The Ozone Layer and the Atmosphere

Alyssa

Background Information: Ozone Layer

This web page is about the Ozone layer. The ozone layer is a layer in the atmosphere, 19 to 48 km above the surface of the Earth. The ozone acts as a web that lets the heat from the sun, through and down to the Earth. It also keeps the radiationform the sun out of the atmosphere.

Through time we have been burning many "Greenhouse Gases" such as Methane, Carbon Dioxide, and Nitrous Oxide. When we use cars, hair srays and manufacture meterials these gases are sent into the atmosphere. A chemical called chlorofluorocarbons or CFC's {found in hair spray} have now started to pose a problem to the Ozone layer. These chemicals rise into the air and are broken down in the sunlight. The chlorine molecules then destroy ozone molecules. There is now a "hole" in the ozone layer. The sun is sending heat down but there is nothing to keep the U.V {Ultra Violet} radiation down onto Earth. This radiation has proven to increase the cause of skin cancer.

Background Information: The Atmosphere

The Earth's atmosphere is made up of six layer's. They are the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesophere, the thermosphere, the exosphere, and the ionosphere. The troposphere is the layer nearest to the ground. It measures from the earth's surface to 12 km. It is the warmest because it is so close to the earth. The second layer is the stratosphere. It is 48km thick and the Ozone layer is located there. The next layer is the mesophere. It is 40km thick and as you rise in the atmosphere the tempature decreses. The fourth layer is called the thermosphere. It is approximately 50km thick. The temperature here is always rising because this layer absorbs solar radiation using nitrogen and oxygen atoms. The next layer is the exosphere. It is 150km thick. This is the layer where space begins. The last layer is the ionosphere, it consists of the stratoshere, the mesophere, the thermosphere ,and the exosphere together. The whole atmosphere is made of certain gasses. The atmosphere is made up of approximately 79% Nitrogen, 20% Oxygen and 1% other gasses. Some of these gasses are greenhouse gasses as you have already read up at the top under background information