Māris kļaviņŠ, azamat azizov, JĀnis zaļoksnis environment, pollution, development: the case of uzbekistan

 4.1.2.  Atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere
The total mass of the atmo sphere is 5.2 × 10
15 
tons or approxi-
mately one millionth of the Earth’s mass, and it is relatively small 
compared to the masses of the hydrosphere and litho 
sphere 
(Table  4.2). Intensive processes of substance and energy cycling 
take place in the atmo sphere, and it is the most mobile compared to 
the other spheres of the Earth. The atmo sphere plays a vital role in 
climate control, preventing the Earth from becoming too hot or too 
cold. The atmo sphere diffuses the energy from the Sun, thus main-
taining the temperature balance and climate life-friendly. Water 
vapour  and  carbon  dioxide  in  the  atmo sphere  reflects  part  of  the 
heat radiating from the Earth’s surface, helping to keep up tempera-
ture on the Earth considerably higher.
The composition of the atmo sphere has changed with the 
Earth’s development, and presently it is in a certain state of dynamic