9781422272480

Vast swaths of land could be used to harness the sun’s energy. Pictured here is a huge field of solar power arrays.

go in the troposphere, the lower the air pressure is. Stratosphere: The second layer of the atmosphere is known as the stratosphere . This starts at the top of the troposphere, around 31 miles (50 km) above the surface of the earth. The higher you go within the stratosphere, the warmer it gets! That is because the ozone layer is a part of the stratosphere. This warmer air also means that there is less turbulence within the air, which is why passenger planes fly in the lower levels of the stratosphere. The jet stream is also present in the area bordering the troposphere and the stratosphere. Mesosphere: Located around 53 miles (85.3 km) above the surface of the earth, the mesosphere is the next layer of the atmosphere. Temperatures once again get colder the higher up you go within the mesosphere. The air pressure is also so low that you can’t breathe the air in this layer. The mesosphere is where most of

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The New Weather: The Climate System

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