas is

increased. When these gases trap the heat of the sun which should have bounced back to the space, the

overall surface temperature of the earth increases in relative to the amount of greenhouse gas present.

1.3 Effects of Climate Change

According to NASA (2018), global climate change has already observable effects in the

environment like the melting of glaciers, increase in the level of the seas, plants and animals have shifted

and trees are flowering sooner. Effects that the scientists predicted in the past are occuring: loss of sea

ice, accelerated rise in sea level, and more intense heat waves.
 Due to climate change, the length of frost-free season has increased relatively which means that

there are more tie to harvest good crops that leads to the development of a country’s economy and it still

still projected to lengthen over time. In contrary to longer crop season, there will also be longer drought

seasons wherein the soil are not suitable for planting and summer temperature are expected to rise.

Evident today, typhoons have become stronger as the water from the oceans become warmer resulting to

more intense typhoons as wel as monsoons and rainfalls that accompany it. Typhoons also for, faster in

the oceans due to increase in relative temperature and are projected to increase as the climate continues

to increase. Due to the glacier melting, the sea level are expected to rise at a slow and gradual level

continually every year having dominant effects to countries near the sea level.

NITROGEN CYCLE (LORETO)

Introduction

The atmosphere consists of 78% nitrogen by volume and 75% by weight. There are more than 20 million

tons of nitrogen over every square mile of the earth’s surface. Nitrogen is an essential constituent of all

plants and animals; it is present principally in proteins, complex organic materials that contain carbon,

hydrogen, and oxygen as well. Although nitrogen is beyond abundant in the atmosphere, existing in the

form of dinitrogen gas(N2), it is largely inaccessible in this form to most organisms. This results in

nitrogen becoming a scarce resource and more often than not, the limiting primary productivity in many

ecosystems

Nitrogen transformation processes

In addition to N2 and NH3, nitrogen exists in many different forms, including both inorganic (e.g., ammonia,

nitrate) and organic (e.g., amino and nucleic acids) forms. Thus, nitrogen undergoes many different

transformations in the ecosystem, changing from one form to another as organisms use it for growth and,

in some cases, energy. The major transformations of nitrogen are nitrogen fixation, nitrification,

denitrification, assimilation, and ammonification. The transformation of nitrogen into its many oxidation

states is key to productivity in the biosphere and is highly dependent on the activities of a diverse

assemblage of microorganisms, such as bacteria, archaea, and fungi.

Nitrogen fixation is the process wherein N2 is converted to ammonium, or NH 4+. This is the only way that

organisms can attain nitrogen directly from the atmosphere; the few that can do this are called nitrogen-

fixing organisms. Certain bacteria, including those among the genus Rhizobium, are able to fix nitrogen

(or convert it to ammonium) through metabolic processes, analogous to the way mammals convert

oxygen to CO2 when they breathe. In addition to nitrogen-fixing bacteria, high-energy natural events such

as lightning, forest fires, and even hot lava flows can cause the fixation of smaller, but significant,

amounts of nitrogen. Between 5x1012 and 10x1012 g per year are fixed by lightning strikes, but most

fixation is done by free-living or symbiotic bacteria known as diazotrophs. The high energy of these

natural phenomena can break the triple bonds of N2 molecules, thereby making individual N atoms

available for chemical transformation.

When an organism excretes waste or dies, the nitrogen in its tissues is in the form of organic nitrogen

(e.g. amino acids, DNA). Various fungi and prokaryotes then decompose the tissue and release inorganic

nitrogen back into the ecosystem as ammonia in the process known as ammonification. Simply,

ammonification is the process of making ammonia or ammonium ions by living things. Ammonia then

becomes available for uptake by plants and other microorganisms for growth.

Nitrification

The process of nitrification is caused by the sequential action of two separate groups of soil bacteria,

namely the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and the nitrite-oxidizing bacteria. These bacteria obtain energy

through the consumption of nitrogen compounds and feed exclusively on inorganic compounds. The end

product of nitrification is nitrate, however, nitrification is a two-step process. Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria

convert ammonium ions into nitrite first. Nextly, nitrite-oxidizing bacteria oxidize nitrite into nitrate.

Assimilation

Plants can absorb nitrate or ammonium from the soil via their root hairs. This process is called

assimilation, nitrogen compounds in various forms, such as nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, and ammonium are

taken up from soils by plants which are then used in the formation of plant and animal proteins.
Denitrification

The conversion of nitrate into gaseous nitrogen compounds such as N2O, NO, and N2 by different

bacteria in soils is called denitrification, or nitrate reduction. The bacteria make use of the nitrate as

substitute for oxygen during respiration, converting it to different compounds based on the following chain

of reactions: NO-3 → NO-2 → NO → N2O → N2. The result being Dinitrogen gas being the ultimate end

product, but with other intermediate gaseous forms of nitrogen accompanied with it. Nitrogen is eventually

released into the atmosphere as N2O and NO or as N2. At the same time, bacteria will be acting to

decompose significant amounts of organic matter within the soil.

Conclusion

Nitrogen is arguably the most important nutrient in regulating primary productivity and species diversity in

both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Although the majority of the air we breathe is N 2, molecular

nitrogen cannot be used directly to sustain life. Microbially-driven processes such as nitrogen fixation,

nitrification, and denitrification, constitute the bulk of nitrogen transformations, and play a critical role in

the fate of nitrogen in the Earth's ecosystems.

VARIATION IN PRESSURE, TEMPERATURE, AND COMPOSITION (PIAMONTE)

Vertical Structure of the Atmosphere

A. Vertical change of composition

According to the homogeneity of atmospheric composition, there can be two distinct layers on the

atmosphere—the lower layer which is about 80 km in altitude from the sea level is the homosphere,

where the continuous turbulent mixing of composition of the atmosphere is stable for chemical species

which have long mean residence times and which, thereof, closed by a thin transition layer called

turbopause; above the turbopause, molecular diffusion dominates and the chemical composition of the

atmosphere becomes stratified and varies according to the molecular mass of chemical species. Nitrogen

and oxygen are the dominant gases in the lower heterosphere while helium and hydrogen dominate the

layer above this height. From about 60 km to 2000 km above the Earth’s surface is the upper part of the
atmosphere, called the ionosphere, which contains the ionic species or free radicals (O +, O2+, NO+, N2+,

free electrons), and high number of ioinized particles affect the transmission of radio waves. (Lagzi, et. Al,

2013)

Figure 1: Vertical structure of the atmosphere to chemical composition

B. Vertical profile of Pressure

Atmospheric pressure is caused by the

weight of the atmosphere pushing down on itself and on

the surface below it. Pressure is defined as the force

acting on an object divided by the area upon which the

force is acting. (Twicken, 1999) . Because gas pressure

is related to density, this low pressure means that there

are approximately one-third as many gas molecules

Figure 2: Vertical profile of pressure

2003)

C. Vertical temperature changes

Figure 3: Vertical temperature changes

The atmosphere is

divided into four layers in identifying the temperature changes of the atmosphere—troposphere,

stratosphere, mesosphere, and the thermosphere.

1. Troposphere. In troposphere, all water vapour and gas particles are found here and it

contains about 80% of the total mass of the atmosphere. The troposphere has a high

temperature on the lower part because the It is heated by the earth’s surface. The

temperature decreases as it increases in height from the earth’s surface. The temperature at

the top of the troposphere because it is affected by water vapour content.

2. Stratosphere. Temperature increases in the stratosphere because of the ozone. Ozone

strongly absorbs UV radiations from the sun that causes temperature increase in this layer.

Stratosphere holds only 19% of the total mass of the atmosphere and contains a very small

amount of water vapour.

upper part of the mesosphere is the mesopause which is the coldest part of the earth’s

atmosphere. The temperature in the mesopause is -100°C. Thin clouds made up of tiny

crystals are found in the mesosphere, which is called the noctilucent clouds.

4. Thermosphere. The temperature rises with increasing high in the thermosphere due to the

direct absorption of high energy solar radiation by atmospheric gases. Oxygen and nitrogen

in this layer absorb to much UV light and turn it into heat energy. The temperature in the

thermosphere can rise up to 1000°C.