Atmosphere Atmosphere An atmosphere (from Modern Greek ἀτμός "(atmos)", meaning 'vapour', and σφαῖρα "(sphaira)", meaning 'sphere') is a layer or a set of layers of gases surrounding a planet or other material body, that is held in place by the gravity of that body. An atmosphere is more likely to be retained if the gravity it is subject to is high and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. The atmosphere of Earth is composed of nitrogen (about 78%), oxygen (about 21%), argon (about 0.9%) , carbon dioxide (0.03%) and other gases in trace amounts. Oxygen is used by most organisms
Regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act in the climate system. Once emitted into the atmosphere, GHGs influence the Earth's energy balance for a period of decades to centuries. Consistent with their long-lasting impacts, the IPCC found that even if the concentrations of all GHGs had been kept constant at year 2000 levels, a further warming of approximately 0.1C per decade would be expected. The fact that GHGs are long-lived in the atmosphere also means that they become well mixed across the globe – hence the global nature of the problem. After considering the scientific evidence before her, Administrator Jackson found that greenhouse gases could be reasonably