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Mesosphere Facts & Worksheets

Mesosphere is the third among the five layers of the Earth’s atmosphere. It is located above the stratosphere and below the thermosphere, about 50 to 85 km above our planet.

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The mesosphere is a 35-kilometer-thick layer between the stratosphere and the thermosphere, which are located below and above it. As the name “meso” implies, it is located in the middle of the layers of the atmosphere. It is where most space rocks burn up before crashing to Earth, acting as a force field to protect the planet.

See the fact file below for more information on the mesosphere, or alternatively, you can download our 23-page Mesosphere worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

  • The temperature lowers progressively as height increases from the top of the stratosphere, the lowest section of the atmosphere with temperatures below -143°C making it the coldest region in the atmosphere.
  • Its lower boundary is often 50 to 65 kilometers above sea level, while its upper boundary is typically 85 to 100 kilometers above sea level.
  • Along with the stratosphere, they are collectively called the middle atmosphere.
  • It is separated from the thermosphere through the mesopause, which lies at an altitude of 80 to 90 kilometers.
  • Meteors burn up into smaller fragments in this layer of the atmosphere. When space rocks fall towards Earth, friction in the mesosphere burns up the fragments, causing the fragments to disintegrate into small dust particles, producing meteorites, the space rocks that pass through the mesosphere and hit the surface.
  • It has little effect on weather patterns, pollution transmission, and the availability of water vapor.
  • Mesopause is the lowest temperature region between the mesosphere and the thermosphere.
  • The lower mantle, one of the layers beneath the Earth’s surface, has historically been referred to as the mesosphere. It is derived from the term “mesospheric shell,” which was coined by Harvard University geology professor Reginald Aldworth Daly. Some people may confuse it with the mesosphere, a layer of the atmosphere, but they are not the same thing.

Composition

  • The Earth’s atmosphere is normally composed of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, and 0.03% trace gases over most of its layers, with turbulence and circulation responsible for the composition’s uniformity and homogeneity.
  • Meteors, on the other hand, begin to burn up and ionize when they enter the mesosphere due to the abrupt rise in atmospheric density as they transition from the thermosphere to the mesosphere.
  • Meteors contribute to the occurrence of metallic elements such as calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and sodium. These elements combine to form compounds such as oxides, hydroxides, and carbonates, which polymerize to form nanometer-sized meteoric smoke particles (MSPs).

Temperature

  • Temperature decreases as height increases in this layer due to decreased absorption of solar energy by the lower-than-normal atmospheric pressure, which is accompanied by increasing cooling caused by carbon dioxide radiative emission.
  • Temperatures in the upper mesosphere can drop to around -100 °C, depending on latitude and season.
  • Furthermore, atmospheric density decreases as altitude increases, resulting in a decrease in the amount of solar energy received and reemitted. The stratospheric ozone layer absorbs and reemits a significant amount of solar light. As a result, the temperature rises with altitude across the stratosphere before falling again at the stratopause and throughout the mesosphere above it.

Density and Pressure

  • Because of the gravitational attraction of the atmosphere due to its distance from the core of the Earth, density and pressure increase with altitude across the whole atmosphere.
  • The mesosphere has a pressure range of 0.122 to 0.99 Newtons per square meter and a density range of 0.102 to 0.994 kilograms per cubic meter.

Dynamic Features

  • It is characterized by strong zonal winds, atmospheric tides, internal atmospheric gravity waves, and planetary waves, the majority of which originate in the troposphere and lower stratosphere and propagate to the mesosphere.
  • Gravity-wave amplitudes can cause waves to become unstable and dissipate as they grow larger. Dissipation has a significant impact on global circulation.
  • Because noctilucent clouds exist in the mesosphere and can be seen from space, they are referred to as polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs). It is a night-shining cloud that can be seen from the ground during astronomical twilight as a diffuse scattering layer of water ice crystals.
  • Within the mesosphere is a sodium layer 5 kilometers thick, composed of non-ionized sodium atoms. This emits a weak glow that contributes to the airglow. It has an average concentration of approximately 400,000 atoms per cubic centimeter.
  • Astronomers use the sodium band to create “guide stars” for the optical correction process used in producing ground-based observations.
  • In October 2018, the first aurora appeared in the mesosphere. It was commonly referred to as “dunes” because it resembled the sandy ripples on a beach. Its green color was explained as the result of solar particles interacting with oxygen molecules.

Exploration

  • It lies above the altitude that aircraft can reach, while balloons can only reach their lowest few kilometers, for which the record is up to 53 kilometers above sea level.
  • It is below the minimum altitude for orbital spacecraft because of its high atmospheric drag. Due to this, it has only been accessed through sounding rockets, from which only mesospheric measurements can be taken for a few minutes per mission.
  • It became the layer of the atmosphere where only a few facts are understood, resulting in it being termed as “ignorosphere.”
  • Scientists are currently interested in the presence of red sprites and blue jets, noctilucent clouds, and density shears in this layer.

Columbia Disaster

  • Space Shuttle Columbia (OV-102), also known as Columbia, was a Space Shuttle orbiter built by Rockwell International and operated by NASA. It made its premiere in April 1981.
  • The STS-107 mission was launched on February 1, 2003. The Space Shuttle Columbia was destroyed as it reentered the atmosphere over Texas, killing all seven people on board.
  • It was the second mission in the Space Shuttle program to fail, following the Challenger, which similarly killed all seven of its crew members during ascent in 1986.
  • Flight operations for the Space Shuttle program were paused for more than two years following the disaster. The International Space Station (ISS) construction was suspended and resumed only in July 2005.

Phenomena

  • Airglow is a phenomenon in which a planetary atmosphere emits a faint light, causing the night sky never to be completely dark even after the effects of starlight and diffused sunlight are removed. It is formed by self-illuminated gases.
  • Atmospheric tides are similar to ocean tides in that they can be caused by insolation, the Moon‘s gravitational field pull, interactions between tides and planetary waves, or large-scale latent heat release.
  • A meteor is the visible passage of a glowing meteoroid through the atmosphere. This was caused by collisions with air molecules in the upper atmosphere, which heated the particles to incandescence. Because of its rapid motion, it produces a streak of light.
  • An aurora, often known as a polar light, is a natural light phenomenon in the sky created by solar wind-induced magnetosphere instabilities.
  • Upper-atmospheric lighting is a type of electrical failure that occurs above the altitude of typical lightning and storm clouds. It is thought to be electrically induced luminous plasma.

Mesosphere Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about the mesosphere across 23 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Mesosphere worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Mesosphere, which is the third among the five layers of the Earth’s atmosphere. It is located above the stratosphere and below the thermosphere, about 50 to 85 km above our planet.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

  • Mesosphere Facts
  • Earth’s atmosphere
  • The Sphere
  • Concept of Mesosphere
  • Fact or Bluff
  • Puzzle Packet
  • Properties of the atmosphere
  • Jumbled word
  • K-W-L
  • Earth Science
  • Be explorer

Frequently Asked Questions

What are three facts about the mesosphere?

The temperature lowers progressively as height increases from the top of the stratosphere, the lowest section of the atmosphere with temperatures below -143°C.

Its lower boundary is often 50 to 65 kilometers above sea level, while its upper boundary is typically 85 to 100 kilometers above sea level.

Along with the stratosphere, they are collectively called the middle atmosphere.

What happens at the mesosphere?

Meteors burn up into smaller fragments in this layer of the atmosphere. When space rocks fall towards Earth, friction in the mesosphere burns up the fragments, causing the fragments to disintegrate into small dust particles, producing meteorites, the space rocks that pass through the mesosphere and hit the surface.

Is the mesosphere the coldest layer?

The temperature lowers progressively as height increases from the top of the stratosphere, the lowest section of the atmosphere with temperatures below -143°C making it the coldest region in the atmosphere.

Is the mesosphere a layer of the Earth?

The mesosphere is a 35-kilometer-thick layer between the stratosphere and the thermosphere, which are located below and above it. As the name “meso” implies, it is located in the middle of the layers of the atmosphere.

What are the five characteristics of the mesosphere?

The temperature lowers progressively as height increases from the top of the stratosphere, the lowest section of the atmosphere with temperatures below -143°C making it the coldest region in the atmosphere.

Its lower boundary is often 50 to 65 kilometers above sea level, while its upper boundary is typically 85 to 100 kilometers above sea level.

Along with the stratosphere, they are collectively called the middle atmosphere.

It is separated from the thermosphere through the mesopause, which lies at an altitude of 80 to 90 kilometers.

It has little effect on weather patterns, pollution transmission, and the availability of water vapor.

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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