What are three ways the atmosphere is important to life on Earth?

What are three ways the atmosphere is important to life on Earth?

Plants and animals need the gases in the air to survive, and the protection the atmosphere provides helps sustain life as well.

• Protection. The atmosphere blocks out harmful rays from the sun.
• Water. The Earth’s atmosphere contains water.
• Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide.
• Other Benefits.

What would life on Earth be like without the atmosphere?

Eventually (long after surface life had died), solar radiation would break atmospheric water into oxygen, which would react with carbon on the Earth to form carbon dioxide. The air would still be too thin to breathe. The lack of atmosphere would chill the Earth’s surface. Plants and land animals would die.

What happens to the atmosphere when life dies?

Eventually (long after surface life had died), solar radiation would break atmospheric water into oxygen, which would react with carbon on the Earth to form carbon dioxide. The air would still be too thin to breathe.

How is the Earth’s climate changing over time?

Global climate is projected to continue to change over this century and beyond. The magnitude of climate change beyond the next few decades depends primarily on the amount of heat-trapping gases emitted globally, and how sensitive the Earth’s climate is to those emissions.

What happens to water vapor in the atmosphere?

An equilibrium point would be reached where there would be enough water vapor to prevent the oceans from boiling off. The remaining water would freeze. Eventually (long after surface life had died), solar radiation would break atmospheric water into oxygen, which would react with carbon on the Earth to form carbon dioxide.

What happens to the Earth’s atmosphere during a solar storm?

Possibly a massive coronal ejection, or solar storm, could burn off the atmosphere. A more likely scenario is atmospheric loss due to a massive meteor impact. Large impacts have occurred several times on the inner planets, including Earth. Gas molecules gain enough energy to escape the pull of gravity, but only a portion of the atmosphere is lost.