3
The Atmosphere, the Natural Cycles,
and the “Greenhouse Effect”
Abstract
In this chapter, the structure of the atmosphere is presented with the natural
cycles of several species. The natural green house effect is discussed and the way
in which CO 2 and other GHGs contribute to its enhancement is analyzed.
3.1 The Atmosphere and Its Structure
Our planet Earth is surrounded by a gaseous mass that is structured as shown in
Fig. 3.1.
The troposphere is the layer closer to the surface of our planet. The composition
of the atmosphere is given in Chap. 1, W1. It varies with altitude, as heavier gases
are more abundant close to the surface and lighter gases in the higher layers. The
estimated total mass of the atmosphere is 5.14 10
15 t with roughly 80% in the
troposphere, [1b] its average density 1.2 g/L, and the average mass of water present
in it 1.25 10
13 t mainly as vapor or condensed forms at high altitude. The temperature of the atmosphere decreases quite rapidly from 0 to 13 km above the
surface where it can be as low as −60 °C, then remains quite constant in the
tropopause and starts to grow again up to ca. 0 °C at 50 km above the surface, and
decreases again up to −80 °C reaching the height of 85 km. Other parameters of
interest for understanding the behavior of the atmosphere are the specific heat at
constant pressure (C p ) and at constant volume (C v ) that are equal to 1.00 kJ/kg K
and 0.718 kJ/kg K at 27 °C (300 K), respectively. C p and C v indicate the amount of
heat necessary to rise by 1° the temperature of 1 kg of air at 27 °C (300 K), either
keeping constant the pressure (C p ) or the volume of the mass of gas (C v ).
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
M. Aresta and A. Dibenedetto, The Carbon Dioxide Revolution,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59061-1_3
31
The Atmosphere, the Natural Cycles,
and the “Greenhouse Effect”
Abstract
In this chapter, the structure of the atmosphere is presented with the natural
cycles of several species. The natural green house effect is discussed and the way
in which CO 2 and other GHGs contribute to its enhancement is analyzed.
3.1 The Atmosphere and Its Structure
Our planet Earth is surrounded by a gaseous mass that is structured as shown in
Fig. 3.1.
The troposphere is the layer closer to the surface of our planet. The composition
of the atmosphere is given in Chap. 1, W1. It varies with altitude, as heavier gases
are more abundant close to the surface and lighter gases in the higher layers. The
estimated total mass of the atmosphere is 5.14 10
15 t with roughly 80% in the
troposphere, [1b] its average density 1.2 g/L, and the average mass of water present
in it 1.25 10
13 t mainly as vapor or condensed forms at high altitude. The temperature of the atmosphere decreases quite rapidly from 0 to 13 km above the
surface where it can be as low as −60 °C, then remains quite constant in the
tropopause and starts to grow again up to ca. 0 °C at 50 km above the surface, and
decreases again up to −80 °C reaching the height of 85 km. Other parameters of
interest for understanding the behavior of the atmosphere are the specific heat at
constant pressure (C p ) and at constant volume (C v ) that are equal to 1.00 kJ/kg K
and 0.718 kJ/kg K at 27 °C (300 K), respectively. C p and C v indicate the amount of
heat necessary to rise by 1° the temperature of 1 kg of air at 27 °C (300 K), either
keeping constant the pressure (C p ) or the volume of the mass of gas (C v ).
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
M. Aresta and A. Dibenedetto, The Carbon Dioxide Revolution,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59061-1_3
31