Stratosphere

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The stratosphere is the second major layer of Earth's atmosphere, just above the troposphere, and below the mesosphere. It is stratified in temperature, with warmer layers higher up and cooler layers farther down. This is in contrast to the troposphere near the Earth's surface, which is cooler higher up and warmer farther down. The border of the troposphere and stratosphere, the tropopause, is marked by where this inversion begins, which in terms of atmospheric thermodynamics is the equilibrium level. The stratosphere is situated between about 10 km (6 miles) and 50 km (31 miles) altitude above the surface at moderate latitudes, while at the poles it starts at about 8 km (5 miles) altitude.

The word stratosphere is from the Greek meaning 'stratified layer'.

For more information about Stratosphere, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with stratosphere

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Tropical Storm Nepartak becoming extra-tropical at sea

Tropical Storm Nepartak becoming extra-tropical at sea

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Oct 13, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Tropical Storm Nepartak is now speeding in a northeasterly direction in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, where it is becoming extra-tropical and developing frontal qualities.


Ozone layer depletion leveling off

Ozone layer depletion leveling off

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Sep 21, 2009 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

By merging more than a decade of atmospheric data from European satellites, scientists have compiled a homogeneous long-term ozone record that allows them to monitor total ozone trends on a global scale - ...


Artist concept of Aura spacecraft

After Five Years, NASA's Aura Shines Brightly

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jul 16, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- On July 15, 2004, NASA's Aura spacecraft launched from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base on a mission to study Earth's ozone layer, air quality and climate. Aura's data are helping scientists ...


New isotope cluster could lead to better understanding of atmospheric carbon dioxide

New isotope cluster could lead to better understanding of atmospheric carbon dioxide

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Jul 14, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of researchers has discovered an unexpected concentration of a certain isotopic molecule in parts of the stratosphere that could have implications for understanding the carbon cycle ...


HCl dissociation

Scientists Create Smallest Ever Droplet of Acid, Solve Ozone Puzzle

Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry

created Jun 25, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (7) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- In its atomic form, chlorine can destroy vast quantities of ozone. But exactly how chlorine is created in the ultracold conditions of the stratosphere has puzzled scientists. Now, a team of ...


Cyclones spurt water into the stratosphere, feeding global warming

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Apr 20, 2009 | popularity 3.6 / 5 (7) | comments 9

Scientists at Harvard University have found that tropical cyclones readily inject ice far into the stratosphere, possibly feeding global warming.


Climate Change and Atmospheric Circulation Will Make for Uneven Ozone Recovery

Climate Change and Atmospheric Circulation Will Make for Uneven Ozone Recovery

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Apr 10, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (28) | comments 6

(PhysOrg.com) -- Earth's ozone layer should eventually recover from the unintended destruction brought on by the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and similar ozone-depleting chemicals in the 20th century. ...


Discovery of New Microorganisms in the Stratosphere

Discovery of New Microorganisms in the Stratosphere

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Mar 18, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (14) | comments 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- Three new species of bacteria, which are not found on Earth and which are highly resistant to ultra-violet radiation, have been discovered in the upper stratosphere by Indian scientists. One ...