2. Our Home Planet
About 4.5 billion years ago
Only planet presently known to sustain life
Has well-defined oceans and basins
Very dynamic both internally and externally

3. Advances in technology have allowed scientists to study
the Earth in variety of different ways.
Submersible
Seismometer
Satellite

4. Satellites and space craft allow us to view, photograph
and map Earth from space.

6. Submersibles and ships allow us to view, photograph ad
map the ocean floor.

7. Buoys and other monitoring devices provide us with data
related to events such as tsunamis and earthquakes.

8. Powerful computer programs called GIS (Geographic
Information Systems) help scientists organize, layer and
interpret huge amounts of data in order to study how the
Earth changes over time.

9. Earth Systems studies the flow of matter and
energy in and out of the Earth’s open systems,
or spheres.

10. What is a System?

11. Systems
- Open System
- Matter and energy can
flow into and out of the
system.
-uncovered pan of
boiling water
-Vegetable garden
-Natural environment

12. Systems
- Closed System
- Matter cannot enter or
leave, energy can.
-covered pan of
boiling water
-Terrarium
-Greenhouse

13. Open or Closed Systems?

14. Earth as a Closed System
There is an exchange of energy but negligible of mass with surroundings
Mass conserved
within system
(no gain or loss)

15. Why can Earth sustain life?
• Distance from the sun
• Size
• Abundance of water
• Temperature
• Interaction is present among four spheres

16. Four Spheres plus 1 Within Closed System

17. What is the Earth’s Geosphere?
• Geosphere
- mostly solid, rocky part of the
Earth
- divided into 3 layers
- physical features

18. crust
mantle
core
mesosphere
outer core
inner core
Composition Mechanical Characteristics
liquid
solid
solid
brittle solid
solid (but
nearly
liquid)
Earth’s Layers: Composition and Mechanical Characteristics
Primarily iron
and nickel
Primarily silica
plus iron and
magnesium
Primarily silica
plus light
metallic
elements
lithosphere
asthenosphere

19. Important Roles of Geosphere
1.Contributor of particulate matter (e.g. volcanic ash) to
atmosphere
2.Ultimate contributor of salts to ocean (due to released ions
from weathered rock)
3.Ultimate source of nutrients for all living things
4.Movement of plates produces barriers that aid in the
isolation of population of organisms (therefore influencing
evolution)

20. The Dynamic Geosphere
Processes that occur beneath Earth’s surface are manifest in
earthquakes and volcanism.

21. What is the Earth’s Hydrosphere?
• Hydrosphere
- liquid, water
- moving through all spheres
-97% of Earth’s water is in the
oceans; 3% is fresh water

22. Surface Temperatures of Oceans

23. Important Roles of Hydrosphere
1.Moderate climate
2.Transfers heat
3.Organisms need water to transport waste and
nutrients
4.Essential in many of Earth’s processes

24. What is the Earth’s Atmosphere?
• Atmosphere
- mostly made of invisible
gases that surround the Earth
- traps heat energy form the
sun

25. What is the Earth’s Biosphere?
• Biosphere
- made up of living things and
their habitats

26. Human Activity in the Biosphere
Major centers of human population
Fire from slash and burn farming
Natural gas burning in major oil fields
Satellite photos of human activity at night.

27. What is the Earth’s Cryosphere?
• Cryosphere
- made up of all frozen water
on Earth
ice
glaciers
ice bergs
snow
etc.

28. Matter and Energy move back and forth
between the different spheres, they interact
everyday, all around you.

29. What spheres are interacting
here?

35. How do Earth’s Sphere Interact?
• Matter and Energy
1. By exchange of matter
• Water Cycle
• Nitrogen Cycle
• Carbon Cycle

36. How do Earth’s Sphere Interact?
• Matter and Energy
2. By exchange of energy
• moves back and forth
between spheres
• Plants use solar energy to
make food
• Animals eat plants for
energy

37. What is the Source of Earth’s Energy?
• Most come from Sun
• A fraction from ocean tides,
geothermal
• Nor created nor destroyed
• Transferred between spheres

38. What is the Source of Earth’s Energy?
• Energy Budget
- energy that comes in must
equal the energy that comes
out, why?

39. What is the Source of Earth’s Energy?
• What can disturb the Earth’s
Energy budget?

40. What can disturb the Earth’s Energy Budget?
Aside from Negative Global Effects
Gaia Hypothesis – James Lovelock (1979), he claims
“… life, or the biosphere, regulates or maintains the climate and the
atmospheric composition at an optimum for itself…”
The Gaia Concept views the Earth as super organism.
All spheres are in homeostatic condition.
They believe that the Earth is aware of the adjustments needed in its
system to make its balance- the Earth is a living, breathing and thinking
entity.

41. What can disturb the Earth’s Energy Budget?
Aside from Negative Global Effects
The Gaia Hypothesis is particularly relevant in today’s world. We are
getting worried about how are activities affects the Earth.
After all how can we expect to fix something if we don’t know how it
works?
The bottom line is… each spheres are interconnected.

42. How do we help
the Earth?

43. How can we help
to clean our own
backyard?