CHAPTER 13

LESSON 1
The Earth System

Earth Systems and Interactions

Key Concepts
• How do Earth systems
What do you think? Read the three statements below and decide interact in the carbon
whether you agree or disagree with them. Place an A in the Before column cycle?
if you agree with the statement or a D if you disagree. After you’ve read
this lesson, reread the statements to see if you have changed your mind.
• How do Earth systems
interact in the phosphorus
Before Statement After cycle?
1. The amount of water on Earth remains
constant over time.
2. Hydrogen makes up the hydrosphere.
3. Most carbon on Earth is in the atmosphere.

3TUDY#OACH

Make a Table Contrast the

Earth Systems carbon cycle and the
Your body contains many systems. These systems work phosphorus cycle in a two-
together and make one big system—your body. Earth is a column table. Label one
system, too. Like you, Earth has smaller systems that work column Carbon Cycle and
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together, or interact, and make the larger Earth system. Four the other column Phosphorus
of these smaller systems are the atmosphere, the Cycle. Complete the table
hydrosphere, the geosphere, and the biosphere. as you read this lesson.

The Atmosphere Reading Check

The outermost Earth system is a mixture of gases and 1. Identify What systems
particles of matter called the atmosphere. It forms a layer make up the larger Earth
around the other Earth systems. The atmosphere is mainly system?
nitrogen and oxygen. Gases in the atmosphere move freely,
helping transport matter and energy among Earth systems.

The Hydrosphere
Below the atmosphere is the hydrosphere, the system
that contains all of Earth’s water. Most of the water is on
Earth’s surface—in oceans, glaciers, lakes, ice sheets, and
rivers. Smaller amounts of water are deep beneath Earth’s
surface, in the atmosphere, and in living things. Like gases
in the atmosphere, water in the hydrosphere continuously
moves from place to place. Many substances dissolve easily
in water. These dissolved substances move with the water.

Reading Essentials The Earth System 225

 The Geosphere
The largest Earth system is the geosphere, or the solid
Earth. The geosphere includes the thin layer of soil and rocks
on Earth’s surface and all the underlying layers of Earth.
Because the geosphere is mainly solid, materials in this
system move more slowly than the gases in the atmosphere
Reading Check or the water in the hydrosphere. As the materials move, they
2. Explain Why do slowly transport energy and matter.
materials in the geosphere
move slowly? The Biosphere
All living organisms on Earth make up the biosphere.
Because organisms live in air, water, soil, and rocks, the
biosphere is within all other Earth systems. Living organisms
survive using gases from the atmosphere, water from the
hydrosphere, and nutrients in soil and rocks.

Interactions Among Earth Systems

Biosphere
Atmosphere • The ozone layer helps
protect organisms from
harmful solar radiation.
• Plants use oxygen and
carbon dioxide during
photosynthesis.
Hydrosphere • All organisms need water
for life functions.
• Rising sea levels change
Geosphere
• Wind causes weathering
and erosion.
• Volcanic eruptions eject
gas and debris into the air.
• Water and ice cause
weathering, erosion, and
deposition.
Hydrosphere
• The water cycle influences
weather and climate.
• Increasing global tempera-
tures lead to melting polar
ice caps.

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habitats. • Hurricanes and tsunamis
change coastal landforms.
Geosphere • Materials in the geosphere
provide nutrients for life
functions.
• Organisms contribute to
weathering, erosion, and
fossil fuel formation.

Interpreting Tables Interactions Among Earth Systems

3. Name What other Earth systems interact by exchanging matter and energy.
interactions can you name? The table above describes some of these interactions. Matter
and energy often change in form as they flow between
systems.

The Water Cycle

The water cycle is an example of interaction among Earth
systems. It is the continuous movement of water on, above,
and below Earth’s surface, as shown in the figure at the top
of the next page. Water moves within the hydrosphere and
into other Earth systems.

226 The Earth System Reading Essentials

 The Water Cycle

Precipitation Visual Check

Condensation
4. Identify What
processes in the water cycle
move liquid water from
Evaporation
Transpiration Earth’s surface into the
Runoff atmosphere as water vapor?
Ocean
Lake
Transpiration

Water is not just a liquid. Sometimes it changes state and

becomes solid ice or gaseous water vapor. As water flows or
changes state, it moves thermal energy within the water
cycle and among Earth systems.

The Rock Cycle

The rock cycle, shown below, is another type of interaction
among Earth systems. It is the series of processes that change Make a four-column chart
rocks from one form to another. Some processes happen book to organize your notes
on Earth systems and
deep within Earth. Others, like weathering and erosion,
interactions.
occur on or near Earth’s surface. The atmosphere,
Water Rock Carbon Phosphorus
hydrosphere, and biosphere interact with the geosphere Cycle Cycle Cycle Cycle
through weathering and erosion. For example, rain and
plants can weather rocks into sediments. Wind and flowing
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

water can erode rocks and sediment and deposit them in

new places. The amount of material cycling through each
system usually stays the same, but it might change state or
form—either quickly or over millions of years.

The Rock Cycle

Sediments Deposition,
compaction, cementation

Weathering Sedimentary
and erosion rocks Visual Check
Uplift
5. Name What kind of rock
Extreme
Uplift temperatures is formed through extreme
Uplift
and pressure temperature and pressure?
Igneous Extreme
rocks temperatures Metamorphic
and pressure rocks

Cooling and Melting

crystallization
Magma

Reading Essentials The Earth System 227


Visual Check
6. Examine Which
processes add carbon
dioxide to the atmosphere?
Which processes remove it?
Reading Check
7. Describe What role
does photosynthesis play in
the carbon cycle?
Key Concept Check
8. Explain How do Earth
systems interact in the
carbon cycle?
228 The Earth System
The Carbon Cycle
Some elements are so important to life that scientists
study their individual cycles among Earth systems. Carbon
is one of these elements. The carbon cycle is the series of
processes that continuously move carbon among Earth systems.
The Carbon Cycle
Carbon Carbon dioxide
released by in the atmosphere Photosynthesis
volcanism
Burning fossil fuels Forest
fires and
deforestation
Absorption of
carbon dioxide
by water Cellular
respiration
Decomposition
Carbon stored
in fossil fuels
Processes of the Carbon Cycle Trace the path of carbon in
the figure above as it is released from the geosphere during
a volcanic eruption. Carbon from the geosphere enters the
atmosphere as the trace gas carbon dioxide (CO2). Several
processes then remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
During photosynthesis, plants use sunlight, CO2, and
water and make simple sugars. As a result, carbon leaves the
atmosphere and enters the biosphere. Weathering of rocks
also removes carbon from the atmosphere and transports it
to the hydrosphere as a dissolved material. Carbon moves
from the atmosphere to the hydrosphere when atmospheric
CO2 dissolves in water.
How does carbon leave the biosphere? Cellular respiration
in organisms quickly returns CO2 to the atmosphere. Even
more carbon enters the atmosphere and the soil when
organisms die and decay. Sometimes organic matter is buried
deep in the geosphere, where it can form fossil fuels.
Carbon leaves the hydrosphere and enters the geosphere
when sedimentary rocks form on the ocean floor. Ocean
water can warm and release dissolved CO2 directly into the
atmosphere. As carbon moves through Earth systems, the
total amount of carbon in the carbon cycle remains about
the same.
Reading Essentials
 Interpreting Tables
Carbon Reservoirs
9. Compare How does
Carbon the amount of carbon in the
Carbon Reservoirs Form
(billions of tons) atmosphere compare to the
Atmosphere 750 CO2 gas amount in the biosphere?
Biosphere 3,000 organic molecules
Hydrosphere 40,000 dissolved CO2 gas
Geosphere (crust and 750,000 minerals and rocks
upper mantle)
Geosphere (lower mantle) 750,000+ minerals and rocks

Carbon Reservoirs After water, carbon is the most abundant

substance in living organisms. But as you just read, carbon
is not limited to the biosphere. Carbon is in reservoirs, or
storage places, within all Earth systems, as shown in the
table above. On Earth, most carbon is combined with other
elements in compounds. Reading Check
Carbon in the biosphere is stored in organisms. It does not 10. Identify What are
exist as carbon atoms. It is combined with other elements in the two most abundant
substances in living
complex organic molecules, such as sugars and starches. Cells
organisms?
and tissues of all organisms are made of organic compounds.
In the atmosphere and the hydrosphere, carbon exists as
carbon dioxide gas (CO2). Though the atmosphere is the
smallest carbon reservoir, atmospheric CO2 is important. The
amount of CO2 in the atmosphere affects climate, as you will
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

read later. CO2 in the hydrosphere is dissolved in water.

Most of Earth’s carbon is stored in the geosphere. Carbon
is combined with other elements in minerals that form rocks.
Limestone contains the mineral calcite, which contains
carbon. Carbon also is stored as fossil fuels, such as coal,
natural gas, and oil, which form underground.
Humans and the Carbon Cycle Some changes in the amount
of CO2 in the atmosphere occur naturally. For example, a
volcanic eruption can release large amounts of CO2 into
the air. But not all changes in the amount of CO2 in the
atmosphere occur naturally.
Human activities cause some changes in levels of REVIEW VOCABULARY
atmospheric CO2. When people burn fossil fuels to generate fossil fuels
electricity or to power vehicles, CO2 is released directly into fuels such as coal, oil, and
natural gas that form in the
the atmosphere. Other activities can indirectly increase Earth from plant or animal
levels of atmospheric CO2. For example, large tracts of forests remains
might be cut down for agriculture or development. More
CO2 remains in the atmosphere because there are fewer trees
to take in CO2 during photosynthesis.

Reading Essentials The Earth System 229


Math Skills
You can use percentages to
figure out many types of
problems. For example, a
lawn fertilizer labeled 24-2-8
contains 24 percent nitrogen,
2 percent phosphorus, and
8 percent potassium, in that
order. How much phosphorus
is in a 22-kg bag of fertilizer?
a. Change the percentage
of phosphorus to a
decimal by moving the
decimal point two places
to the left.
2% = 0.02
b. Multiply the total mass of
fertilizer by the decimal.
22 kg fertilizer × 0.02 =
0.44 kg phosphorus
11. Use Percentages
How much phosphorus is in
a 10-kg bag of 20-5-10
fertilizer?
Key Concept Check
12. Explain How do Earth
systems interact in the
phosphorus cycle?
230 The Earth System
Greenhouse Gases CO2 is a greenhouse gas. Greenhouse
gases are gases in the atmosphere that absorb and reradiate thermal
energy from the Sun. These gases keep Earth from becoming
too cold to support life.
When levels of CO2 in the atmosphere increase, more
thermal energy is absorbed and reradiated. Earth’s average
surface temperature increases. This phenomenon is called
global warming.
Global warming can cause coastal flooding as ice caps
melt and sea level rises. These changes might cause climates
around the world to change, altering habitats and harming
living organisms.
The Phosphorus Cycle
Some important elements do not cycle through all
Earth systems. One example is phosphorus (FAHS fuh rus).
Phosphorus does not exist in the atmosphere. The phosphorus
cycle is the series of processes that move phosphorus among Earth
systems.
Processes of the Phosphorus Cycle The processes in the
phosphorus cycle help move phosphorus through the
geosphere, the hydrosphere, and the biosphere. Phosphorus
does not exist in nature as an element. It exists as
phosphates (PO4), compounds formed from phosphorus
and oxygen.
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The figure on the top of the next page illustrates the
processes of the phosphorus cycle. Earth’s phosphorus starts
out in the geosphere. Rocks exposed at Earth’s surface release
phosphates when they weather. The phosphates either
remain in the soil or dissolve and enter the hydrosphere.
Dissolved phosphate molecules move in liquid water
through the water cycle. Eventually, the phosphates reach
lake bottoms or the seafloor and are deposited along with
sediment. The phosphorus becomes part of new sedimentary
rocks that form from the deposited sediment.
Plants absorb phosphorus from soil or water. Animals
take in phosphorus when they eat plants or when they eat
other animals that have eaten plants. These phosphates
return to the soil as part of animal waste or as part of
decomposing organisms.
Reading Essentials
 The Phosphorus Cycle
Animals
Weathering of
phosphate
from rocks
Plants

Runoff
Animal Decomposers
Decomposers
waste
Phosphate
in solution

Phosphate Phosphate incorporated

in soil into sedimentary rocks

Phosphorus Reservoirs Rocks in the geosphere include

Visual Check
minerals containing phosphates. The most common of these
minerals is apatite (A puh tite). Turquoise is a mineral often
13. Evaluate How do
living things affect the
used in jewelry. Turquoise is also a phosphate mineral. phosphorus cycle?
The hydrosphere is another reservoir for phosphorus. As
you just read, phosphates dissolve in water. Phosphorus
moves through the water cycle as a dissolved substance in
liquid water. However, it does not evaporate and enter the
atmosphere.
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Phosphorus cycles through the geosphere and the

hydrosphere over long periods of time. Phosphates
incorporated into sedimentary rocks on the ocean floor
might not reenter the phosphorus cycle for millions of years.
In contrast, the phosphorus stored in organisms in the
biosphere recycles fairly quickly. Like carbon, phosphorus is
a necessary element for organisms. It is needed to make cell
membranes and transfer energy. It also is an important
component of teeth, bones, and shells. Animals store most
of their phosphorus in these structures. Animal waste also is Reading Check
a major source of phosphorus.
14. Summarize How do
Humans and the Phosphorus Cycle Recall that humans can living organisms use the
disturb the carbon cycle. Humans can also disturb the element phosphorus?
phosphorus cycle. For example, plants store most of the
phosphorus in rain forests. As the plants drop their leaves
or die, new plant growth quickly takes up the phosphorus.
Clearing the trees in rain forests disturbs the phosphorus cycle.

Reading Essentials The Earth System 231

 Humans and the Phosphorus Cycle
Residential sewage Chemical runoff
and industrial runoff from fertilizers
Increased levels of nitrates and
phosphates in rivers and ponds

results in thick scum

Less light causes death of some
Algal on water surface photosynthesizing plants.
bloom
death o
f some a
lgae
Large amounts
of organic matter
Death of fish and
other aquatic organisms
Aerobic decomposition (bacteria)
uses up oxygen in water.

Clearing forests also exposes soil. Heavy rains wash away

Visual Check
the phosphorus released by decaying plants. The lack of this
15. Trace the path of important element makes the soil unproductive for future
residential sewage.
crops.
Other practices also can impact the phosphorus cycle.
As shown in the figure above, runoff from farms, homes,
and factories can contain phosphorus. Rain can wash the

Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

phosphorus into rivers, streams, and lakes. Algae consume
the phosphorus, and the algae population increases. As
excess algae decompose, they use up oxygen in the water.
Reading Check This harms fish and other aquatic organisms.
16. Describe How
can farming affect the
phosphorus cycle?

232 The Earth System Reading Essentials

 Mini Glossary
carbon cycle: the series of processes that continuously move phosphorus cycle: the series of processes that move
carbon among Earth systems phosphorus among Earth systems

greenhouse gas: a gas in the atmosphere that absorbs and

reradiates thermal energy from the Sun

1. Review the terms and their definitions in the Mini Glossary. Write a sentence explaining
the relationship between greenhouse gases and life on Earth.

2. The diagram on the left identifies one human activity that disturbs the carbon cycle and
describes its impact. Fill in the graphic organizer on the right for the phosphorus cycle.

Carbon Cycle Phosphorus Cycle

Human activity: Human activity:
cutting down
large tracts of
forests
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Impact: Impact:
More CO2 remains in atmosphere because fewer
trees take in CO2 during photosynthesis.

3. Review the information in the table you created as you read the lesson and write a
question about the carbon or phosphorus cycle in the space below.

What do you think

Reread the statements at the beginning of the Connect ED
lesson. Fill in the After column with an A if you Log on to ConnectED.mcgraw-hill.com
agree with the statement or a D if you disagree. and access your textbook to find this END OF
Did you change your mind? lesson’s resources. LESSON

Reading Essentials The Earth System 233