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The thermosphere contains an appreciable concentration of elemental sodium located in a 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) thick band that occurs at the edge of the mesosphere, 80 to 100 kilometres (50 to 62 mi) above Earth's surface. The sodium has an average concentration of 400,000 atoms per cubic centimeter.
Total atmospheric mass is 5.1480 × 10 18 kg (1.13494 × 10 19 lb), [42] 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 ...
From Earths surface to the top of the stratosphere (50 km) is just under 1% of Earth's radius. The mesosphere (/ ˈ m ɛ s ə s f ɪər, ˈ m ɛ z-, ˈ m iː s ə-,-z ə-/; [1] from Ancient Greek μέσος (mésos) 'middle' and -sphere) is the third layer of the atmosphere, directly above the stratosphere and directly below the thermosphere.
The temperature of the air near the surface of the Earth is measured at meteorological observatories and weather stations, usually using thermometers placed in a shelter such as a Stevenson screen—a standardized, well-ventilated, white-painted instrument shelter. The thermometers should be positioned 1.25–2 m above the ground.
The Earth's weather is a consequence of its illumination by the Sun and the laws of thermodynamics. The atmospheric circulation can be viewed as a heat engine driven by the Sun's energy and whose energy sink, ultimately, is the blackness of space. The work produced by that engine causes the motion of the masses of air, and in that process it ...
Diagram showing the five primary layers of the Earth's atmosphere: exosphere, thermosphere, mesosphere, stratosphere, and troposphere. The layers are not to scale. The stratosphere (/ ˈ s t r æ t ə ˌ s f ɪər,-t oʊ-/) is the second-lowest layer of the atmosphere of Earth, located above the troposphere and below the mesosphere.
The thermopause is the atmospheric boundary of Earth's energy system, located at the top of the thermosphere. [1] The temperature of the thermopause could range from nearly absolute zero to 987.547 °C (1,810 °F).
The atmosphere of Earth is composed of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), argon (0.9%), carbon dioxide (0.04%) and trace gases. [2] Most organisms use oxygen for respiration ; lightning and bacteria perform nitrogen fixation which produces ammonia that is used to make nucleotides and amino acids ; plants , algae , and cyanobacteria use carbon ...