Atmosphere diagram showing stratosphere. The layers are to scale: from Earth's surface to the top of the stratosphere (50km) is just under 1% of Earth's radius. (click to enlarge)

The stratosphere is the second major layer of Earth's atmosphere, just above the troposphere, and below the mesosphere. Temperature and layers The temperature of the Earth's atmosphere varies with altitude the mathematical relationship between temperature and altitude varies among five The troposphere is the lowest portion of Earth's atmosphere. It contains approximately 75% of the atmosphere's mass and almost all of its Water vapor and This article is about the atmospheric mesosphere for the Earth's mantle see Mesosphere (mantle. It is stratified in temperature, with warmer layers higher up and cooler layers farther down. This is in contrast to the troposphere near the Earth's surface, which is cooler higher up and warmer farther down. The border of the troposphere and stratosphere, the tropopause, is marked by where this inversion begins, which in terms of atmospheric thermodynamics is the equilibrium level. The tropopause is in the atmosphere between the Troposphere and the Stratosphere. In the Physical sciences atmospheric thermodynamics is the study of Heat and Energy transformations in the earth’s atmospheric system In Meteorology, the equilibrium level ( EL) or level of neutral buoyancy ( LNB) is the height at which a rising parcel of Air The stratosphere is situated between about 10 km (6 miles) and 50 km (31 miles) altitude above the surface at moderate latitudes, while at the poles it starts at about 8 km (5 miles) altitude. Altitude is the Elevation of a point or object from a known level or datum (plural data A geographical pole, or geographic pole, is either of two fixed points on the surface of a spinning body or Planet, at 90 degrees from the Equator, based

The stratosphere is layered in temperature because it is heated from above by absorption of ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. Ultraviolet ( UV) light is Electromagnetic radiation with a Wavelength shorter than that of Visible light, but longer than X-rays The Sun (Sol is the Star at the center of the Solar System. Within this layer, temperature increases as altitude increases (see temperature inversion); the top of the stratosphere has a temperature of about 270 K (−3°C or 26. In meteorology an inversion is a deviation from the normal change of an atmospheric property with altitude The kelvin (symbol K) is a unit increment of Temperature and is one of the seven SI base units The Kelvin scale is a thermodynamic The Celsius Temperature scale was previously known as the centigrade scale. 6°F), just slightly below the freezing point of water. Fahrenheit is a temperature scale named after Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736 a German Physicist who proposed it in 1724 This top is called the stratopause, above which temperature again decreases with height. The stratopause is the level of the atmosphere which is the boundary between two layers Stratosphere and the Mesosphere. The vertical stratification, with warmer layers above and cooler layers below, makes the stratosphere dynamically stable: there is no regular convection and associated turbulence in this part of the atmosphere. Atmospheric stratification is the division of the atmosphere into distinct layers each with specific properties such as temperature or humidity Convection in the most general terms refers to the movement of molecules within Fluids (i In Fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is a fluid regime characterized by chaotic Stochastic property changes The heating is caused by an ozone layer that absorbs solar ultraviolet radiation, heating the upper layers of the stratosphere. The photochemical mechanisms that give rise to the ozone layer were worked out by the British physicist Sidney Chapman in 1930 Ultraviolet ( UV) light is Electromagnetic radiation with a Wavelength shorter than that of Visible light, but longer than X-rays The base of the stratosphere occurs where heating by conduction from above and heating by convection from below (through the troposphere) balance out; hence, the stratosphere begins at lower altitudes near the poles due to the lower ground temperature there. Heat conduction or thermal conduction is the spontaneous transfer of thermal energy through matter from a region of higher Temperature to a region of lower Temperature is a physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold something that is hotter generally has the greater temperature

Commercial airliners typically cruise at an altitude near 10 km in temperate latitudes, in the lower reaches of the stratosphere. An airliner is a large Fixed-wing aircraft with the primary function of transporting paying passengers They do this to stay above any hard weather. This is to avoid atmospheric turbulence from the convection in the troposphere. In Fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is a fluid regime characterized by chaotic Stochastic property changes Convection in the most general terms refers to the movement of molecules within Fluids (i The troposphere is the lowest portion of Earth's atmosphere. It contains approximately 75% of the atmosphere's mass and almost all of its Water vapor and Turbulence experienced in the cruise phase of flight is often caused by convective overshoot from the troposphere below. Convective overshoot is a phenomenon of Convection carrying material beyond an Unstable region of the Atmosphere into a Stratified, stable region Similarly, most gliders soar on thermal plumes that rise through the troposphere above warm patches of ground; these plumes end at the base of the stratosphere, setting a limit to how high gliders can fly in most parts of the world. Terminology A "glider" is an unpowered Aircraft. The most common types of glider are today used for sporting purposes Gliding is a Recreational activity and competitive Sport in which pilots fly un-powered aircraft known as Gliders or sailplanes In Hydrodynamics, a plume is a column of one fluid moving through another (Some gliders do fly higher, using ridge lift from mountain ranges to lift them into the stratosphere. Gliding is a Recreational activity and competitive Sport in which pilots fly un-powered aircraft known as Gliders or sailplanes )

The stratosphere is a region of intense interactions among radiative, dynamical, and chemical processes, in which horizontal mixing of gaseous components proceeds much more rapidly than vertical mixing. The dynamical system concept is a mathematical Formalization for any fixed "rule" which describes the Time dependence of a point's position An interesting feature of stratospheric circulation is the quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) in the tropical latitudes, which is driven by gravity waves that are convectively generated in the troposphere. The QBO ( quasi-biennial oscillation) is a quasi- periodic oscillation of the Equatorial Zonal Wind between easterlies and westerlies In Fluid dynamics, gravity waves are waves generated in a Fluid medium or at the interface between two media (e The troposphere is the lowest portion of Earth's atmosphere. It contains approximately 75% of the atmosphere's mass and almost all of its Water vapor and The QBO induces a secondary circulation that is important for the global stratospheric transport of tracers such as ozone or water vapor. A secondary circulation is a circulation induced in a rotating system OZONE is an object oriented Operating system written in the C programming language. General properties of water vapor Evaporation/sublimation Whenever a water molecule leaves a surface it is said to have evaporated

In northern hemispheric winter, sudden stratospheric warmings can often be observed which are caused by the absorption of Rossby waves in the stratosphere. A sudden stratospheric warming (SSW is an event where the Polar vortex of westerly winds in the Northern winter hemisphere abruptly (i Rossby (or planetary) waves are giant Meanders in high-altitude winds that are a major influence on Weather.

See also

• Léon Teisserenc de Bort (the discoverer of the stratosphere)
• Paris Gun (first artificial object to reach stratosphere)
• SR-71 Blackbird
• Concorde
• Lockheed U-2
• RQ-4 Global Hawk
• Twinjets service ceiling
• Le Grand Saut