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Composition of the atmospheric air
Filtered air includes trace amounts of many of the chemical elements. Substantial amounts of argon, nitrogen, and oxygen are present as elementary gases. Note the major greenhouse gases: water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Many additional elements from natural sources may be present in tiny amounts in an unfiltered air sample, including contributions from dust, pollen and spores, sea spray, vulcanism, and meteoroids. Various industrial pollutants are also now present in the air, such as chlorine (elementary or in compounds), fluorine (in compounds), elementary mercury, and sulfur (in compounds such as sulfur dioxide (SO2)).
Gas | Concentration | ||
---|---|---|---|
Name | Symbol | Volume % | ppmv |
Nitrogen | N2 | 78.084 | 780,840 |
Oxygen | O2 | 20.947 | 209,470 |
Argon | Ar | 0.934 | 9,340 |
Carbon dioxide | CO2 | 0.033 | 330 |
Neon | Ne | 0.001820 | 18.20 |
Helium | He | 0.000520 | 5.20 |
Methane | CH4 | 0.000200 | 2.00 |
Krypton | Kr | 0.000110 | 1.10 |
Sulfur dioxide | SO2 | 0.000100 | 1.00 |
Hydrogen | H2 | 0.000050 | 0.50 |
Nitrous oxide | N2O | 0.000050 | 0.50 |
Xenon | Xe | 0.000009 | 0.09 |
Ozone | O3 | 0.000007 | 0.07 |
Nitrogen dioxide | NO2 | 0.000002 | 0.02 |
- ↑ The Atmosphere From the website of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service (NWS), Last updated May 5, 2009