Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The omega equation is a culminating result in synoptic-scale meteorology. It is an elliptic partial differential equation , named because its left-hand side produces an estimate of vertical velocity, customarily [ 1 ] expressed by symbol ω {\displaystyle \omega } , in a pressure coordinate measuring height the atmosphere.
For example, O 2 and O 3 absorb almost all radiation with wavelengths shorter than 300 nanometres. Water (H 2 O) absorbs at 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.
Atmospheric chemistry is a branch of atmospheric science that studies the chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere and that of other planets. This multidisciplinary approach of research draws on environmental chemistry, physics, meteorology, computer modeling, oceanography, geology and volcanology, climatology and other disciplines to understand both natural and human-induced changes in atmospheric ...
About 99% of the Earth's atmosphere is composed of two species of diatomic molecules: nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (21%). The natural abundance of hydrogen (H 2) in the Earth's atmosphere is only of the order of parts per million, but H 2 is the most abundant diatomic molecule in the universe. The interstellar medium is dominated by hydrogen atoms.
The pressure (force per unit area) at a given altitude is a result of the weight of the overlying atmosphere. If at a height of z the atmosphere has density ρ and pressure P, then moving upwards an infinitesimally small height dz will decrease the pressure by amount dP, equal to the weight of a layer of atmosphere of thickness dz.
Consider a body (for example a fixed volume of atmosphere) moving along at a given latitude at velocity in the Earth's rotating reference frame. In the local reference frame of the body, the vertical direction is parallel to the radial vector pointing from the center of the Earth to the location of the body and the horizontal direction is perpendicular to this vertical direction and in the ...
Oxygen gas is the second most common component of the Earth's atmosphere, taking up 20.8% of its volume and 23.1% of its mass (some 10 15 tonnes). [19] [70] [d] Earth is unusual among the planets of the Solar System in having such a high concentration of oxygen gas in its atmosphere: Mars (with 0.1% O 2 by volume) and Venus have much less. The O
The Earth's atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere together hold less than 0.05% of the Earth's total mass of oxygen. Besides O 2 , additional oxygen atoms are present in various forms spread throughout the surface reservoirs in the molecules of biomass , H 2 O , CO 2 , HNO 3 , NO , NO 2 , CO , H 2 O 2 , O 3 , SO 2 , H 2 SO 4 , MgO , CaO ...