Table of Contents
What happens to the air in the troposphere?
Air is warmest at the bottom of the troposphere near ground level. Air gets colder as one rises through the troposphere. That’s why the peaks of tall mountains can be snow-covered even in the summertime. Air pressure and the density of the air also decrease with altitude.
How does the earth heat the air in the troposphere after it is warmed?
Greenhouse gases warm the atmosphere by trapping heat. Some of the heat radiation out from the ground is trapped by greenhouse gases in the troposphere.
How is air in the troposphere heated?
The troposphere gets some of its heat directly from the Sun. Most, however, comes from Earth’s surface. The surface is heated by the Sun. Some of that heat radiates back into the air.
What happens to the temperature of air as it rises in the troposphere?
Higher up in the troposphere, where less heat from the surface warms the air, the temperature drops. Typically, the temperature drops about 6.5° C with each increase in altitude of 1 kilometer (about 3.6° F per 1,000 feet).
What moves air and thermal energy throughout the troposphere?
The bulk of heat energy transferred in the troposphere is done by convection. Convection does not only mean thunderstorm clouds but means any mixing of air. Air is always on the move (rising, sinking and advecting). The air mixes as it moves into the surrounding air.
What are the gases in the troposphere?
| COMPOSITION OF THE TROPOSPHERE | ||
|---|---|---|
| GAS | Today’s Amount % | Mesozoic* |
| Nitrogen | 78.0 | 70.0 |
| Oxygen | 21.0 | 27.0 |
| Argon | 0.9 | 0.9 |
Where does the troposphere get its heat from?
the Sun
What is the source of heat for the troposphere? Earth’s surface is a major source of heat for the troposphere, although nearly all of that heat comes from the Sun. Rock, soil, and water on Earth absorb the Sun’s light and radiate it back into the atmosphere as heat.
What causes heating in the troposphere?
The uneven heating of the regions of the troposphere by the sun ( the sun warms the air at the equator more than the air at the poles )causes convection currents, large-scale patterns of winds that move heat and moisture around the globe.
What happens to the temperature in the troposphere?
As the density of the gases in this layer decrease with height, the air becomes thinner. Therefore, the temperature in the troposphere also decreases with height in response. As one climbs higher, the temperature drops from an average around 62°F (17°C) to -60°F (-51°C) at the tropopause.
Why does air pressure decrease from troposphere to exosphere?
Chuck W. Atmospheric pressure in the troposphere drops by about 1 inch of mercury for every thousand feet of altitude above sea level. Gravity of the earth holds our atmosphere close to the surface, so the density (and pressure) of air gets gradually lower as you go to higher altitude.