Earth Systems & Structure Flashcards
What produces when systems interact with one another?
climates and environments at Earth’s surface
What are the five major Earth systems?
- atmosphere
- biosphere
- hydrosphere
- pedosphere
- geosphere
What does the atmosphere consist of?
air
What does the biosphere consist of?
living organisms (all life on earth)
What does the hydrosphere consist of?
water vapor, streams, lakes, groundwater, and ice
What does the pedosphere consist of?
weathered and broken particles of rock capped soil
What does the geosphere consist of?
Earth’s rocky crust & mantle & metallic core
What is a system?
a group of interrelated and interacting objects and phenomena
What are two things that systems consist of?
reservoirs and fluxes
What is a reservoir?
the supply of matter or energy within a system
What is a stock?
the mount of matter or energy a reservoir holds
What are fluxes?
movements of material and energy among reservoirs
What are the different types of systems?
- open system
- closed system
- isolated system
- dynamic system
- static system
What is an open system?
a system that allows both matters and energy to flow in and out
What is the most common type of system found in nature?
open systems
What is a closed system?
a system that allows change of energy but not matter across its boundaries
What is the most general example of a closed system?
Earth
What is an isolated system?
a system that has no interactions with their surroundings and allows neither energy nor matter to cross
Is there a system on Earth that is isolated and if so, what is an example of that system?
no system on Earth is isolated
What is a dynamic system?
a system that changes over time due to energy inputs
What is a static system?
a system with no changes
What is an example of a static system?
the Moon
What is energy?
the ability to do work when a force is applied
Is energy a system?
YES
What is a process?
the manner in which changes to a system occur
What are examples of processes?
formation (tectonic plates), volcanism, and flooding
What is a non-steady-state system?
flow rates change over time
What are the two types of system changes?
oscillatory changes and increasing growth rate
What is an oscillatory change?
…
What is increasing growth rate?
population growth
Linear growth of system:
inflows and outflows have fixed values
Exponential growth of system:
inflow based on the amount of material in reservoir
What are the two feedback in Earth Systems?
reinforcing and balancing
What is reinforcing feedback?
a process that promotes further change in the same direction the system is moving as it evolves
What is destabilizing?
promoting a cascade of events that propels the system toward accelerating change
What is balancing feedback?
a process that causes effects that ends to reverse the direction of change
What is stabilizing?
counteracting the effect of the initial event and help to regulate the system in a steady state
What is the lithosphere’s composition?
mostly oxygen and silicon
What is the pesosphere’s composition?
nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon-rich organic matter
What is the hydrosphere’s composition?
oxygen and hydrogen
What is the atmosphere’s composition?
oxygen and nitrogen
What is the biosphere’s composition?
oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon
