I am unbelievably bored, have nothing else to do and seeing as the blog hasn't been updated in a while I thought I'd explain the atmosphere in greater detail. They're in stratigraphical (is that a word?) order starting from sea level.
The Troposphere
Oh what a glorious place it is... This is the first layer of our atmosphere and it is heated via infrared radiation being radiated from the Earth, this means that as altitude increases temperature falls. Atmospheric pressure also decreases with altitude, there's a simple reason for this. The higher you go the less there is above you so the pressure decreases. Wind speeds increase with altitude in the troposphere as at higher altitudes there is less to act as a wind break.
Stratosphere
Once you get through the troposphere everything starts getting a bit warmer until temperatures reach a toasty -3 degrees Celsius. The reason the temperatures increase with altitude is because the stratosphere is heated by the absorption of UV radiation by Ozone (so from above, not below).
When ozone absorbs UV it gets split up into Diatomic Oxygen and Atomic Oxygen, in the normal process this would then bond again to form Ozone. The ozone layer should remain in dynamic equilibrium (constantly changing, but overall staying the same), however when CFCs are emitted into the atmosphere they also get broken down. The Chlorine atom then bonds with an Atomic oxygen atom to form ClO preventing the atomic oxygen bonding with diatomic oxygen to replenish the ozone layer. So in reality CFCs don't destroy the ozone layer but rather prevent it from replenishing itself.
Mesosphere
Not much really goes on here to be fair, temperature decreases with altitude for reasons I can't accurately find out but I do know that the mesopause house the coldest temperature on Earth. The only other thing interesting to know is that the mesosphere is where most meteors burn up upon entering the atmosphere.
Thermosphere
I understand even less of this stratigraphical layer, for a confusing reason the temperature increases with altitude although not for the same reason as in the stratosphere. It's something to do with there being so few particles, I don't know google it.
Exosphere
There's like nothing here, at all. The number of particles (mainly hydrogen and helium) are so few that they can travel hundreds of kilometres without colliding with each other, this also means that the atmosphere stops behaving like a liquid. "Why are you even telling us this then?" You may be wondering... Well it sort of answers a question raised in class the other day about whether atoms in Space join Earth's atmosphere. It is actually the opposite, Earth experiences a net loss of hydrogen and helium at about 3 kg and 50 g respectively a second. That's a relatively tiny amount though so don't start worrying that we're running out of atmosphere.
The human race will have likely imploded before we ever lose our atmosphere.
We were actually caving through a lava tube which formed about 4000 years ago. This formed by basalt lava flows cooling on the top and sides providing insulation for the centre which can remain active for several years. Lava tubes on Hawaii are still active and they work for a long time. Lavascicles are formed when lava cools and drips down from the ceiling (just like water does).
What I dislike about McMurdo is easily made up for with its inhabitants. They range from the adventurous to the pure weird. One former philosopher states that he thinks all the people who are a bit strange and like to explore end up in Antarctica, a theory later backed up by a linguist who describes that "all people who aren't tied down fall to the bottom", in this case Antarctica. If you're thinking these people are a bit odd then they're nothing compared to a plumber who believes that he's descended from the Aztec royal family or the Bus driver (former Banker) who once got chased by the Mayans because they thought he was a child catcher. Although strange you get the sense that these people live here because they really love it, the linguist also raises a very thoughtful point. We try to solve all kinds of biodiversity needs/climate change/stop deforestation etc. yet in 2005 it was reported that we were losing a language at the rate of one a fortnight. Should we focus on protecting our cultural heritage as much as the environment?
What I find remarkable about Antarctica is how people describe it as an incredibly peaceful place and the next minute they're dynamiting the ice to create a dive hole. I don't think it's a problem, just a bit strange. The scientist explains that some of the creatures in the deep seem like they're out of a sci-fi film and once the camera descends into the waters it's easy to tell why. In the darkness of the ocean looks mean nothing, it doesn't matter if you have rainbow scales what you actually need are some sharp spines. The ecosystem here is one of the most violent and extraordinary on the planet. The divers are looking for are the most primitive forms of life, trying to understand how life could have formed in the first place. The cameraman captures the moment when they state they've potentially found a new species, something which they claim to be remarkable. The head scientist continues eating his cereal.
