The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
Based on the vertical temperature distribution in Earth's atmosphere, four semi-horizontal layers or "spheres" can be distinguished: the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere,. These layers are separated by "pauses," where no change in the temperature occurs with altitude change: the tropopause (between the troposphere and the stratosphere), the stratopause (between the stratosphere and the mesosphere), and the mesopause (between the mesosphere and the thermosphere). The stratosphere and mesosphere together are called the middle atmosphere, and their region also overlaps with the ionosphere, which is a region defined on the basis of the electric charges of the particles there.
The mesosphere, which means middle sphere, is the third layer of Earth's atmosphere, between the stratosphere, and the thermosphere. It is located from about 55 kilometers (35 miles) to 85 kilometers (54 miles) above the surface of Earth. Temperature here decreases with height, so within the mesosphere it is warmest at its lowest level (−5°C, or 23°F), and becomes coldest at its highest level (−80°C, or −112°F). Depending on latitude and season, temperatures in the upper mesosphere can be as low as −140°C (−220°F). The temperature in the mesosphere is lower than the temperature of the troposphere or stratosphere, which makes the mesosphere the coldest among the atmospheric layers. It is colder then Antarctica's lowest recorded temperature, and it is cold enough to freeze water vapor into ice clouds, which can be seen mostly after sunset.
Although the air in the mesosphere is relatively mixed, it is very thin, resulting in low atmospheric pressure. At this height, not only concentrations of ozone and water vapor are negligible, air in the mesosphere contains much less oxygen than in the troposphere. The mesosphere is also the layer in which many meteors burn up when they enter the earth's atmosphere, as a result of the collision with some of the gas particles present in this layer.
Atmospheric Composition and Structure; Stratosphere and Stratopause; Thermosphere