What is the Troposphere and what are its benefits?
One of the reasons why the Earth is suitable for human habitation is because the Earth has a layer of Atmosphere. The atmosphere is the air that surrounds the earth, and the atmosphere has several layers in it which have their respective duties to protect the earth.
There are layers of Troposphere, Statosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, Ionosphere, and Exosphere. Each layer has its own benefits, and this time what we will discuss from these layers is the understanding of the Troposphere and its benefits.
Definition of Troposphere
The word Troposphere, comes from the Greek, namely ‘Tropos’ which means ‘Change’ or ‘Turn’. The troposphere is the lowest layer, which is closest to living things compared to other layers in the atmosphere.
The troposphere contains gases that are very suitable for living things on earth. The gas combination alone contains more than 80% of Atmospheric gases.
The Troposphere layer has a unique shape, when it is at the equator, its size becomes wider. But if it is in the polar regions, its size becomes thinner.
Above the Troposphere, there is the Stratosphere, so the Stratosphere is the second lowest layer. Both layers are very good at protecting the life of the earth from the heavenly bodies above.
Troposphere and Stratosphere are layers that protect us from solar radiation and celestial bodies that fall to earth.
The characteristics of the Troposphere layer so that the description is clearer and makes you understand better:
- The troposphere is very close to the life of Earth’s creatures, and is the lowest layer
- The troposphere is very thin. Compared to other layers, the Troposphere is only 9 km thick at the poles and 12 km at the equator
- The troposphere is the place where various natural events occur: weather, climate, humidity, temperature and others
- The height of the Troposphere from the earth varies, if in the polar regions, the height of the Troposphere is only 8 km while at the equator it can be as high as 16 km
- In the troposphere, there is another layer called the Tropopause. The Tropopause is between the Troposphere and Stratosphere, it is defined as a point, and is useful as a place where changes in the lapse rate occur from positive to negative. Or in other words, the Tropopause layer is the point where the air temperature stops decreasing
- The troposphere has a unique characteristic, where every time it rises as high as 100 meters, the air temperature will drop by 0.5 degrees Celsius – 0.64 degrees Celsius. vice versa
Troposphere Contents
The troposphere has a lot of water content. But their altitude is not the same, so that the temperature of the earth in other hemispheres is also not the same.
The content of the troposphere is not only water vapor. For more details, see the following Tropospheric composition data:
- 99% water vapor
- Nitrogen 78%
- Oxygen 21%
- carbon dioxide
- Hydrogen
- Traces of argon
- Smoke
- Pollutant
Troposphere content also comes from the effects of human activities on earth. Among the content that comes from human activities are pollutants and smoke.
Is it good? Of course not.
Because it makes more carbon dioxide in the troposphere. Carbon dioxide is toxic, so it’s not good to take too much.
Benefits of the Troposphere
The Troposphere has several benefits:
- Be the place where the weather is formed
- Being a layer that has a lot of water vapor and it is very useful for humans because the water vapor can regulate the temperature of the earth
- Be the place where the forest occurs
- Air sources that humans need are created or sourced from the Troposphere. Without the Troposphere, it is difficult for humans to breathe
- The Troposphere is a very safe layer where airplanes fly
Those are some of the benefits and understanding of the Troposphere, hopefully it will be a good reference for all of you.
