Lowest layer of the atmosphere is

The troposphere (seen here in orange) is the lowest layer of Earth’s atmosphere and where nearly all weather occurs. Over the last 40 years, the boundary between the troposphere and the neighboring stratosphere (pink) has risen as a result of climate change. Image Science & Analysis Laboratory/NASA Johnson Space Center Global temperatures are rising and so, it seems, is part of the sky. Atmosphere readings collected by weather balloons in the Northern Hemisphere over the last 40 years reveal that Science Advances. Temperature is the driving force behind this change, says Jane Liu, an environmental scientist at the University of Toronto. The troposphere varies in height around the world, reaching as high as 20 kilometers in the tropics and as low as seven kilometers near the poles. During the year, the upper boundary of the troposphere — called the tropopause — naturally rises and falls with the seasons as air expands in the heat and contracts in the cold. But SN: 10/26/21). Liu and her colleagues found that the tropopause rose an average of about 200 meters in height from 1980 to 2020. Nearly all weather occurs in the troposphere, but it’s unlikely that this shift will have on a big effect on weather, the researchers say. Still, this research is an important reminder of the impact of climate change on our world, Liu says. “We see signs of global warming around us, in retreating glaciers and rising sea levels,” she says. “Now, we see it in the height of the troposphere.” Qu...

Why subscribe? • The ultimate action-packed science and technology magazine bursting with exciting information about the universe • Subscribe today and save an extra 5% with checkout code 'LOVE5' • Engaging articles, amazing illustrations & exclusive interviews • Issues delivered straight to your door or device Weather balloon measurements, taken in the Northern Hemisphere over the past 40 years, reveal that the lowest layer of Science Advances. "This is an unambiguous sign of changing atmospheric structure," study co-author Bill Randel, a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, said in a statement. "These results provide independent confirmation, in addition to all the other evidence of climate change, that greenhouse gases are altering our atmosphere." Related: 10 signs that Earth's climate is off the rails The troposphere is the layer of the atmosphere we live and breathe in. It extends from sea level to a height ranging from 4.3 miles (7 kilometers) above the poles to 12.4 miles (20 km) over the tropics. As the layer of atmosphere that contains the most heat and moisture, it's also where a lot of atmospheric weather occurs. Air in the atmosphere expands when it's hot and contracts when it's cold, so the troposphere's upper boundary, called the tropopause, naturally shrinks and expands with the changing of the seasons. But by analyzing atmospheric data such as pressure, temperature and humidity — taken between 20 and 80 degrees no...

The sun's photosphere is the innermost layer of the sun that we can observe directly. (Image credit: NASA/SDO) The photosphere is the lowest layer of the sun's atmosphere — the innermost layer we can observe directly. The term photosphere means "sphere of light" and is the layer where most of the sun's energy is emitted. It takes about eight minutes for sunlight from the photosphere to reach The temperature of the photosphere ranges from 11,000 degrees Fahrenheit (6,125 degrees Celsius) at the bottom to 7,460 F (4,125 C) at the top. The photosphere is significantly cooler than temperatures at the sun's core, which can reach about 27 million F (15 million C) according to The photosphere is marked by bright, bubbling granules of plasma and darker, cooler sunspots, which emerge when the sun's magnetic field breaks through the surface. Sunspots appear to move across the sun's disk. Observing this motion led astronomers to realize that the sun rotates on its axis. Since the sun is a ball of gas with no solid form, different regions rotate at different rates. The sun's equatorial regions rotate in about 24 days, while the polar regions take more than 30 days to make a complete rotation. The photosphere is also the source of The sun's chromosphere – – – The chromosphere may play a role in conducting heat from the interior of the sun to its outermost layer, the corona. "We see certain kinds of solar seismic waves channeling upwards into the lower atmosphere, called the chromospher...

The Mesosphere has the lowest temperature of the layers of Earth's atmosphere because Temperature decreases with height in the mesosphere. The mesopause, the temperature minimum that marks the top of the mesosphere, is the coldest place on Earth and has an average temperature around −100 °C (−148.0 °F; 173.1 K)