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• 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 the 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


  • Final layer of the Earth
  • 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
• The 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 Earth's water is in oceans
• Cryosphere


  • Frozen part of the hydrosphere including glaciers, ice caps, and icebergs
• 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
  • Receives 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 that 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


  • 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
• Desert

  • Low rainfall (less than 50cm/year)
  • Specialized vegetation and animals