Module 15:

The
Climate
System
Group 12
Gopio, Mary Jinnerose T.
Lopena, John Paul I.
Malulan, Romnick O.
Villaver, Paul Charlie A.
Agenda
• Components of the Climate System
• The Greenhouse Effect
• Climate Variation
• The Carbon Cycle
Brief Overview
What is climate?
- Climate is described by daily and seasonal statistics on the
atmospheric temperature near Earth’s surface (surface
temperature) as well as surface humidity, cloud cover, rate of
rainfall, wind speed, and other weather conditions.

What is climate system?

- Climate System includes all of the components of the Earth
system and all of the interactions among those components, that
determine how climate varies in space and time.
Brief Overview
COMPONENTS OF CLIMATE SYSTEM

The climate system includes

all the components of the Earth
system and all the interactions
among these components that
determine how climate varies in
space and time. The main
components of the climate
system are the atmosphere,
hydrosphere, cryosphere,
lithosphere, and biosphere
(Grotzinger and Jordan, 2014).
ATMOSPHERE
• It is one of the main components of Earth’s interdependent
physical systems in the atmosphere.
• It is made up of layers of gases surrounding a planet or other
celestial body.
• It protects life on Earth by shielding it from incoming ultraviolet
radiation, keeping the planet warm through insulation, and
preventing extremes between day and night temperatures.
• It is composed of 78% Nitrogen (N), 21% Oxygen (O), and
1% to other gases [0.93% Argon (Ar), 0.04% Carbon
Dioxide (𝑪𝑶𝟐 )].
ATMOSPHERE
What are the 5 layers of the Earth’s atmosphere?

1. Troposphere
2. Stratosphere
3. Mesosphere
4. Thermosphere
5. Exosphere
LAYER’S OF EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE
TROPOSPHERE

• It is the lowest layer of our

atmosphere.
• It extends upward about 10 km
(6.2 miles or 33,000 feet) above
sea level.
• The lowest part of the troposphere
is called boundary layer.
• The top of the troposphere is
called the tropopause.
LAYER’S OF EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE
STRATOSPHERE

• It extends from the top of the

troposphere (tropopause) about 50
km (31 miles) above the sea level.
• The infamous ozone layer is found
within the stratosphere.
• This layer is free of clouds and devoid
of any weather-related phenomenon.
• The temperature rises as you enter
into the stratosphere.
LAYER’S OF EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE

MESOSPHERE

• It extends upward to a height of about 85

km (53 miles) above the ground level.
• Most meteors burn up in the mesosphere.
• Unlike stratosphere, the temperature
became cooler as you rise up through the
mesosphere.
• The air in the mesosphere is far too thin
to breathe.
LAYER’S OF EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE

THERMOSPHERE
• It extends upward to a height of
about 710 km (440 miles) above the
ground level.
• High-energy X-rays and UV radiation
from the Sun are absorbed in the
thermosphere.
• Many satellites orbit the Earth within
the thermosphere.
• It is more like outer space than a part
of the atmosphere.
LAYER’S OF EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE
EXOSPHERE
• In this region, it is about 10,000
km above the Earth’s surface.
• It contains mainly oxygen and
hydrogen atoms, but there are so
few of them that they rarely
collide.
• It is where weather satellites are.
• The pull of Earth’s gravity is so
small here that molecules of gas
escape into outer space.
 LAYER’S OF EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE

DID YOU KNOW THAT?

• The approximate boundary

between our Earth’s atmosphere
and outer space is known as
Karman Line, which is in the
thermosphere, at an altitude
about 100 km above the Earth’s
surface.
HYDROSPHERE
• It comprises of all liquid waters on, over, and under Earth’s
surface, including oceans, lakes, streams, and groundwater.
• They are reservoirs for moisture on land and provide the
transport system for returning precipitation and transporting salt
and other minerals to the oceans.
• Approximately 71% of Earth’s surface is covered in water.
• Of all the water, only about 3% is freshwater.
• Meanwhile, 97% of the water on Earth is consist of oceans
(saltwater).
HYDROSPHERE
HYDROSPHERE
CYROSPHERE
• Derived from the Greek Word, “krios”, which means “cold”.
• It is the ice component of the climate system.
• The majority of the cryosphere is located close to the poles
such as the Arctic and Antarctica.
• Examples including glacier, snow, frozen ground, ice sheets,
ice caps, ice shelves, sea ice, lake ice and river ice.
• It belongs to the special part of the hydrosphere since the water
is frozen.
EXAMPLES OF CYROSPHERE
GLACIER
• It is a slow-moving mass
of freshwater ice that often
forms on mountain slopes.
• Example of glacier is the
widely studied glacier Mer
de Glace on the Mont
Blanc (a mountain in the
French Alps).
EXAMPLES OF CYROSPHERE
SNOW
• It is the most volatile part of
the cryosphere.
• It comprises of individual ice
crystals that grow while
suspended in the
atmosphere.
• Example of snow is the
Norwegian Train plowing
through drifted snow.
EXAMPLES OF CYROSPHERE
ICE SHEETS
• It is a glacial mass that is
found on land and is larger
than 50,000 square
kilometers.
• It holds about 99% of all the
Earth’s freshwater.
• Examples of ice sheets are
Antarctic ice sheet (top)
and Greenland ice sheet
(below).
EXAMPLES OF CYROSPHERE
ICE CAPS
• It is a large mass of ice that
is smaller than 50,000
square kilometers.
• It was formed when snow is
deposited during the cold
season but don’t completely
melt during hot season.
EXAMPLES OF CYROSPHERE
SEA ICE
• It is a seawater that has frozen
over the surface of the ocean.
• It floats on seawater because it
is less dense than seawater.
• It covers 12% of the Earth’s
oceans at any given time.
• Sea ice can be found in the
Arctic and Antarctic.
EXAMPLES OF CYROSPHERE
FROZEN GROUND
• It is differentiated from simple
frost on the ground as frozen
ground involves the water in the
soil freezing at least several
centimeters down, rather than
just the surface.
• It covers the largest surface
area out of the whole of the
cryosphere.
CYROSPHERE

The volume of sea ice varies

seasonally. This satellite image
shows Arctic sea ice breaking up and
flowing through the Bering Strait in
May 2002.
LITHOSPHERE
• It comes from the Greek Word,
“litho”, which means “stone”.
• It is the rocky outer part of the
Earth.
• It is made up of the brittle crust and
the top part of the upper mantle.
• It is the coolest and most rigid part
of the Earth.
Properties of the Lithosphere
WHERE IS LITHOSPHERE?
• It is the outermost layer of the Earth
and is made of the entire crust and
the upper mantle.
• The inner boundary of the
lithosphere is the asthenosphere,
which is a plastic-like layer of the
mantle that the lithosphere “floats”
on.

The lithosphere is depicted by

number 4, 1a and 1b are the
crust, and 2 is the mantle.
WHAT IS THE LITHOSPHERE MADE OF?
• Crust – it is the upper part of the
lithosphere that humans interact with
on a daily basis. It is made up of
rocks that make up the ground.
• Mantle – It is made of molten rock
that flows. However, the upper part of
the mantle is considered part of the
lithosphere as it is cooler and more
rigid than the rest of the mantle.
The lithosphere is depicted by
number 4, 1a and 1b are the
crust, and 2 is the mantle.
EFFECTS OF THE LITHOSPHERE IN THE
CLIMATE SYSTEM

Topography has a direct

effect on climate through
its influence on
atmospheric circulation.

Rain shadows are areas of low rainfall on the

leeward (downwind) slopes of a mountain range.
EFFECTS OF THE LITHOSPHERE IN THE
CLIMATE SYSTEM

The overall asymmetry of

the continents induces
hemispheric asymmetries
in the global climate
system.

Straits of Florida, a narrow channel

between Florida and Bahamas.
EFFECTS OF THE LITHOSPHERE IN THE
CLIMATE SYSTEM

Volcanism in the lithosphere

affects climate by changing the
composition and properties of
the atmosphere.

The eruption of Mount Tambora in

Indonesia last April 1815.
BIOSPHERE
• It comprises all the
organisms living on and
beneath the Earth’s surface,
in its atmosphere, and its
waters.
• It is the part of the world
where life naturally exists,
spreading from the deep
crust to the lower
atmosphere. The biosphere, represented by the global
distribution of algal and plant biomass in
the oceans and on land, as mapped by the
NASA’s SeaWiFS satellite.