Earth

Subsystems
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lesson, the learners will be
able to:
1. Define the concept of a system; and
2. recognize the Earth as a system composed
of subsystems.
Label the different processes and phases of water involved in
the water cycle
Water Cycle
1. What is a SYSTEM?
• A set of interconnected components that are interacting to form a
unified whole.
2. Subsystems of the Earth System

Figure 3: The Earth system. (Source: https://www.earthonlinemedia.com)

• Earth system is essentially a
closed system. It receives
energy from the sun and
returns some of this energy to
space.
Atmosphere
A. A thin gaseous layer that envelopes the lithosphere.
B. Composed of 78% nitrogen (N), 21% oxygen (O2), 0.9%
argon, and trace amount of other gases.
C. One of the most important processes by which the heat on
the Earth's surface is redistributed is through atmospheric
circulation.
D. Constant exchange of heat and moisture between the
atmosphere and the hydrosphere through the hydrologic
cycle.
• Warm air converges and rises to form low
pressure zones. Low-pressure areas are
associated with increased precipitation. By
contrast, cold air descends to form high
pressure regions (dry regions).
Lithosphere

A. Includes the rocks of the crust and mantle, the

metallic liquid outer core, and the solid metallic
inner core.
B. Plate Tectonics is an important process shaping
the surface of the Earth. The primary driving
mechanism is the Earth's internal heat, such as that
in mantle convection.
The Earth is made up of four
distinct layers:
• The inner core is in the center
and is the hottest part of the
Earth.
• The outer core is the layer
surrounding the inner core.
• The mantle is the widest section
of the Earth.
• The crust is the outer layer of the
earth.
Biosphere
A. The set of all life forms on Earth.
B. It covers all ecosystems—from the soil to the rainforest, from
mangroves to coral reefs, and from the plankton-rich ocean
surface to the deep sea.
C. For the majority of life on Earth, the base of the food chain
comprises photosynthetic organisms. During photosynthesis,
CO2 is sequestered from the atmosphere, while oxygen is
released as a byproduct. The biosphere is a CO2 sink, and
therefore, an important part of the carbon cycle.
Hydrosphere
A. 70% of the Earth is covered with liquid water (hydrosphere)
and much of it is in the form of ocean water.
B. Only 3% of Earth's water is fresh: two-thirds are in the form
of ice, and the remaining one-third is present in streams,
lakes, and groundwater.
C. The oceans are important sinks for CO2 through direct
exchange with the atmosphere and indirectly through the
weathering of rocks.
D. Heat is absorbed and redistributed on the surface of the
Earth through ocean circulation.
The origin of the systems approach to the
study of the Earth
• Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt
- first scientist to consider that the universe as one
interacting entity
• Vladimir Vernadsky (1863-1945)
- a Russian -Ukranian scientist who hypothesized
that life is a geological force that shapes the Earth.
He popularized the term “BIOSPHERE”.
• James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis (1970s)
- jointly developed Gaia Hypothesis. According to this
hypothesis, the biosphere is a self-regulating system that is capable
of controlling its physical and chemical environment.

• In 1983, NASA advisory council established the Earth Systems Science

Committee. The committee, chaired by Moustafa Chahine,
published a ground breaking report Earth System Science: A Program
For Global Change in 1988. For the first time, scientist were able to
demonstrate how the many systems interact.