GEG-1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 25: Ideal Gas Law, Water Vapor, Lapse Rate
Document Summary
No absolute top of atmosphere, just fewer molecules. Almost no gas molecules above 100 km. Nitrogen 78% oxygen 21% argon just under 1% Residence time: how long will a typical molecule last in atmosphere. Niitrogen- some plants take n2 out of the air and put it in soil, uses other plants, released back to atmosphere as plants & animals die and decompose. Oxygen o2 removed by breathing animals (and other processes). Small fractions but we need them to stay alive. Water vapor: 0. 25% of total, but varies spatially. Carbon dioxide: other gases in steady state equilibrium. Amounts are highly variable in time and space. Zones based on pattern of temp. change with height. Troposphere: surface to ~ 11 km; cools with height. Environmental lapse rate: -6. 5 degrees c per 1000m (typical, but varies) As you go up, less air, temp. drops. Ideal gas law: pressure drops, temp also drops (keeping volume constant). Tropopause: 11 to 20 km, temp constant.
