Weather Explained

The hydrosphere often called ‘water sphere’ is the total combined mass of H2O what we typically refer to as water existing both above and below the Earth’s surface. The hydrosphere covers almost seventy percent of the Earth’s surface.

This mass includes all the oceans which accounts for over ninety seven percent of the Earth’s water, rivers, lakes, and even the very moisture contained within the air we breathe. Like the atmosphere the hydrosphere is always moving in the form of water flowing within oceans, streams and rivers.

Specific conditions within the Earth’s atmosphere play an impacting role on the planet’s hydrosphere as can be seen by temperature increases and wind speeds within the atmosphere. Warmer climates result in the hydrosphere becoming less dense resulting in an increasing motion towards the surface. Similarly in colder climates the lithosphere will become denser and will be seen to sink closer to the bottom.

Noticed as the lowest section within the planet Earth’s atmosphere, the troposphere contains almost eighty percent of the Earth’s atmospheric mass.

The troposphere has an average thickness of between seven to eight kilometers the equivalent to over five miles at both the North and South Poles and increases in this thickness to almost twenty kilometers, or eleven miles at the Equator varying in altitude respective to the seasons of the year. This specific area of the Earth’s atmosphere is primarily responsible for specific weather conditions such as air turbulence and cloud cover and intensity.

Containing mostly water vapor in almost ninety nine percent of its composition, temperature conditions and intensity of water vapor has been observed to increase and decrease rapidly with changes in altitude. Due to this characteristic, the larger portion of the water vapor contained within the troposphere has been observed to be highly concentrated within the warmer, lower zones rather than the higher cooler zones.

Positions in latitude plays an unmistakably varying role with the concentration of water vapor within the troposphere as the concentrations have been seen at their greatest value closest to the tropical regions and decreasing towards the polar regions.

Within the troposphere, the temperature of the circulating air at any given point will lower with increasing altitude at an average rate of approximately 6.5 degrees Celsius per kilometer until the region known as the tropopause (the existing boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere extending from eleven to twelve kilometers) is reached.

This layer known as the tropopause has been observed to have a constant air temperature and cube easily visible as high flying Jets and airliners soar through the sky leaving behind a notable jet stream.