For example, the north polar cap in the last decade has thinned 2%. ... The pictures brought back by astronauts show the atmosphere as a very thin translucent blanket covering the planet. ... This sounds incredibly small when we consider the amount of material that is pumped into the air daily. ... This is due to the great amounts of carbon monoxide being pumped into the air. ... This means that the explosion of population plus the industrialization process has increased greatly the amount of CO2 pumped into the air. ...

• Word Count: 1670
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

Between the molten iron core and the thin crust at the surface deep inside the earth there is a solid body of rock called the mantle. ... Two advantages of using geothermal energy to generate electricity in Hawaii would be to reduce the danger of oil spills from tankers and reduce air pollution. ... A cinder cone volcano forms when explosive eruptions and throws lava high into the air and the lava cools and hardens into tephra. ...

• Word Count: 587
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Instead some pores are filled with water, and others with air. ... An example of capillary forces exceeding gravity is capillary rise in a thin glass tube, where water is lifted upwards against the force of gravity. ... As a result, water in the unsaturated zone is preferentially drawn into small spaces over large ones, which tend to be occupied by air. ... Toxic waste that has leaked from containment facilities has seeped into the ground. ... The primary source of surface water is spring discharge from highly fractured plutonic rocks into streams along mountain foothills (INEGI, 1986). ...

• Word Count: 696
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Ozone Layer Depletion Imagine a world with bad air, polluted water, starvation, increased cancer conditions and even limited land. ... The Earth's atmosphere is divided into several layers. ... Out of each 10 million air molecules, about 2 million are normal oxygen, but only 3 are ozone. ... When the ozone layer begins to thin, it lets more UV rays enter our atmosphere. ... The ozone layer is thinning; and the thinner it gets the more that future will continue to haunt us. ...

• Word Count: 942
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Everything in Earth's system can be placed into one of four major subsystems: land, water, living things, or air. ... Beneath that layer lies a very thin, solid crust of oxygen and silicon. ... The atmosphere contains all the air in Earth's system. ... When air temperature in the lower portion of this sphere changes, weather occurs. As air in the lower atmosphere is heated or cooled, it moves around the planet. ...

• Word Count: 1504
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

The forests play a large part in turning carbon monoxide into oxygen. ... The thinning is thought to be amazing since it occurs across the bottom of all the ice. ... The thinning ice in the Arctic is the home of most animals that live in the Arctic. ... With the ice thinning, it will be less able to support the weight of the walrus. ... As the permafrost melts, the gas escapes and increases the level of carbon in our air. ...

• Word Count: 1153
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

In fact, atmospheric gases are often divided up into the major, constant components and the highly variable components, as shown in Table 1 and Table 2. ... Scientists divided the atmosphere into four layers according to temperature: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere. ... THE OZONE LAYER The stratosphere contains a thin layer of ozone molecules (with three oxygen atoms) which forms a protective layer shielding life on Earth from the Sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation. ... Some gases in the exosphere actually escape into space. Particles of the solar winds are conc...

• Word Count: 3528
• Approx Pages: 14
• Grade Level: High School

Agricultural expansion into forestland is the primary cause of tropical deforestation. ... Chemicals from waste dumps in some metropolitan areas are draining into backyards. Pesticides are leaking through the soil into drinking water wells in our agricultural belts. ... Refrigerators were designed to cool, but their coolants seep into the atmosphere and thin the Earth's protective shield. Americans want clean air, yet few are enthusiastic about the inconvenience of automobile exhaust inspections. ...

• Word Count: 700
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Telescopes and spacecraft have led scientists into the mysterious unknown - space. ... This causes the release of bubbles of gas and magnetic fields that explode into space. ... Like Earth hot air that rises at the planet's equator is replaced with cooler air. Trade winds result from the cooler air to circulate the dust. ... Dust storms also can turn the color of clouds into yellow or red. ...

• Word Count: 4020
• Approx Pages: 16
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Although opinions are various, they both consider global warming is climate change that is leading to an increase in the overall air and water temperature. ... Earth absorbs energy from the sun; at the same time, Earth re-radiates the energy back into space. Normally, the thin layer of atmosphere can trap a portion of the outgoing radiation, which keeps Earth's temperature within a comfortable region; nevertheless, the layer of atmosphere is being thickened by a great deal of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases caused by humans. ...

• Word Count: 1061
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

For example, ash that is spewed from an active volcano can reach up into the atmosphere and reflect solar radiation, essentially dimming the sun. ... The greenhouse effect may be a natural cause, but the air pollution of humans has increased its ability to retain heat. ... Its ability to rip the ozone apart with its free chlorine atoms leads to the thinning of the ozone and therefore more ultra violet radiation hitting earth's surface (IPCC, 2007). ...

• Word Count: 910
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography