The Earth System’s Four Spheres

After completing this section, students will be able to explain how Earth’s distance from the Sun and the Earth’s atmosphere produce temperatures that allow water to

exist in a liquid state (Standard PI – 068)

Earth is the only planet currently known to support life. Earth has:

• Water in all three states (liquid, solid and gas – water, ice and water vapor)

• Minerals needed for growth and development

• Air for breathing• Correct temperature for living things

The Earth system consists of four spheres that interact with each other

• The atmosphere• The hydrosphere• The geosphere• The biosphere

The Atmosphere

The atmosphere is a gaseous envelope surrounding the Earth.

• Composed of a mixture of gases (nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide)

• Provides living things with oxygen and carbon dioxide

• Protects us from harmful solar radiation (ozone layer)

• Produces wind and weather

The Geosphere

The Geopshere makes up the Earth itself.

It includes rocks

Mountains

Beaches

Ocean Basins

The Geosphere provides us with:

• Mineral resources

• Building materials

• Locations for cities and homes

The Hydrosphere

The Hydrosphere consists of all water systems on the Earth, both fresh and salt.

It includes:

• Oceans• Lakes• Rivers• Groundwater• Water in glaciers and mountain snow

Most of the Earth’s water is salty. Only about 3% is fresh and only .5% is

available for us to use.

All the water on the Earth is recycled. It goes through a series of processes called

the Water Cycle.

The Biosphere

All the living things on the planet compose the biosphere. Interactions between the atmosphere, hydrosphere and geosphere

produce conditions to support life.

The four spheres are constantly moving, changing and interacting.

• Winds blow• Rocks form, break down and form again• Plants and animals live, grow, die and

decompose• Water moves from the rivers to the sea

The four spheres interact with each other, everyday, all around us.

Which spheres are interacting in the picture above?

Interactions

• Gases enter the air (atmosphere) from the volcano (geosphere)

• Ash and lava will (geosphere) will cover the land and destroy crops (biosphere)

• Water vapor (hydrosphere) enters the air (atmosphere) from the volcano (geosphere)

Which spheres are interacting in this picture?

Interactions

• Water from the tidal bore (hydrosphere) destroys cars and injures people (biosphere)

• Water from the bore (hydrosphere) changes the coastline (geosphere)

Which spheres are interacting?

Interactions

• The tornado (atmosphere) formed from a severe thunderstorm (hydrosphere)

• Tornado (atmosphere/hydrosphere) damaged Washburn University (biosphere)