PHYSICAL

ENVIRONMENT
HYDROSPHERE ||ATMOSPHERE || GEOSPHERE
TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
The Earth System
“Earth is a complex system
of interacting physical,
chemical and biological
processes, and provides a
natural laboratory whose
experiments have been
running since the beginning
of time.”

NASA
http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/earthsystem/nutshell /
Earth As A Closed System

Closed system: exchange of energy but negligible exchange of mass with surroundings
Earth System Science

• Earth is a dynamic body with

many separate, but highly
interacting parts or spheres.
• Earth system science studies
Earth as a system composed of
numerous parts, or subsystems.
The Earth System M. Ruzek, 1999
The Earth’s Four Spheres
Earth’s Four Spheres
The Earth is a system consisting of four major interacting
components:
Geosphere: comprises the solid Earth and includes both Earth’s
surface and the various layers of the Earth's interior.
Atmosphere: gaseous envelope that surrounds the Earth and
constitutes the transition between its and the vacuum of space
Hydrosphere: includes all water on Earth (including surface water
and groundwater)
Biosphere: the life zone of the Earth and includes all living
organisms, and all organic matter that has not yet decomposed.
Overlapping Cycles in the Earth System

http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/GRAPHIC0/Astronomy/EarthSystems.gif
What is Geosphere?
Geosphere

• The geosphere is the solid Earth that

includes the continental and ocean
crust as well the various layers of
Earth’s interior.
• 94% of the Earth is composed of the
elements oxygen, silicon, and
magnesium.
• The geopsphere is not static
(unchanging), but its surface (crust) is
in a constant state of motion.
• Mineral resources are mined from the
geosphere.

http://ess.geology.ufl.edu/ess/Introduction/Geosphere.html
Changes occur on the Earth constantly:
Molten rock flows from volcanoes

Hurricanes batter beaches and change

coastline

Earthquakes shake the ground

The Earth is a system that consists of air, water,
rock and living things

All of the ‘parts’ interact with each other

Most of the geosphere is located in the Earth’s
interior

The average diameter of the Earth is

12,756km
The information we have concerning the interior
of the Earth comes to us from studying seismic
waves

Seismic waves travel through different material at

different rates. When seismic waves change
direction or speed, it means they have moved
through different layers
Scientists divide the Earth into three layers based on
composition
Crust – the thinnest layer of the Earth (5-20km
thick) made entirely of light elements

Mantle – makes up 64% of the earth’s mass,

(2900km thick) made of rocks of medium
density

Core – has a radius of 3400km and

composed of the densest elements
 The Earth can also be divided into 5 layers based on
physical properties
• Lithosphere

• Asthenosphere

• Mesosphere (mantle)

• Outer core

• Inner core
The lithosphere is the Earth’s outer layer

It contains the crust and uppermost part of the mantle and is

divided into moving sections called Tectonic Plates
The asthenosphere is the layer beneath the
lithosphere

The asthenosphere is the ‘plastic’ solid layer of

the Earth that the plates move on top of
The mesosphere consists of the lower mantle
between the asthenosphere and outer core
The mesosphere contains molten rock which is
called ‘magma’
The outer core is 2200km thick and made of nickel and
iron
The outer core is mostly liquid
The inner core is a solid sphere of iron, nickel and cobalt
(radioactive)
The temperature of the inner core is thought to be
between 4000 and 5000 degrees Celsius
Scientists believe that cobalt in the core
decays producing heat
The heat from the core
produces energy that
makes the magma move
producing earthquakes,
volcanoes and plate
movement
Composition and Mechanical Characteristics Composition Physical Characteristics
crust Primarily silica
lithosphere brittle solid
plus light solid (but
asthenosphere
metallic nearly
elements liquid)

mantle
mesosphere solid
Primarily
silica plus
iron and
magnesium
Earth’s Layers:

outer core liquid

Primarily iron
core and nickel
inner core solid

Note: Lithosphere contains both crust and uppermost (brittle) layer of mantle
Geosphere:
Interactions with other Earth System components

Atmosphere: volcanism spews significant amounts of gases into

the atmosphere. For example, volcanoes inject large amounts
of sulphur dioxide to the upper atmosphere, resulting in global
cooling.
Hydrosphere: The formation of many minerals involve
incorporation or release of water. Also, water speeds up
chemical reactions that produce or destroy minerals, and aids in
the melting of rock.
Biosphere: Nutrients released from rocks during their breakdown
are dissolved in water (to be used by aquatic plants).
System Interactions
Volcanoes (geosphere) erupt, sending ash and
gases into the air (atmosphere) and sending lava
and ash down onto surrounding forests (biosphere)
and human habitations (biosphere).

Geosphere

http://www.ecuador-
travel.net/information.volcano.pichin
Atmosphere Biosphere cha.eruption.htm
System Interactions
Earthquakes (geosphere) can damage buildings which may kill
people (biosphere), as well as cause fires which release gases into
the air (atmosphere). Earthquakes in the ocean may cause a
tsunami (hydrosphere) which can eventually hit land and kill both
animals and people (biosphere).

Biosphere

Geosphere Atmosphere

Hydrosphere
What is the hydrosphere?
 Hydrosphere
The hydrosphere contains all the water found on
our planet.
• Water found on the surface of our planet includes
the ocean as well as water from lakes and rivers,
streams, and creeks.
• Water found under the surface of our planet
includes water trapped in the soil and
groundwater.
• Water found in our atmosphere includes water
vapor.
• Frozen water on our planet includes ice caps and
glaciers.
• Only about 3% of the water on Earth is “fresh”
water, and about 70% of the fresh water is frozen in
http://water.tamu.edu/watercycle.html

the form of glacial ice.

The Hydrosphere
• The hydrosphere includes all water
on or near the Earth’s surface
• This includes water in the oceans,
lakes, rivers, wetlands, polar ice
caps, soil, rock layers beneath
Earth’s surface, and clouds
• 70% of the Earth’s surface is
covered in water
The Earth’s Water
• 97.2% of all of the water on Earth is found in the oceans
• Due to the salt content of ocean water, we are unable to use
it
• Salt water can be cleaned by a process known as desalination
• This leaves only 2.8% of the Earth’s water as freshwater
• Only 0.8% of which is drinkable
 Freshwater Distribution
• The 2.8% of freshwater is
divided into:
• Glaciers and Ice Caps =
2.15%
• Groundwater = 0.62%
• Surface Water = 0.03%
 Surface Water Distribution
• The 0.03% of surface water is divided into:
• Lakes = 0.017%
• Soil = 0.005%
• Atmosphere = 0.001%
• This refers to water vapor in the air
• Streams = 0.0001%
The previous percentages referred to all the world’s
water but it can be adjusted to reflect percentages
based on a 100% scale
The Water Cycle

Water constantly moves

among the oceans, the
atmosphere, the solid
Earth, and the biosphere.
This unending circulation
of Earth’s water supply is
the water cycle
Hydrosphere:
Interactions with other Earth System components

Atmosphere: Water is transferred between the hydrosphere and

biosphere by evaporation and precipitation. Energy is also
exchanged in this process.

Biosphere: Water is necessary for the transport of nutrients and

waste products in organisms.

Geosphere: Water is the primary agent for the chemical and

mechanical breakdown of rock (weathering), to form loose rock
fragments and soil, and sculpts the surface of the Earth.
What is Atmosphere?
How our atmosphere evolved
I. The early atmosphere did not support life. It
contained deadly gases such as Methane
and Ammonia. There was very little Oxygen.

II. Over time, gases were added to the

atmosphere by volcanic eruptions, and as a
result of chemical reactions due to sunlight.
III. The OZONE LAYER formed as a result of the
chemical reactions. Ozone is made of three oxygen
atoms bonded together. It blocks out ultraviolet
radiation from the sun.

IV. The formation of the ozone layer allowed MICRO-

ORGANISMS such as Blue-Green Algae to appear on
earth. They take in carbon dioxide and release
oxygen, so the amount of OXYGEN in the
atmosphere steadily increased.
V. Stromatolites were some of the early organisms
that used Photosynthesis to convert CO2 into
Oxygen. They still exist today and have survived 5
mass extinctions!
Today’s atmosphere
Layers of the Atmosphere
Basis for Layers
• Layers are based on TEMPERATURE CHANGE within
the layer.
• As you move up through the troposphere,
temperature decreases.
• As you move up through stratosphere,
temperature increases.
• As you move up through the mesosphere,
temperature decreases
• As you move up through the thermosphere,
temperature increases.
Characteristics of layers
• Troposphere: Contains Convection Currents created
by the sun’s heat which cause most of our weather
• Stratosphere: Contains the Ozone Layer. Prevents
some ultraviolet radiation UV light from reaching
Earth’s surface, also where airplanes fly.
• Mesosphere: Meteors burn up when they hit this layer.
• Thermosphere: Divided into Ionosphere and
Exosphere. Satellites & Radio waves travel in this
layer. This is the hottest layer
Thermosphere has 2 parts:
• Ionosphere: Lower Thermosphere. Contains
electrically charged particles due to absorption of
ultraviolet radiation and X-rays that are given off
by the sun. Aurora Borealis can be seen in this
layer. Radio waves travel easily in this layer.

• Exosphere: Upper thermosphere. Air is extremely

thin. Satellites travel here because there is very
little friction with air.
Aurora Borealis  A glow in the night sky produced
in the upper atmosphere by ionized particles from
the solar wind interacting with Earth’s magnetic
field.
Heat moves throughout (within) our atmosphere in
CONVECTION CURRENTS
Atmosphere: Interactions with other Earth System components

Hydrosphere: The gases of the atmosphere readily exchange with

those dissolved in water bodies (e.g. oceans, lakes, etc.)

Biosphere: The atmosphere supplies oxygen and carbon dioxide

that form the basis of life processes (photosynthesis and respiration).

Geosphere: Gases in the atmosphere react with water to produce

weak acids that aid in the breakdown of rock.
System Interactions
Hurricanes (atmosphere) sweep across
the ocean (hydrosphere) and onto the
land (geosphere), damaging the
dwellings of people (biosphere) who live
along the coast.
Hydrosphere

Atmosphere Geosphere
http://www.itvs.org/risingwaters/

Biosphere