How the Earth's Subsystems Interact

• Matter and energy move and cycle between the four different subsystems

  1. Cycles make life on Earth possible

  2. Example: water cycle - water moves between different spheres, absorbs, releases, and transports energy
• If water vapor does not fall back to the Earth as rain

  Bodies of water will be drained, and no life on Earth will exist
• Some of the components in the subsystems overlap, e.g. soil can be considered part of hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere
• Goldilocks' zone


  The habitable zone
• Earth's temperature


  Impacts chemical and biological processes
• If Earth is the first planet from the sun, the most likely outcome is no atmosphere and no liquid water
• Atmosphere


  Acts as the Earth's blanket
• Hydrosphere


  Salt water includes ocean and sea
• Evaporation


  Interaction between Hydrosphere and Atmosphere
• Rock fragments that have weathered

  Swept away by river currents (Geosphere and Hydrosphere)
• Magnetic field


  Protects us from the storms of charged particles from the sun
• Volcanoes


  Help in nutrient cycling to support life on Earth
• Greenhouse gas


  A gas that traps heat
• Earth's temperature


  Determined by distance from the sun
• Distance from the sun

  Affects a planet's ability to hold atmosphere
• Closed system

  Exchange of heat or energy but no exchange of matter
• Water evaporating from the soil


  Interaction between Geosphere and Atmosphere
• Water availability


  Impacts growth of animals like cows who depend on plants for food (Hydrosphere and Biosphere)
• Atmosphere


  Mixture of gases, second most abundant gas component is Oxygen
• Taal Volcano spewing gases and ashes


  Interaction between Geosphere and Atmosphere
• Oceans


  Cover almost entire Earth surface, absorb and redistribute solar radiation
• An astronomer observed an Earth-sized like planet in a distant galaxy. Based on the data, the planet is at the same distance from its star, like Earth to its star, the sun. It is also covered with a thick atmosphere which is composed of carbon dioxide and shows no volcanic activity. What can you infer from this data?

  
  

  The Earth-like planet is hot and no nutrient cycling occurs
• An astronomer observed an Earth-sized like planet in a distant galaxy. Based on the data, the planet is at the same distance from its star, like Earth to its star, the sun. It is also covered with a thick atmosphere which is composed of carbon dioxide and shows no volcanic activity. What can you infer from this data?

  The Earth-like planet is hot and no nutrient cycling occurs
• Oceans cover the almost entire Earth surface. This is the big part of Earth's hydrosphere and plays an important role in Earth's habitable condition. Which of the following is its function?


  It absorbs and redistributes solar radiation.
• Taal Volcano spews gases and ashes into air. Which two spheres are interacting in this scenario?

  Geosphere and Atmosphere