stratosphere
n.n. the second layer of the Earth's atmosphere, located above the troposphere. It is much thinner than the layer below and contains a layer of ozone that protects us from the sun's harmful rays.
n. the second major layer of the Earth's atmosphere, situated above the troposphere and below the mesosphere. Characterised by a temperature increase with altitude and containing the ozone layer.
The ozone layer is found in the stratosphere.
Commercial airplanes typically fly in the lower part of the stratosphere to avoid turbulence and weather systems.
The stratosphere is a relatively stable layer of the atmosphere, which is why it is often used as a reference point for measuring atmospheric pressure and temperature changes.
From French stratosphère, a word coined by its discoverer, meteorologist Léon Teisserenc de Bort. From strato- + -sphere.