The Structure of the Earth's Atmosphere: Lecture Notes,

These are lecture notes for a graduate course in applied physics the aim of which is to relate the phenomenology of the different regions of the earths atmosphere to the underlying physical principles. After an initial discussion of relevant topics in atomic physics, the sun is treated as the primary energy source that drives the atmosphere, which is then treated by moving upward from sea level, region by region, through the troposphere, stratomesosphere, and thermosphere, analyzing in turn the effects of water vapor and clouds, ozone and oxygen photodissociation. Above 200-300 km this pattern fails because of the geomagnetic field, and here the ionosphere and exosphere are treated as applications of plasma physics. Author