On Thu, 21 Jun 2007 23:52:04 +0100, Goofball_star_dot_etal
wrote:

On Thu, 21 Jun 2007 15:48:12 -0700, Gordon wrote:

If you have to wear an oxygen mask at high altitudes because oxygen
(32) is heavier than other gases that make up our air (28), then how
does co2 get into the stratosphere and cause a warming blanket when co2
(44) is much heavier than oxygen?
Gordon

You're kidding, right?

Sorry..
For gasses that have no significant sources or sinks in the
atmosphere, they are completely mixed and in fixed proportions in the
atmosphere. Water vapour though has considerable structure, since the
maximum mixing ratio is controlled by temperature. In the tropics and
at the surface the temperatures are higher than at the poles and
tropopause.

The reduction of oxygen with height is due to the reduction in air
pressure with height.

The CO2 greenhouse effect is less in the stratosphere than in the
troposphere where there is more air.

The stratopause maximum temperature around 50km is due to ozone
absoption of sunlight at short wavelengths 300nm.