Download Earth`s Atmosphere

The 4 Spheres of the Earth
The 4 spheres are:
 Lithosphere (land)
Hydrosphere (water)
 Atmosphere (air)
Biosphere (living things)
Lithosphere
1. Solid, rocky crust covering
entire planet.
2. This crust is made up of
minerals.
3. It covers the surface of
Earth from the top of
Mount Everest to the
bottom of the Mariana
Trench.
Hydrosphere
• 1. Composed of all water on
or near the earth. (Oceans,
rivers, lakes, and even the
moisture in the air.)
2. Ninety-seven percent of
Earth's water is in the
oceans.
3. Three percent is fresh
water; three-quarters of
that fresh water is solid and
exists in ice sheets
Biosphere
1. Composed of all living
organisms. (All plants,
animals, and one-celled
organisms )
2. Most of the planet's life is
found from three meters
below the ground to thirty
meters above it and in the
top 200 meters of the
oceans and seas.
Atmosphere
1. Body of air which
surrounds our planet.
2. Most of our atmosphere is
located close to the earth's
surface where it is most
dense.
3. The air of our planet is
79%nitrogen and just under
21% oxygen; the small
amount remaining is
composed of carbon
dioxide and other gasses.
Sphere Interactions
**All spheres interact with other spheres. **
For example, rain (hydrosphere) falls from clouds in the
atmosphere to the lithosphere and forms streams and rivers that
provide drinking water for wildlife and humans as well as water
for plant growth (biosphere).
You get the idea!
Study the coastline in the photograph. Suggest 5
interactions that are occurring between the lithosphere,
hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere in this landscape?
Here are some possible interactions
that you may have thought of.
 waves undercut the cliffs
causing upper portions of rock
to collapse.
 wave action carries sand that
polishes rocks on the beach.
 water evaporates from the
ocean into atmosphere.
 water vapor condenses to form
clouds.
 clouds produce rain.
 rainwater needed for plant
growth.
 plant roots stabilize the soil.
 vegetation adds nutrients to the
soil.
 vegetation takes up carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere and releases
oxygen.
 the ocean is a habitat for microscopic
life, plants, fish, birds and mammals.
 wind generates waves.
 wind may blow away soil in exposed
locations.
 oceans absorb carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere.
 wave action adds oxygen to water,
needed by aquatic plants and animals.
Putting Them All Together
1. All four spheres
can be, and
often are, present
in one single
location.
Layers of Earth from the CENTER
OUTWARD:
 INNER CORE
 OUTER CORE
 MANTLE
 CRUST
 As you move from the
crust to the inner core,
the temperature of Earth
increases.
Layers from the CENTER
OUTWARD
1 INNER CORE: Made
of Iron. It is solid
and unattached to
the mantle. It is the
hottest layer!
Layers from the CENTER
OUTWARD
2. OUTER CORE: It is
a magma like liquid
layer that surrounds
the Inner Core and
creates Earth's
magnetic field.
Layers from the CENTER
OUTWARD
3. MANTLE:
Earth’s thickest
layer.
Layers from the CENTER
OUTWARD:
4. CRUST:
EARTH’S
THINNEST
LAYER.
Alfred Wegner
 Famous Scientist who
founded the theory
of Continental Drift.
CONTINENTAL DRIFT
 Continental Drift was
the first attempt to
explain why similar
animal and plant
fossils are found on
different continents.
PANGEA
 Wegner’s belief that
todays continents
once formed a single
landmass, a
supercontinent,
which he named
Pangaea.
Plate Tectonics
 A theory in geology: the
lithosphere of the earth is
divided into a small
number of plates which
float on and travel
independently over the
mantle similar to ice
cubes in a bowl of water.
Each plate has a
particular name and they
seem to fit together like a
jigsaw puzzle.
3 Types of Plate Boundaries
Divergent
Convergent
Transform
Divergent Plates: Move AWAY from
one another.
Convergent Plates: Move TOWARD one
another.
TRANSFORM Plates: Slide PAST one
another.
The end