Atmosphere The lowest layer is the troposphere, which extends from the surface to the bottom of the stratosphere. Three quarters of the atmosphere's mass resides within the troposphere, and is the layer within which the Earth's terrestrial weather develops. The depth of this layer varies between 17 km at the equator to 7 km at the poles. The stratosphere, extending from the top of the troposphere to the bottom of the mesosphere, contains the ozone layer. The ozone layer ranges in altitude between 15 and 35 km, and is where most of the ultraviolet radiation from the Sun is absorbed. The
Surface layer sea surface and buoyancy driving the warmed water upward. The entire cycle will be repeated and the water will be mixed during the following nighttime. In general, the surface mixed layer only occupies the first 100 meters of the ocean but can reach 150 m in the end of winter. The diurnal cycle does not change the depth of the mixed layer significantly relative to the seasonal cycle which produces much larger changes in sea surface temperature and buoyancy. With several vertical profiles, one can estimate the depth of the mixed layer by assigning a set temperature or density difference