Science, Spheres of the Earth

1. Science, Spheres of the Earth By: Allison

2. Lithosphere The lithosphere is a rock sphere is the ground that you stand on and the whole inside of Earth. The lithosphere is the crust and upper mantle of our Earth and they extend about 80 km deep. Plate tectonics The lithosphere is broken into giant plates that fit around the globe like puzzle pieces. These plates move each year as they slide on top of a somewhat fluid part of the mantle called the asthenosphere. All the moving rock causes earthquakes. VolcanismWhen the sections of Earth collide one is pushed down and the other turns into the lithosphere. Then the one that went down pushes up and burns the lithosphere and the volcano is pushed up and formed. Then it erupts BOOM. Continental Drift When the lithosphere is moving the continents around. The asthenosphere carries the lithosphere of the Earth, including the continents, on its back.

3. Hydrosphere The hydrosphere consists of water and all the living and nonliving things in Earth. It is made up of millions and trillions gallons of water. There is so much water that it covers all the low spots in Earth. Water near the equator is warm and light blue. Water temperatures along the Golf Coast of the United States reach 90 degrees in the summertime, almost like a warm bath. Water near the North and South Poles are cold and dark purple. It is cold enough to freeze into icebergs. Water has different forms and cycles continuously through the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. Water evaporates into the atmosphere from land or the sea. Plants and animals use and reuse water and release water vapor into the air that we breath. Once the water is in the air it circulates and can condense to form clouds and precipitation. Then it falls back to Earth. At one time all of the water molecules on Earth have been in the ocean, a river, a plant, a cloud, a snowflake, or a glacier!

4. Atmosphere The Atmosphere (air sphere) is the envelope of air that surrounds the whole Earth. The atmosphere is a thin layer of air that is gas. The atmosphere of Earth is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by Earths gravity. As you go up higher it will be harder for you to breath because there is more pressure on your lungs. The layers of the atmosphere are the thermosphere, mesosphere, stratosphere, and the troposphere. The atmosphere saves Earth from the sun’s harmful rays and controls the temperature. It holds the important gases like oxygen, carbon dioxide, and others that we need so people and plants and other living things can survive.

5. Biosphere The Biosphere consists of all living things: trees, birds, insects, pets, viruses, and your friends. The biosphere extends to the upper areas of the atmosphere where the birds and other animals can be found. It also reaches deep into the ground at a dark cave or to the bottom of the ocean at the oceans hydrothermal vents. The biosphere is the one place where all of the other spheres of the planet work together with each other. Many factors affect the biosphere and our life here on Earth The Biosphere is 20 km thick from the bottom of the ocean to the lower atmosphere. The Biosphere consists of three layers: the lithosphere, which is land on the surface of the Earth; the hydrosphere, which comprises of the water on the Earth as well as water vapor in the air; and the atmosphere, which is made up of the air that surrounds the Earth.

6. Spheres interaction This means one interaction leads to another interaction, which leads to yet another interaction--it is a ripple effect through the earth's spheres. This is an example of a Yellowstone forest fire. The lithosphere interacts with the Biosphere because decreased vegetation results in increased soil erosion because there were fewer roots to hold the soil in a place. The lithosphere interacts with the hydrosphere by increased erosion of loose soil which may have led to increased sediment in stream water, making the water muddier. The hydrosphere interacts with the Biosphere by ash particles from the fire in the water that clog up the gills of fish and other aquatic organisms and choke them to death. The lithosphere interacts with the atmosphere by ash particles in the air that may have been carried by the wind and dropped on the ground miles away from the forest fire changing the pH of the soil. The hydrosphere interacts with the atmosphere creating more precipitation in neighboring areas because ash particles in the air may have become condensation centers upon which raindrops could form. The Biosphere interacts with the atmosphere by the smoke in the air that may have coated the lungs of all living things on Earth.

7. This picture shows what the atmosphere looks like. The atmosphere contains the thermosphere, the mesosphere, the stratosphere, the troposphere, and where the things that go in the air can fly to. The lithosphere is part of the Oceanic Crust, the Continental Crust, the Asthenosphere, and the upper mantle.

8. This is a picture of volcanism, the volcano is about to explode. This is a picture of the water cycle. The water condenses into the air, clouds drop rain onto the earth, and then it condenses into the air again. This is a picture of the tectonic plates.