Bog'liq 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