GEOGRAPHY

ATMOSPHERE BASICS
Meteorology, Weather and Climate
• Meteorology is the scientific study of the
atmosphere.
• Weather refers to the state of the atmosphere
at a given time and place.
• ELEMENTS OF WEATHER & CLIMATE:
Temperature, Humidity, Clouds, Precipitation,
Air Pressure, Winds.
• Climate is what you expect, Weather is what
you get.

Climate
• Climate is an aggregate of weather conditions,
the sum of all statistical weather information
that helps describe a place or region.
• The most important elements of atmosphere :
1. air temperature,
2. humidity,
3. type and amount of cloudiness,
4. type and amount of precipitation,
5. air pressure, and
6. the speed and direction of the wind.
• Forcing – An agent that causes a change
in a system, such as a climate system. A
volcanic eruption is an example of a natural
forcing that can change the composition of
the atmosphere.

Earth’s Atmosphere
• Origin • Composition • Structure

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Atmospheric Differentiation

Structure of the Atmosphere

• One-half of the atmosphere lies
below an altitude of 5.6 kilometers.
About 16 kilometers above the
surface of the earth, about 90
percent of the atmosphere has been
covered.
• The earth’s atmosphere consists of
zones or layers arranged like spherical
shells according to altitude above the
earth’s surface.

The atmosphere is divided

into the following more
significant spheres, based
on temperature differences
(Normal lapse rate 10C for
every 165 m):
1. Troposphere
2. Stratosphere
3. Ozonosphere
4. Mesosphere
5. Ionosphere
6. Exosphere

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Troposphere
• The term literally means the region where air “turns over,” (vertical mixing of air in this lowermost
zone).
• The temperature decrease in the troposphere is called the environmental lapse rate (6.5°C per km).
• the thickness of the troposphere is not the same everywhere.(18 km in the tropics- 9km at poles).
• Warm surface temperatures and highly developed thermal mixing are responsible for the greater
vertical extent.
• The troposphere is the chief focus of meteorologists because it is in this layer that essentially all
important weather phenomena occur. ( thus called weather sphere)
• It contains 75% of atmospheric mass and 99% of Atmospheric water vapour.

Ionosphere
• Located in the altitude range between 80 to 400 km, and thus coinciding with the lower portions of the
thermosphere and heterosphere, is an electrically charged layer known as the ionosphere.
• Here molecules of N and atoms of O are readily ionized shortwave solar energy.
• Although ionization occurs at heights as great as 1000 km and extends as low as perhaps 50 km,
positively charged ions and negative electrons are most dense in the range of 80 to 400 km.
• It consists of three layers of varying ion density. From bottom to top, these layers are called the D, E,
and F layers, respectively.
• the ionosphere has little impact on our daily weather. But this layer of the atmosphere is the site of
one of nature’s most interesting spectacles, the auroras.

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STRUCTURE & COMPOSITION

Structure of the Atmosphere
• One-half of the atmosphere lies below an altitude of 5.6 kilometers. About 16 kilometers above the
surface of the earth, about 90 percent of the atmosphere has been covered.
• The earth’s atmosphere consists of zones or layers arranged like spherical shells according to altitude
above the earth’s surface.
• Homosphere : From Earth’s surface to an altitude of about 80 km, the makeup of the air is uniform in
terms of the proportions of its component gases. This lower uniform layer is termed the homosphere,
the zone of homogeneous composition.
• Heterosphere: In contrast, the very thin atmosphere above 80 km is not uniform. In this sphere of
heterogeneous composition, the gases are arranged into four roughly spherical shells, each with a
distinctive composition.

Heterosphere
• The stratified nature of the gases making up the
heterosphere varies according to their weights.
Molecular nitrogen is the heaviest, and so it is
lowest. The lightest gas, hydrogen, is outermost.
• Homosphere

Heating of Atmosphere
• Average Feb 2023 temp. has been reported 29.540C
(+ 1.730C)… World data since 1901, so 122 years’
hottest February
• La Nina phase has ended after 3 years (which causes
global temp. to cool) and we are going to El Nino
phase and expect more heat.
• Pre monsoon situation in central India as early as
February? Unprecedented.

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• El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a global coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon. The

Pacific ocean signatures, El Niño and La Niña are important temperature fluctuations in surface
waters of the tropical Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Altitudinal Variation of Temperature

• The rate of decrease of temperature with increasing altitudes in a stationary column of air with
absence of any vertical motion is 6.50C per 1000 metres.
• This decrease of temperature is called vertical temperature gradient or normal lapse rate.

Latitudinal Variation of Temperature

• The horizontal lapse refers to decrease of temperature with increasing latitudes.
• The lines joining the places of equal temperature at a given altitude are called isotherms.

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HEAT & TEMPERATURE

Temperature and Temperature Distribution
• The Primary source of energy of earth is sun.
• Earth intercepts only one in two billion of the total energy radiated by the sun.
• The incoming solar radiation is known as Insolation.
• The incoming solar radiation is in the form of short waves.
• The amount of solar energy received at the outer margins of our atmosphere is found to be constant. It is
1.94 calories/sq. cm./minute and is known as solar constant.
Temperature Distribution
• Factors controlling the distribution of insolation
• Processes of Heat energy transfer
Factors affecting the distribution of insolation
1. Angle of incidence
2. Longer the period of sunshine, larger the supply of radiation.
3. Transparency of the atmosphere.
4. Distance between the earth and Sun.
Earth has an elliptical orbit.
Perihelion and aphelion
Approximately 7% difference
5. Solar constant
very negligible change
variations caused by periodic disturbances and explosions in solar surface
Sunspot cycle – 11 years

Factors controlling Temperature

1. Insolation: Single greatest cause for
temperature variation.
2. Land and Water: Differential heating of
land and water surfaces.
Greater extremes of temperature over land than
over oceans. Temperature contrast between land
and oceans more in winter than in summer.
• Land Hemisphere: Water covers 61
percent of the Northern Hemisphere; land
represents the remaining 39 percent.
• However, the figures for the Southern
Hemisphere (81 percent water and 19
percent land) reveal why it is correctly called
the Water Hemisphere.

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3. Prevailing Winds: Windward coastal location has moderating influence of the oceans.
4. Ocean Currents: Warm currents raise the temperature of the coastal areas. Cold currents lower the
temperature e. g. N Atlantic drift, Benguella current.
5. Altitude: Atmosphere is heated from below by the terrestrial long wave radiations. Normal lapse rate
10C for every 165 m.
6. Aspect of Slope: Slopes more exposed to the sun receive more solar radiation e.g. Himalayas – southern
slope.

Insolation, Temperature & Heat Budget

Troposphere
• The troposphere is the chief focus
of meteorologists because it is in
this layer that essentially all
important weather phenomena
occur. ( Thus called weather
sphere - It contains 75% of
atmospheric mass and 99% of
Atmospheric water vapour)
• The term literally means the region
where air “turns over,” (vertical
mixing of air in this lowermost
zone).
• The thickness of the troposphere is not the same everywhere(18 km in
the tropics- 9km at poles).
• Warm surface temperatures and highly developed thermal mixing
are responsible for the greater vertical extent.

Ionosphere
• Located in the altitude range between 80 to 400
km, and thus coinciding with the lower portions of
the thermosphere and heterosphere, is an
electrically charged layer known as the ionosphere.
• Here molecules of N and atoms of O are readily
ionized shortwave solar energy.

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• It consists of three layers of varying ion density. From bottom to top, these layers are called the D, E, and
F layers, respectively.
• This layer of the atmosphere is the site of one of nature’s most interesting spectacles, the auroras.

Keppler’s Law
• Ptolemy and Copernicus relied on
assumptions, such as that the circle is a
“perfect” shape and all orbits must be
circular, Kepler showed that mathematically
a circular orbit could not match the data
for Mars, but that an elliptical orbit did match
the data!
• We now refer to the following statement as
Kepler’s First Law:
The planets orbit the Sun in ellipses with the Sun at
one focus (the other focus is empty).
• Kepler’s first law has several implications.
These are:
1. The distance between a planet and the Sun changes as the planet moves along its orbit.
2. The Sun is offset from the center of the planet’s orbit.

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Global Mean Sea Level Temperature (Jan)

Heat Budget
As scientists work to understand why global temperatures are rising and how carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases are changing the climate system, they have been auditing Earth’s energy budget.
Is more energy being absorbed by Earth than is being lost to space?

Albedo
• Albedo is the fraction of the incident
sunlight that is reflected from surface
of an object.
• A perfectly black surface has an albedo
of 0 (absorbs all radiations).
• A perfectly white surface has an albedo
of 1.0 (absorbs all radiations)

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Changing Albedo and Associated Warming

Scientists have been examining this balance sheet with a series of space-based sensors known as Clouds and
the Earth’s Radiant Energy System, or CERES.

Albedo Facts
• If Earth was completely covered in ice, its albedo would be about 0.84, meaning it would reflect most
(84 percent) of the sunlight that hit it.
• On the other hand, if Earth was covered by a dark green forest canopy, the albedo would be about
0.14 (most of the sunlight would get absorbed).
• Changes in ice cover, cloudiness, airborne pollution, or land cover (from forest to farmland, for
instance) all have subtle effects on global albedo.

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• Using satellite measurements accumulated since the late 1970s, scientists estimate Earth’s average
albedo is about about 0.30 (30% in percentage terms)

Surface Typical albedo

Fresh asphalt 0.04
Open ocean 0.06
Worn asphalt 0.12
Conifer forest (Summer) 0.08, 0.09 to 0.15
Deciduous trees 0.15 to 0.18
Bare soil 0.17
Green grass 0.25
Desert sand 0.4
New concrete 0.55
Ocean ice 0.5–0.7
Fresh snow 0.80–0.90

PRACTICE QUESTIONS
Q 1. Arrange the followings from lower 1. There are no clouds or water vapour in the
to upper layers in the atmosphere: lower stratosphere.
1. Stratosphere 2. There are no vertical winds in the lower
2. Ionosphere stratosphere
3. Troposphere Which of the statements given above
4. Mesosphere is/are correct?

Select the correct answer from the (a). 1 only

codes given below (b). 2 only
Codes:
(c). Both 1 and 2
(a). 1, 2, 3, 4
(d). Neither 1 nor 2
(b). 3, 1, 4, 2
Q 4. A layer in the Earth’s atmosphere called
(c). 3, 1, 2, 4 ionosphere facilities radio communication
(d). 1, 3, 2, 4 Why?
1. The presence of ozone causes the reflection
Q 2. Which of the following is not a
“greenhouse” gas? of radio waves to earth

(a). Water vapour 2. Radio waves have a very long wavelength

Which of the statements given above
(b). Carbon dioxide
is/are correct?
(c). CFCs
(a). 1 only
(d). Nitrogen
(b). 2 only
Q 3. The jet aircraft fly very easily and (c). (c) Both 1 and 2
smoothly in the lower stratosphere. What
could be the appropriate explanation? (d). (d) Neither 1 nor 2

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Q 5. Consider the following statements: 2. The albedo of Mercury is much greater

than the albedo of the Earth
1. The annual range of temperature is greater
Which of the statement(s) given above
in the Pacific Ocean than that in the Atlantic
is/are correct?
Ocean
(a). 1 only
2. The annual range of temperature is greater
in the Northern Hemisphere than that in (b). 2 only
the Southern Hemisphere. (c). Both 1 and 2
Which of the statements given above (d). Neither 1 nor 2
is/are correct?
Q 7. Which one of the following reflects
(a). 1 only back more sunlight as compared to
(b). 2 only other three?

(c). Both 1 and 2 (a). Sand desert

(d). Neither 1 nor 2 (b). Paddy crop land

Q 6. Consider the following statements: (c). Land covered with fresh snow
(d). Prairie land
1. The albedo of an object determines its
visual brightness when viewed with
reflected light.

2014 : GS Paper I
Q 1. Explain the formation of thousands of islands in Indonesian and Philippines archipelagos.

Q 2. Why are the world’s fold mountain systems located along the margins of continents?

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