The document discusses the lithosphere and plate tectonics. It can be summarized as: 1) The lithosphere consists of three main zones - the core, mantle, and crust. The crust is the outermost and thinnest portion, made up of continental and oceanic crust. 2) The continents are not fixed but rather drift atop tectonic plates that move across Earth's surface, causing geological events like earthquakes. For example, the San Andreas Fault marks the boundary between the North American and Pacific plates in California. 3) Plate tectonics have influenced macroevolution over hundreds of millions of years. The breakup of supercontinents like Pangaea caused geographic

1. Earth’s Lithosphere
“In the developed world. . We no longer honor
our relationship to the soil. . . Soil has simply
become one more resource - a substance
necessary for crop production and for holding
up buildings. . . “
(Elena Wilken. . . World Watch article, 1995)

2. Let’s start with the Lithosphere
3 major zones of Earth:
Core - very hot, solid & liquid
Mantle - solid zone, largest (68% of its mass,
rich in iron, silicon, oxygen & Magnesium
Crust - outermost & thinnest portion, consists
of continental crust (29%) & oceanic crust
(covers 71% of Earth’s surface)

5. Plate Tectonics and Macroevolution
– The continents are not locked in
place.
• They drift about Earth’s
surface on plates of crust
floating on a flexible layer
called the mantle.
– California’s infamous San
Andreas fault
• Is at a border where two plates
slide past each other.

6. KQED Quest: Hayward Fault
 http://www.kqed.org/quest/television/the-hayward-fault-pr

7.  About 250 million
years ago
• Plate movements
formed the
supercontinent
Pangaea.
• Many extinctions
occurred, allowing
survivors to diversify.

8.  About 180 million
years ago
• Pangaea began to
break up, causing
geographic isolation
& new species

9. Tectonic Movement is A Natural
Part of Planet, but Can we predict
earthquakes?
 http://www.kqed.org/quest/television/earthquakes-breaking

10. Earth’s Lithosphere
Crust contains
8 elements make up 98.5% of weight of Earth’s
crust (O, Si, Al, Fe, Ca, Na, K, Mg)
–Minerals (any naturally occurring inorganic
substance found in Earth’s crust as a crystalline
solid)
–Nonrenewable fossil fuels
–Potentially renewable soil nutrients (eroded rock,
mineral nutrients, decaying organic matter, water, air
& living organisms)

11. Earth’s “continental crust”
Earth’s land surface:
–Only 11% arable (useable
for agriculture)
•Rest too nutrient poor, cold,
wet, dry, etc.
–Possible to add 24% more to
arable land category if we
irrigate & use fertilizers
–Total to possibly 35% of
land surface potentially arable

12. Element = Carbon
 Carbon is essentialessential to life as we
know it
 Carbon is the basic buildingbasic building
blockblock for all organic compounds
necessary for life (carbohydrates,
proteins, fats, DNA)
 To study life is to study Carbon
Chemistry!

13. Organic Compounds
 Compounds which contain :
– C (Carbon) combined with :
– H (Hydrogen
– O (Oxygen)
– N (Nitrogen)
– S (Sulfur)
– P (Phosphorus)
– Cl (Chlorine)
– F (Fluorine)
 All other compounds are called inorganic
compounds

14. Carbon CycleCarbon Cycle
 It involves naturalnatural processes
 A global gaseous cycle
(atmospheric cycle in which a large
portion of a given element (C)
exists in gaseous form (C02) in
atmosphere
 Nutrients (like Carbon) are recycledrecycled in various
chemical forms (cyclic movement of carbon in
different chemical forms)
 C cyclescycles from the abioticabiotic environment to the livingliving
organisms and back to the abioticabiotic environment

15. Re-Draw the Carbon Cycle Into Your Notes Now

16. CARBON DIOXIDECARBON DIOXIDE
 C02 Cycles fairly rapidly from the atmosphere,
through soil and organisms, and back to
atmosphere
 Key component of nature’s thermostat
 If too much C02 removed from atmosphere, the
atmosphere will cool
 If cycle generates too much C02, the atmosphere
will get warmer
 So C02 does affect the BIOSPHEREBIOSPHERE ( and can
determine temperature & possibly changetemperature & possibly change
climateclimate)

17.  Some CO2 is utilized to produce
biomassbiomass in trees and plants
 Which can form fossil fuelsfossil fuels after
millions of years of decomposition
and compaction (as buried organic
material)
 When fossil fuels (coal, oil,gas) go
through combustioncombustion (burning
process), CO2 is released back
into the atmosphere

18.  Terrestrial producersproducers (green plants and trees)
remove CO2 from the air
 PHOTOSYNTHESIPHOTOSYNTHESIS takes place 6CO2 +
6H2O + solar energy is converted into
C6H12O6 (glucose)+ 6O2 (oxygen)
 ConsumersConsumers and decomposersdecomposers breakdown
glucose (consumption) and utilize oxygen for
respiration
 The Hydrocarbons get converted back to CO2back to CO2
in the atmosphere

19. Humans and causes of increases
in CO2 (all unsustainable practices):
 Cut down treestrees (producers of oxygen
and users of CO2)
 Industries
 Transportation (i.e.,cars)
 Buildings

20. Increased amounts of carbon:
 Global warming (rising sea/water level)
 May lead to extinction of certain plants,
insect and animals, which could cause an
imbalance in the food chain.
 Acidification on oceans

22. There are three
types of C Cycles
 AtmosphericAtmospheric cycle
 HydrologicalHydrological cycle
 SedimentarySedimentary cycle
 carbon dioxide
 dissolved carbonate
 and bicarbonate
 carbon containing
 minerals in rocks

23. Discuss as a team:
 Should we, as individuals &Should we, as individuals &
as a country, go on a carbonas a country, go on a carbon
diet? What does this mean?diet? What does this mean?
 A huge amount of carbon isA huge amount of carbon is
sequestered in tropical forests.sequestered in tropical forests.
What does this mean and whyWhat does this mean and why
should we care about thisshould we care about this
information?information?
 Should we pay a carbon tax toShould we pay a carbon tax to
save tropical forests? Why orsave tropical forests? Why or
why not?why not?
Write responses
in
Your journals!

24. Science News Reading Activity
 Read the article “Soils Hidden Secrets”
(Charles Pet tit)
 We will have a QUIZ on Wednesday
– You may use HANDWRITTEN notes, but you
may not use the printed article or typed notes.