The Subsystems Flashcards
What are the major Subsystems?
Atmosphere Lithosphere Hydrosphere Biosphere Cryosphere
What are the main features of the Atmosphere?
Nitrogen- 78%
Oxygen- 21%
Argon- 0.93%
Carbon dioxide- 0.04%
The earth atmosphere is 300 miles thick
Warms planet by day and cools at night
What are the different layers of the Atmosphere?
Troposphere Stratosphere Mesosphere Thermosphere Exosphere
How does the Atmosphere link to others?
The atmosphere works with other subsystems to influence the climate, trigger geological processes and affect life all over earth.
Evaporation from the hydrosphere provides the medium for cloud and rain formation in the atmosphere. The atmosphere brings back rainwater to the hydrosphere.
The atmosphere provides the geosphere with heat and energy needed for rock breakdown and erosion. The geosphere, in turn, reflects the sun’s energy back into the atmosphere.
Why the atmosphere is the most important subsystem?
The atmosphere is very important because it helps protect the earth from incoming solar rays. The atmosphere traps the heat which helps keep the heat a comfortable temperature. Furthermore, the atmosphere is important for the plants and wildlife since it circulates the gas to help them survive. It circulates oxygen for humans and animals and carbon dioxide for plants. The atmosphere also controls the weather which helps precipitation happen.
What are the main features of the Lithosphere?
The lithosphere consists of the earth’s crust and the upper mantle.The lithosphere gives us a stable planet to live on by keeping the earth stable and forming the tectonic plates.The lithosphere provides a safe environment for all living things with the mountains and the sea floor.
How does the Lithosphere link to others?
The lithosphere is linked to the:
Atmosphere - The lithosphere is the the barrier to stop evaporation of many earth elements which would be lost into the atmosphere, thinning the atmosphere.
Hydrosphere - The lithosphere is the ocean floor, it created the oceans shape and holds the water away from the lava core.
Biosphere - The lithosphere is the overall structure of the biosphere, it is the platform of all life.
Cryosphere - The lithosphere holds the earth’s ice and is the barrier between it and the molten core.
Why is the Lithosphere the most important?
It’s more important than the hydrosphere and cryosphere as without it all the water and ice would be exposed to the hot core and evaporate.
It’s more important than the biosphere as without it there’d be no land for life to thrive in the first place.
It is more important than the atmosphere because there would be no Earth to have an atmosphere without it.
What is the Hydrosphere?
A Hydrosphere is the total amount of water on the planet, this includes: surface water, underground water and water in the air. A planet’s Hydrosphere can be liquid, vapour or ice.
What are the Hydrospheres main features?
On Earth liquid water exists as surface water in the form of Oceans, Lakes, and Rivers.
It can also exist below ground as groundwater.
Water Vapour is most visible as fog or clouds
How does the Hydrosphere link to others?
The Hydrosphere mainly links to the Cryosphere subsystem as the majority of the Earth’s water supply comes in the form of glaciers, ice caps, and icebergs. Which all make up the cryosphere subsystem.
Why is the Hydrosphere the most important?
The Hydrosphere is important as it is the planets total amount of water. Without water there would be hardly any life on Earth.
What is the Biosphere?
The Biosphere is the regions of the surface and atmosphere of the earth or another planet which has living organisms in that area.
Its the sum of all the ecosystems.
It can also be termed the zone of life on Earth, a closed system, and largely self-regulating
What are the main features of the Biosphere?
Measures 20 KM in height.
almost all life exists between about 500 meters below the ocean’s surface to about 6 kilometers above sea level.
The Biosphere has existed for around 3.5 billion years.
Self supporting and regulating system due to food chains.
Biosphere is made up of the lithosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere.
Contains 5 biomes : aquatic, desert, forest, grassland and tundra.
The biosphere is all of life.
How does Biosphere linked to other subsystems?
Atmosphere - Atmosphere is composed of a tonne of gasses gathered around the earth or other planets. One of these gasses is CO2, which is taken in by all plants in order to photosynthesise. And produce Oxygen, allowing us to live.
Lithosphere - Lithosphere is composed of rocks, soils and minerals, and the biosphere (animals, plants etc) live on these rocks. They also obtain their nutrients and carry out their life on the Lithosphere.
Hydrosphere - The Hydrosphere is essentially the Water Cycle. The Biosphere requires this water to function, grow and live. Fish live in water, and all animals drink water.
Cryosphere - The cryosphere is the frozen water part of our system. Carbon reacts with permafrost and glaciers, essentially forming a high percentage of the world’s fresh water. This water is needed for survival of the earths ecosystems.
