Home About Us Climate Change FAQ's Contact Us Join Latest News on Carbon Conservation Real-World Climatology: Records and Observations Reference Center Signup For E-mail Alerts Virtual Climate Alerts World Climate Report Online Sitemap The difference may be only a small matter - small components, such as Oz, NO, N, H 2 O, which we will talk separately. With the basic components of all is clear: 78% of molecular nitrogen, 21% of the molecular oxygen and 1% argon. The rest as times and there are small components that add up to less than 0.1% of the total particles. This picture remains remarkably unchanged, while we are moving up the atmosphere to about 100 km. Here, among the main components starts to enter the atomic oxygen. Where did he come in gomosfere? Of course, from O2. After all the above, we you go, the more impact on the surrounding oxygen molecules solar ultraviolet radiation capable of dissociating molecule O2, break it into two atoms. Because of this, then the dissociation process and appear from a height of 80 - 90 km significant quantities O atoms (On why the same does not happen with the molecules N2, we talk separately in Chapter 7.) At the height turbopause concentration of oxygen is may be 10 - 20% O2. And then comes into play molecular diffusion, which rules above turbopause. And now all the cards in the hands of the lighter atoms O. Therefore, their relative concentration, and thus their role in various processes, begins to grow rapidly with height. With their "parents", O2 molecules, the atoms straighten quickly. Already an altitude of 120 - 130 km on the concentration and O2 are compared, and a lot of the oxygen atoms above larger than molecules. With a nitrogen molecule is somewhat more difficult, because they do not so vulnerable to destruction by dissociation as O2. But the inexorable laws diffusion separation leads to the fact that at the height of 160 - 180 km compared concentration of O and N2. Higher in atomic oxygen has no rivals among molecules - it main (dominant) component of the atmosphere. Its concentration determines the overall atmospheric density, ionization of the O atoms is the main process of ionization, height homogeneous atmosphere for atmospheric gas is equal to the height of the homogeneous atmosphere atomic oxygen, etc.