Atmosphere of Earth

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The atmosphere of Earth consists of a multi-layered gas mixture (commonly referred to as air) surrounding the Earth's planetary surface, which is retained by gravity. Like the atmospheres of other planets, Earth's atmosphere also contains variable quantities of suspended aerosols and particulates that create weather features such as clouds and hazes. The atmosphere serves as a protective buffer between the Earth's crust and the outer space, shielding the surface from most meteoroids and ultraviolet solar radiation. It also reduces diurnal temperature variation (i.e. the temperature extremes between day and night), keeps the Earth's surface warm through heat retention via the greenhouse effect, redistributes heat and moisture convectively among different regions via air currents, and provides the chemical and climate conditions that allow life to exist and evolve on Earth. By mole fraction (i.e., by quantity of molecules), dry air contains 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.04...

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