Download The Earth as a System - Warren County Schools

The Earth as a
System
Earth’s Spheres
Earth System Science (ESS)
• The study of the interactions
between and among events and
Earth’s spheres
• A relatively new science (1988)
Earth’s Sphere
• Atmosphere
• Hydrosphere
• Lithosphere
• Biosphere
• Cryosphere
• Anthrosphere
Interacting Environmental
Systems
• Earth’s systems relies on the input and
output in those areas. Depending on the
amounts taken in or out can make a positive
or negative situation.
• These are know as feedback loops
– They can be positive or negative
– Negative feedback loop- happen most often
naturally like the feeding patterns of animals.
One predator will hunt until that area becomes
more stable. Meaning that food is not as easy to
catch and they will move to another location.
(room temp is another example)
• Positive feedback loop- This has a
negative impact on the area. The
area is driven to an extreme like over
population, over grazing and removal
of trees and plant life.
– This will cause unnatural occurrences
like erosion around the areas that might
have been cleared for trees and cattle.
– Erosion- removal of soil by water, wind
and gravity. Can lead to streams and
rivers becoming bigger and sink holes.
Biosphere
• All life on earth,
including man,
and all organisms.
• The life zone on
our planet
distinguishes our
planet from the
others in the solar
system.
Biosphere and Atmosphere
• Biosphere- place in which all living
things interact, and gases released
here help makeup our atmosphere,
which in turn help to protect the
Biosphere.
• Atmosphere-
Atmosphere
• A gaseous sphere
and it envelopes the
Earth,
• Consists of a mixture
of gases composed
primarily of nitrogen,
oxygen, carbon
dioxide, and water
vapor.
• Our atmosphere is made up of many gases
like methane, carbon dioxide, oxygen.
– The ozone layer which contains oxygen
helps to protect us from sun’s radiation, it is
made up of three oxygen atoms
– The other gases make up layer that keeps
Earth warm, These are know as greenhouse
gases
– This is know as the greenhouse effect.
Hydrosphere
• All of the
water on
Earth
• 71% of the
earth is
covered by
water and
only 29% is
terra firma
Hydrosphere
• Hydro- means water
• Water is one the most important resources
on earth since it covers more than 97% of
earth’s surface.
– Much of this water is not easily accessable as
most of it frozen in glaciers and some is below
the surface in ground water.
– Much of this water has to be pumped to the
surface and rest that lies in the lakes also has
to be pumped from its location.
– Water moves throughout earth through the
water cycle. This movement helps move
nutrients throughout the earth’s surface.
• Evaporation-liquid to gas
• Transpiration- lose of water from
plants
• Precipitation- rain, snow
• Condensation- gas to liquid
Lithosphere
• The Earth's solid
surface, often
called the crust of
the earth. It
includes
continental and
oceanic crust as
well as the
various layers of
the Earth's
interior.
Crust
•
•
•
•
•
1% of Earth’s mass—contains all known life in the
universe. 40-kilometer (25-mile) deep
From mud and clay to diamonds and coal, Earth’s crust
is composed of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary
rocks.
The most abundant rocks in the crust are igneous,
which are formed by the cooling of magma. Earth’s
crust is rich in igneous rocks such as granite and basalt.
Metamorphic rocks have undergone drastic changes due
to heat and pressure. Slate and marble are familiar
metamorphic rocks.
Sedimentary rocks are formed by the accumulation of
material at Earth’s surface. Sandstone and shale are
sedimentary rocks.
Oceanic Crust
• Oceanic crust is constantly formed at
mid-ocean ridges, where tectonic plates
are tearing apart from each other.
• Just as oceanic crust is formed at midocean ridges, it is destroyed in
subduction zones. Subduction is the
important geologic process in which a
tectonic plate made of dense lithospheric
material melts or falls below a plate
made of less-dense lithosphere at a
convergent plate boundary.
Continental Crust
• Continental crust is mostly composed of
different types of granites.
• As with oceanic crust, continental crust is
created by plate tectonics. At convergent
plate boundaries, where tectonic plates
crash into each other, continental crust is
thrust up in the process of orogeny, or
mountain-building. For this reason, the
thickest parts of continental crust are at
the world’s tallest mountain ranges.
Tectonic Plates
• Earth has about 15 major plates that are
constantly moving and colliding into each
other. They can move from 1-6 inches a
year creating the mountains and
volcano's.
• The separation of these plates has
resulted in the landforms we know as
continents. The movement also has
effected the deposition of soil, and
erosion. This will affect the type of life
that may live on these landforms.
Plate Zones
Cryosphere
• The portion of
the Earth's
surface where
water is in a solid
form
• Snow or ice:
includes glaciers,
ice shelves,
snow, icebergs,
and arctic
climatology
Anthrosphere
• Man and his
direct
ancestors,
hominids.
• The human
population, it’s
buildings,dams,
and other
constructions.
Interconnected Spheres
• Spheres are closely connected
• Changes are often chain reactions
• A change in one sphere results in
changes in others - called an event
– Forest fire destroys plants in an area
• Interactions between spheres
– No plants => erosion
– Soil in water => increased turbidity
– Turbidity => impacts water plants/animals
Event <=> Sphere
• Causes & Effects
• Interactions
• Event <=>Sphere
• Sphere<=>Sphere
ESS Analysis
• Events
– Cause-effect events
– Interactions
– Natural events
• Earthquake, hurricane, forest fires
– Human caused events
• Oil spill, air pollution, construction
ESS Analysis
• What spheres caused the event?
Sphere
Event
• What are effects of the event on the
spheres?
Event
Spheres
• How do changes in one sphere impact
on other spheres?
Sphere
Sphere
Understanding Interactions
• Global implications
• Helps people predict outcomes
• Preparation for natural disasters
• Environmental impacts of human
activities