Earth Science — Layers of the Atmosphere
The five layers and four pauses from the surface to the exosphere, each defined by the sign of its temperature gradient, with the ozone layer, Kármán line, aurorae and jet streams placed.
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{
"nodes": [
{
"id": "at-exo",
"type": "rect",
"label": "Exosphere — 600 km to ~10 000 km: hydrogen and helium escape to space; collisions are so rare the gas laws stop applying",
"x": 60,
"y": 60,
"width": 800,
"height": 117,
"fill": "#dbeafe",
"stroke": "#1d4ed8"
},
{
"id": "at-thermopause",
"type": "dimension-line",
"label": "Thermopause ≈ 600 km",
"x": 60,
"y": 235,
"width": 800,
"height": 117,
"fill": "#fef3c7",
"stroke": "#b45309"
},
{
"id": "at-thermo",
"type": "rect",
"label": "Thermosphere — 85 to 600 km: temperature RISES to 500–2000 K as O₂ and N₂ absorb extreme UV, yet the gas is so thin it would feel cold",
"x": 60,
"y": 410,
"width": 800,
"height": 117,
"fill": "#fee2e2",
"stroke": "#b91c1c"
},
{
"id": "at-mesopause",
"type": "dimension-line",
"label": "Mesopause ≈ 85 km — the coldest place in the atmosphere, about −90 °C",
"x": 60,
"y": 585,
"width": 800,
"height": 117,
"fill": "#fef3c7",
"stroke": "#b45309"
},
{
"id": "at-meso",
"type": "rect",
"label": "Mesosphere — 50 to 85 km: temperature FALLS with height; meteors ablate here and noctilucent clouds form at the top",
"x": 60,
"y": 760,
"width": 800,
"height": 117,
"fill": "#dbeafe",
"stroke": "#1d4ed8"
},
{
"id": "at-stratopause",
"type": "dimension-line",
"label": "Stratopause ≈ 50 km, close to 0 °C",
"x": 60,
"y": 935,
"width": 800,
"height": 117,
"fill": "#fef3c7",
"stroke": "#b45309"
},
{
"id": "at-strat",
"type": "rect",
"label": "Stratosphere — 12 to 50 km: temperature RISES with height because ozone absorbs UV. The inversion suppresses vertical mixing, so it is very stable",
"x": 60,
"y": 1110,
"width": 800,
"height": 117,
"fill": "#dcfce7",
"stroke": "#15803d"
},
{
"id": "at-tropopause",
"type": "dimension-line",
"label": "Tropopause — about 8 km over the poles, 18 km over the tropics",
"x": 60,
"y": 1285,
"width": 800,
"height": 117,
"fill": "#fef3c7",
"stroke": "#b45309"
},
{
"id": "at-tropo",
"type": "rect",
"label": "Troposphere — surface to ~12 km: ~80 % of the mass and almost all the water vapour; temperature falls at 6.5 °C km⁻¹; all weather happens here",
"x": 60,
"y": 1460,
"width": 800,
"height": 117,
"fill": "#e0f2fe",
"stroke": "#0369a1"
},
{
"id": "at-karman",
"type": "note",
"label": "The Kármán line at 100 km is the conventional edge of space — but it sits inside the thermosphere, not above the atmosphere. There is no sharp top.",
"x": 900,
"y": 60,
"width": 240,
"height": 117,
"fill": "#fef9c3",
"stroke": "#ca8a04"
},
{
"id": "at-iss",
"type": "rocket",
"label": "The ISS orbits at ~400 km, inside the thermosphere; residual drag forces regular reboosts",
"x": 900,
"y": 410,
"width": 240,
"height": 117,
"fill": "#fce7f3",
"stroke": "#be185d"
},
{
"id": "at-aurora",
"type": "star",
"label": "Aurorae at 90–300 km: precipitating electrons excite atomic oxygen (green 557.7 nm, red 630 nm) and N₂",
"x": 900,
"y": 585,
"width": 240,
"height": 117,
"fill": "#fce7f3",
"stroke": "#be185d"
},
{
"id": "at-meteor",
"type": "star",
"label": "Meteors ablate between 75 and 100 km, where the air first gets dense enough to heat them",
"x": 900,
"y": 760,
"width": 240,
"height": 117,
"fill": "#fce7f3",
"stroke": "#be185d"
},
{
"id": "at-ozone",
"type": "shield",
"label": "Ozone layer, 15–35 km, peaking near 25 km: absorbs 97–99 % of incoming UV-B",
"x": 900,
"y": 1110,
"width": 240,
"height": 117,
"fill": "#dcfce7",
"stroke": "#15803d"
},
{
"id": "at-jet",
"type": "arrow-right",
"label": "Jet streams sit just below the tropopause at 9–12 km; airliners cruise in the lowest stratosphere to stay above the weather",
"x": 900,
"y": 1460,
"width": 240,
"height": 117,
"fill": "#fce7f3",
"stroke": "#be185d"
}
],
"edges": [
{
"id": "at-e1",
"source": "at-tropo",
"target": "at-tropopause",
"label": "temperature stops falling"
},
{
"id": "at-e2",
"source": "at-tropopause",
"target": "at-strat"
},
{
"id": "at-e3",
"source": "at-strat",
"target": "at-stratopause",
"label": "temperature stops rising"
},
{
"id": "at-e4",
"source": "at-stratopause",
"target": "at-meso"
},
{
"id": "at-e5",
"source": "at-meso",
"target": "at-mesopause",
"label": "temperature stops falling"
},
{
"id": "at-e6",
"source": "at-mesopause",
"target": "at-thermo"
},
{
"id": "at-e7",
"source": "at-thermo",
"target": "at-thermopause"
},
{
"id": "at-e8",
"source": "at-thermopause",
"target": "at-exo"
},
{
"id": "at-e9",
"source": "at-ozone",
"target": "at-strat",
"style": "dotted",
"arrowEnd": false
},
{
"id": "at-e10",
"source": "at-meteor",
"target": "at-meso",
"style": "dotted",
"arrowEnd": false
},
{
"id": "at-e11",
"source": "at-aurora",
"target": "at-thermo",
"style": "dotted",
"arrowEnd": false
},
{
"id": "at-e12",
"source": "at-iss",
"target": "at-thermo",
"style": "dotted",
"arrowEnd": false
},
{
"id": "at-e13",
"source": "at-jet",
"target": "at-tropo",
"style": "dotted",
"arrowEnd": false
}
]
}