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Lithosphere - processes associated with the solid earth Hydrosphere - processes associated with water Atmosphere - processes associated with the gases that envelope the earth Biosphere - processes that involve living organisms
Lithosphere
Origin Cooling off and solidification Thermal convection currents Present Consists of soil, rocks and minerals Contains landforms
Hills, mountains, valleys
Composition
Crust Mantle Core
The Crust
Outer layer 5-100 km thick temperature ranges between 10 to 20C/km deep 2 types of crust
Oceanic (very dense, made of basalt) Continental (less dense, made of granite)
Types of Crust
Continental Predominantly granitic Granite or sialic rock--richer in aluminum and silicon Oceanic Basaltic Basalt or simatic rock--richer in magnesium and silicon
The Mantle
Middle layer Very thick layer Temperature at the core-mantle boundary 3000C
The Core
Made mostly of iron 1/3 of the earths mass Very hot about 4000C
Earths Layers
How are the earths layers similar to an egg? Shell=crust Egg white=mantle Yolk=core
Tectonic Plates
Earths crust is broken into about 19 pieces These plates move on top of the asthenosphere
Atmosphere
Troposphere
the layer that is closest to the surface of the earth Its elevation ranges from 0 to 10 km
Stratosphere
sits on top of the troposphere Its elevation ranges from 10 km to around 25 km contains the ozone layer, which protects us from harmful sunlight
Mesosphere
Middle layer above the stratosphere Its elevation ranges from 25 to 100 km Temperature diminishes with altitude Minimu tepmt is about -80C
Thermosphere
highest layer of the atmosphere Its height ranges from 100 to 400 km where most small meteorites burn up Temperature is very high the location in the atmosphere that the northern lights occur (aurora borealis)
Composition of Air
There are many different types of gasses in the atmosphere They include nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide and other noble gasses The gas that is most abundant is nitrogen
Hydrosphere
Liquid part of the earth
oceans ice caps lakes rivers underground aquifers soil water atmosphere living organisms
Hydrosphere
Origin Present
Occasional raindrops Global deluge of rains Formation of oceans, rivers, lakes and underground water tables
Moving, dynamic mass of liquid Solar energy drives hydrologic cycles Essential for life: univesal solvent
Remainder in lakes, soil water, rivers and organisms (in decreasing order of storage)
Freshwater as a resource
Renewable through evaporation from the seas and precipitation (solar powered) Demands for freshwater include:
Human consumption (10%) Irrigation (70%) Industry (20%)
Summary
From the atmosphere came the hydrosphere, just as the atmosphere came from the lithosphere For about 2 BY, the 3 spheres interacted And from the interaction, about 4BY evolved the biosphere