Earth Materials & Systems

Earth Materials & Systems EQ: How do Earth’s major systems interact?

How and Why • The surface of the earth is complex and dynamic made up of interconnected systems • Interconnected means: connected together • These systems are: • Geosphere • Atmosphere • Hydrosphere • Biosphere • These systems interact with one another.

How and Why • All the earth’s processes are the result of energy flowing and matter cycling within these systems • Example: • The motion of tectonic plates is part of the cycles of convection in the earth’s mantle • The weather and climate are shaped by complex interactions with sunlight, the ocean, the atmosphere, the clouds, ice, land ETC…..

Geosphere • The geosphereincludes: • a hot and mostly metallic inner core of the earth • a mantle that is hot, soft, solid rock • a crust of rock, soil and sediment

Geosphere • The Earth's interior is arranged somewhat like a layer cake, consisting of a series of layers that change in density, mineral composition and thickness with depth. • Directly below the crust is the mantle. • It consists of two parts, an upper layer that is less dense and relatively brittle and a lower (much thicker) layer that is more dense and plastic (it deforms without breaking). The crust and upper mantle combined form the brittle upper layers of the Earth's interior called the lithosphere. • The mantle makes up the largest volume of the Earth's interior. • The region beneath the mantle is called the core, and consists of two parts, a liquid outer core that is around 2250 km thick and a solid inner core 1220 km thick. • The core is primarily made up of iron, with a small amount of nickel. The liquid iron in the outer core is particularly important in that it is the primary source of the Earth's magnetic field. Unlike a common magnet, though, the north and south ends of our "global magnet" are not exactly situated at Earth's poles.

Atmosphere • The atmosphere is the envelope of gas around the planet. • If compared to the diameter of the Earth, the atmosphere is very thin. • It is a coating of gases that protects the Earth and life on Earth from the vacuum and radiation of space. • The thickness of the atmosphere is a balance between the gravity of the Earth and energetic molecules that want to rise and move towards space. • If the Earth were much larger, the atmosphere would be thicker.

Atmosphere • The atmosphere is far more than just a layer of gases surrounding the Earth. • It is a moving source of life for every creature of the planet. • While the atmosphere is mainly composed of nitrogen (N2), it also contains gases such as oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) that plants and animals need to survive. • It has specialized molecules like ozone (O3) that filter out harmful radiation from space. • The atmosphere also protects us from the vacuum of space. • Without the atmosphere, our world would be as barren and dead as the Moon or Mercury.

Hydrosphere • The hydrosphere is the liquid water component of the Earth. • It includes the oceans, seas, lakes, ponds, rivers and streams. • The hydrosphere covers about 70% of the surface of the Earth and is the home for many plants and animals. • The hydrosphere, like the atmosphere, is always in motion. • The motion of rivers and streams can be easily seen, while the motion of the water within lakes and ponds is less obvious. • Some of the motion of the oceans and seas can be easily seen while the large scale motions that move water great distances such as between the tropics and poles or between continents are more difficult to see. • These types of motions are in the form of currents that move the warm waters in the tropics toward the poles, and colder water from the polar regions toward the tropics.

Hydrosphere ALL WATER ON EARTH!!!!

Lithosphere • “Lithos” means “rock,” and the lithosphere consists of the outer, rocky parts of the planet. • The name generally refers to Earth's crust and some of the upper mantle. • The lithosphere has been found to make gradual movements, which sometimes bring fresh material to the surface and also bury older parts of the surface.

Lithosphere • This zone which lies directly below the lithosphere is called the asthenosphere. • The lithosphere, including both the solid portion of the upper mantle and Earth's crust, is carried on top of the weaker, less rigid asthenosphere, which seems to be in continual motion. • This motion creates stress in the rigid rock layers above it, forcing the slabs or plates of the lithosphere to jostle against each other, much likeice cubes floating in a bowl of swirling water . • This motion of the lithospheric plates is known as plate tectonics , and is responsible for many of the movements seen on Earth's surface today including earthquakes, certain types of volcanic activity, and continental drift.

Biosphere • The biosphere is all about life. This is where all of the trees, bugs, and animals live. • The biosphere extends to the upper areas of the atmosphere where birds and insects can be found. • It also reaches deep into the ground at a dark cave or to the bottom of the ocean at hydrothermal vents. • The biosphere extends to any place that life (of any kind) can exist on Earth.

Biosphere • The biosphere is the one place where all of the other spheres of the planet work together. • The land interacts with the water (hydrosphere). • The land interacts with the air (atmosphere and climates). • The land even interacts with forces deep inside the Earth and the energy coming to the Earth from space. • All of those forces work together to create our living world.

Weather and Climate • Weather and climate are interactions between the geosphere, lithosphere, and the atmosphere. • Winds and clouds in the atmosphere interact with landforms to determine patterns of weather.

Cloud Types • Clouds are classified into a system that uses Latin words to describe the appearance of clouds as seen by an observer on the ground. • There are four types of clouds. • Cumulus heap • Stratus layer • Cirrus curl of hair • Nimbus rain • A cloud is a large collection of very tiny droplets of water or ice crystals. The droplets are so small and light that they can float in the air.

Cloud Types • How are clouds formed? • All air contains water, but near the ground it is usually in the form of an invisible gas called water vapor. When warm air rises, it expands and cools. Cool air can't hold as much water vapor as warm air, so some of the vapor condenses onto tiny pieces of dust that are floating in the air and forms a tiny droplet around each dust particle. When billions of these droplets come together they become a visible cloud. • Why do clouds float? • A cloud is made up of liquid water droplets. A cloud forms when air is heated by the sun. As it rises, it slowly cools it reaches the saturation point and water condenses, forming a cloud. As long as the cloud and the air that its made of is warmer than the outside air around it, it floats! • How do clouds move? • Clouds move with the wind. High cirrus clouds are pushed along by the jet stream, sometimes traveling at more than 100 miles-per-hour. When clouds are part of a thunderstorm they usually travel at 30 to 40 mph.

Cloud Types • Why are clouds white? • Since light travels as waves of different lengths, each color has its very own unique wavelength. Clouds are white because their water droplets or ice crystals are large enough to scatter the light of the seven wavelengths (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet), which combine to produce white light. • Why do clouds turn gray? • Clouds are made up of tiny water droplets or ice crystals, usually a mixture of both. The water and ice scatter all light, making clouds appear white. If the clouds get thick enough or high enough all the light above does not make it through, hence the gray or dark look. Also, if there are lots of other clouds around, their shadow can add to the gray or multicolored gray appearance.

Rainfall • Rainfall helps shape the land and affects the types of living things found in the region.

CITATION The information for this PowerPoint was taken from: www.weatherwizkid.com www.earth.rice.edu www.kids.britannica.com www.encyclopedia.com www.geography4kids.com www.2010.atmos.uiuc.edu

Earth Materials & Systems