ACTIVITY 8.

1
Which Came First?

Which Sphere Was Formed Next?

The planet Earth is a terrestrial planet and one of the things that distinguishes it from other
planets, including other terrestrial planets, is that it supports life. Due to the presence of the
atmosphere and hydrosphere, life on Earth is able to flourish over the years. The
hydrosphere is defined as the total amount of water on our planet (National Geographic,
2011), while the atmosphere is defined as a layer of gases that surrounds our planet
(National Geographic, 2011).

During the primordial time, intense volcanic activity was present which released gases from
the Earth’s interior, this process is called outgassing (Britannica, 2021). The gases
accumulated above the surface and eventually resulted in the formation of the early
atmosphere. The early atmosphere was composed of water vapor, carbon dioxide, sulfur
dioxide and other gases. It is also important to note that oxygen was not yet present during
the time of the early atmosphere. This is supported by an article which stated that the early
atmosphere was composed of methane, ammonia, water vapour, and the noble gas neon,
but it is said to lack free oxygen (Hayes, 2020).

As the Earth’s surface cooled and solidified, the water vapor condensed and precipitated into
liquid water which caused the formation of the first oceans on Earth (Walter, 2018) and thus
the early hydrosphere. Moreover, other articles suggest that comets also played a role in
bringing water into our planet billions of years ago. In an article by NASA (2019), scientists
predicted that water-carrying bodies in the early solar system, similar to ice-rich asteroids or
comets, crashed into our planet and contributed to the formation of the oceans (NASA,
2019).

After understanding the module along with other sources on the internet, I believe that it
would be very unlikely that the hydrosphere was formed next. From the facts stated above, it
is evident that the early atmosphere contributed to the formation of the first oceans.
Therefore, assuming that the early lithosphere had already been created, the early
atmosphere was formed next which was then followed by the early hydrosphere.
References

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2021, March 9). Hydrosphere. Encyclopedia

Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/science/hydrosphere

Hayes, J. (2020, November 16). Evolution of the atmosphere. Encyclopedia Britannica.

Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/topic/evolution-of-the-atmosphere-1703862

NASA (2019). Comet Provides New Clues to Origins of Earth’s Oceans. Retrieved from
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/comet-provides-new-clues-to-origins-of-earth-s-oceans

National Geographic (2011). Hydrosphere. Retrieved from

http://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/hydrosphere/

National Geographic (2011). Atmosphere. Retrieved from

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/atmosphere/

Walter, M. (2018). Curious Kids: How was the ocean formed? Where did all the water come
from?. Retrieved from
https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-how-was-the-ocean-formed-where-did-all-
the-water-come-from-98382