Peplosphere

From Palaeos

EARTH
Magnetosphere	Exosphere			Atmosphere
Ionosphere	Thermosphere
	Mesosphere
Hydrosphere	Biosphere	Stratosphere
		Troposphere
		Peplosphere
		Pedosphere	Lithosphere	Crust	Geosphere
		Upper Crust
Lower Crust
Upper Mantle	Lithospheric Mantle			Mantle
	Asthenosphere
	Deeper Upper Mantle
Lower Mantle
Outer Core				Core
Inner Core
Topics: Climate \| Composition of the Earth \| Formation of the Earth \| Gaia Hypothesis \| Geography \| History of the Earth \| Plate tectonics \| Structure of the Earth

Peplosphere

Peplosphere is a rarely used term that refers to the ground-based layer of the atmosphere which is affected by convection during the day, or alternatively, to the region of friction between the atmosphere and the Earth's surface.

If distinguished from the free atmosphere, the peplosphere reaches up to about 2 km of height, depending on the orography (underlying hills and mountains).

The Peplosphere is topped by the peplopause which often coincides with an inversion layer. At night when the boundary layer becomes stable and its thickness shrinks, a neutrally stratified layer remains below the peplopause. This layer acts as a reservoir for air pollutants which were vertically mixed during the day. Therefore the nightly layer above the boundary layer and below the peplopause is sometimes called "reservoir layer".

The Peplosphere corresponds to or includes the atmospheric boundary layer, or planetary boundary layer (PBL)