Cards (47)

  • Earth is characterized by its blue waters, rocky brown and green land masses with white grounds set against the black background
  • Earth
    Made up of erratic, complex and interactive systems that make it a constantly changing planet
  • Compositional Layers of Earth
    • Crust
    • Mantle
    • Core
  • Crust
    • Made up of large rocks
    • Divided into oceanic and continental crust
    • 50-70 km in depth
    • Outermost layer of the earth
  • Oceanic crust elements
    • Iron (Fe)
    • Oxygen (O)
    • Magnesium (Mg)
    • Aluminium (Al)
  • Continental crust rocks
    • Granite
    • Sedimentary
    • Metamorphic
  • Mantle
    • Solid rocks and minerals
    • Marked by malleable semi-solid magma
    • 85% of the total weight and mass of the planet
    • First 50 miles composed of very hard rigid rock
    • Next 150 miles is superheated solid rock
  • Core
    • Made up of metal alloy such as iron (Fe) and nickel (Ni)
    • Divided into inner core and outer core
    • Contains siderophiles
  • Outer Core
    • Largest and second to the last layer
    • 2,200 km thick
    • Composed of superheated liquid molten lava of liquid iron and nickel
    • NiFe alloy temperature between 4,500° to 5,500° Celsius
    • Liquid metal has very low viscosity
  • Inner Core
    • Exceedingly hot, densely huge, mostly iron
    • 2500 km wide
    • Temperature ranges from 5,000°C to 6,000°C
    • Strong pressure keeps metal solid
  • Some scientists assume that the inner core is not totally solid but rather as plasma behaving as solid
  • Seismic waves are caused by breaking down rocks or explosions
  • Earth's Four Subsystems
    • Lithosphere
    • Hydrosphere
    • Atmosphere
    • Biosphere
  • Lithosphere
    • Outermost layer of a terrestrial planet
    • Consists of the crust and the solid outermost layer of the Earth
  • Hydrosphere
    • Waters near the Earth surface
    • Includes oceans, rivers, and lakes
    • Can be in liquid, vapor, and ice forms
  • 97% of the Earth's water is in the form of oceans (salty)
  • Three-quarters of freshwater exists in ice sheets
  • Ocean Zones

    • Coastal zone
    • Pelagic zone
    • Neritic zone
    • Oceanic zone
    • Epipelagic zone
    • Mesopelagic zone
    • Bathypelagic zone
    • Abyssopelagic zone
    • Hadalpelagic zone
  • Coastal zone

    • Sea bottom exposed during low tide
    • Covered during high tide
    • Animals adapted include sea stars, sea urchins, and some species of coral
  • Pelagic zone

    • Located seaward of the coastal zone's low tide mark
    • Always covered with water
  • Neritic zone
    • Lies above the continental shelf
    • Extends from low tide mark to a depth of 200m
    • Sunlight penetrates the water
  • Epipelagic zone

    • 0-200m depth
    • Gets a lot of sunlight
    • Abundance of aquatic plants
    • Common animals include seals, sea turtles, sea lions, rays, and sharks
  • Mesopelagic zone

    • 200-1000m depth
    • Characterized by dim light
    • No plants found
    • Animals include lilly fish, octopus, and squid
  • Bathypelagic zone

    • 1000-4000m depth
    • Does not receive any sunlight
    • Animals that live here lack eyes
  • Abyssopelagic zone

    • 4000-6000m depth
    • Described as deep sea
    • Most animals are invertebrates like blind shrimps, small squids, and hagfish
  • Hadalpelagic zone

    • 6000m to the bottom
    • Deepest part of the ocean
    • Found in deep water trenches and canyons
    • Animals include sea cucumber and tube worms
  • Atmosphere
    • Blanket of gas surrounding our planet
    • Enables plants to make their own food
    • Traps heat to keep us warm
    • Protects from harmful radiation
    • Drives ocean currents that regulate climate
  • Troposphere
    • Lowest layer of the atmosphere
    • Contains about 80% of the total mass of the atmosphere
    • Most water vapor present in this layer
    • All weather-associated clouds
  • Stratosphere
    • Extends up to 50km high
    • Contains ozone layer which absorbs solar ultraviolet radiation
  • Mesosphere
    • Extends to 85 km
    • Meteors usually burn up in this region
    • Coldest region in the atmosphere
  • Thermosphere
    • Extends up to 500km
    • Auroras and satellites occur
    • Temperature can rise to 1500 degrees Celsius
  • Exosphere
    • Upper limit of our atmosphere
    • Extends to 10,000km
  • Biosphere
    Part of the Earth where life exists<|>Global ecological system integrating all living things and their relationships
  • Biosphere was coined by geologist Edward Suess in 1875
  • Biomes
    • Aquatic
    • Forests
    • Desert
    • Tundra
  • Aquatic biome
    • Includes freshwater and marine regions
    • Houses numerous species of plants and animals
  • Forests biome

    • Includes tropical, temperate, and taiga
    • Dominated by grasses, large shrubs, and trees
  • Tropical Rainforest
    • Found closer to the equator
    • Hot, moist biome with rain all year long
    • Known for dense canopies of vegetation
  • Temperate Deciduous Forest
    • Has four distinct seasons
    • Leaves change color and fall off in autumn
    • Trees bloom again in spring
  • Taiga Forest

    • Boreal forest
    • Composed primarily of cone-bearing evergreen trees
    • Found in northern circumpolar regions
    • Long winters and moderate to high annual precipitation