Atmosphere of Earth development of animals. Today's atmosphere contains 21% oxygen, which is great enough for this rapid development of animals. "Air pollution" is the introduction into the atmosphere of chemicals, particulate matter or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to organisms. Stratospheric ozone depletion is caused by air pollution, chiefly from chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone-depleting substances. The scientific consensus is that the anthropogenic greenhouse gases currently accumulating in the atmosphere are the main cause of global warming. On October 19, 2015 NASA started a website containing daily images of the full sunlit side of Earth on http://epic.gsfc.nasa.gov/. The images are taken
COSPAR international reference atmosphere COSPAR international reference atmosphere The COSPAR International Reference Atmosphere (CIRA) is an empirical model of the atmosphere of Earth. It consists of a set of tables of average air pressures, altitudes and temperatures. The CIRA models are developed by the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) and have been important for the planning of spaceflight. Orbit determinations and flight planning of the very first satellites proved to be more complicated than expected due to a lack of knowledge on the upper atmosphere. The Committee on Space Research therefore set up a long lasting special project to elaborate a reference model of