Essay On Atmosphere

The atmosphere is defined as the gases surrounding the earth. The earth’s atmosphere is a thin layer of gases extending to about 80 km above the surface of the earth. There is no given end to the atmosphere, however it gets thinner the further you go and eventually the atmosphere merges with emissions emitted from the sun and into space. The atmosphere is made up of four parts: Troposphere, stratosphere; this is where ozone is formed by UV rays, the mesosphere and finally the thermosphere. The atmosphere is made up of a number of different components; however some are more abundant than others. Nitrogen makes up 78.08% of the atmosphere and oxygen makes up around 20.95%. Both gases together form a large proportion of the atmosphere; they make up around 99% of the atmosphere in terms of volume. Other components include: Argon, neon, methane and helium. (Smithson, Et al.)

The atmosphere is a vital part of life on earth. It provides the oxygen needed for breathing and provides a shield against harmful rays emitted from the sun and the interstellar particles. The atmosphere has always been linked with life. Humans breathe and the relationship with the air is so readily apparent. The connection became so strong within some elements of the 19th C science that the human soul was even thought of as a gas form. (Brimblecombe 2001, 35.) Due to the huge link between humans and the atmosphere, humans can have a huge impact on the atmosphere through a vast amount of ways; this can cause a number of problems including: Climate change, Smog, acid rain and other problems.

One of the impacts Humans have on the atmosphere is acid rain. Pure rainfall is slightly acidic because it absorbs gas in the atmosphere; carbon...

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...world meteorological organisation (WMO) and the United Nations environmental programme. The IPCC was given the role to examine the scientific evidence of climate change and report back to the world’s leaders. This led to the Rio Earth summit in 1992 which was a series of high profile meetings aimed at addressing the problem of climate change.

It is clear from looking at the atmosphere that human activity has a huge impact on the composition of the atmosphere in particularly the amount of greenhouse gases present and the effect these will have on the environment around us, consequently through global warming, resulting in climate change. Despite Climate change being a topical issue surrounded by great contention as it is based around scientific prediction it should not be ignored and the human activities which will lead to global warming should be challenged.