The four spheres free essay sample

For centuries, humans have been exploring and have discovered that everything in Earths system can be placed into one of four major classifications: land, water, living things, or air. These four categories are actually called spheres. There is the lithosphere, which is the land, hydrosphere for the water, atmosphere meaning the air, and lastly, the biosphere, which is life. These four spheres are all dependent on each other making our entire world connect. Life’s most significant source is water, which is why it takes up most of earth’s percentage. This leads us to the hydrosphere. The Earth’s hydrosphere contains all of the solid, liquid, and gaseous water of our planet. This includes oceans, lakes, glaciers, and moisture in the air. Ninety-seven percent of Earth’s water are the oceans, and the remaining three percent is fresh water. The thickness ranges from ten to twenty kilometers and the hydrosphere was formed in conjunction with the atmosphere. We will write a custom essay sample on The four spheres or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Our atmosphere is the body of air that surrounds our planet. Most of the atmosphere is dense because majority of it is positioned close to the earth’s surface. The air of our atmosphere is contained of seventy-nine percent nitrogen and twenty-one percent of oxygen. The atmosphere is responsible for the weather, which occurs in the lower atmosphere. It is also separated into numerous layers of air; from inner to outer layers they are troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere. The troposphere is where the weather occurs. Stratosphere is essentially cloud free and is above the troposphere. The mesosphere is the coldest of all and forms clouds of ice. Lastly, there is the thermosphere. This is where temperatures decrease and increase rapidly due to the thin air. Also many satellites surround the thermosphere. The lithosphere evolved about 4.6 billion years ago. It is composed of an outer most layer of hard rock, which is made up of the crust, and the first hard layer of mantle. Various landforms are included in Earth’s lithosphere such as mountains, valleys, soil, minerals, and rocks. There are two different types of lithospheres in which our earth is made up of, the continental and the oceanic. The continental lithosphere is where the atmosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere meet the lithosphere. It includes the uppermost layers of mantle topped with a thick and lighter continental crust. The oceanic lithosphere is where all of the oceans of the hydrosphere meet the lithosphere. It also includes the uppermost layers of the mantle, but it is topped with the thin and heavy oceanic crust. Although the lithosphere is separated into two main classifications, they both work together to make up our lithosphere. Unlike the hydrosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere, the biosphere is biotic meaning it is all living. Animals and plants are the biotic elements of the biosphere and all life exists in it. Without elements from the other spheres, the biosphere cannot survive. Plants and animals need water from the hydrosphere, minerals from the lithosphere, and gases from the atmosphere. The air, water, and land provide homes for all of the forms of life. Without the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere, us humans would not be able to survive. The biosphere is significant because it is the sphere that is living, meaning our family and us! Although geography is such a wide-ranging subject, I chose to complete this paper on the four spheres because it amazes me how each of the spheres connect and each one is so important for the Earth. Earth’s four spheres are highly dependent causing interactions between the spheres to have many cause and effect relationships. A modification in one sphere can cause changes in another sphere, which may cause changes in yet another sphere. This amazes me because it shows how us living things, also considered the biosphere, use the additional spheres that we never really contemplate. Sources 1. Earth Spheres http://esseacourses.strategies.org/earthspheres.html 2. The Four spheres of the Earth http://geography.about.com/od/physicalgeography/a/fourspheres.htm 3. Sphere Interactions http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/investigations/es0103/es0103page03.cfm 4. Earth’s Four Spheres http://www.cotf.edu/ete/ess/ESSspheres.html 5. Earth Systems Interactions http://www.csun.edu/science/books/sourcebook/chapters/8-organizing/files/earth-systems-interactions.html 6. (c.) The Natural Spheres http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/5c.html 7. The Four Spheres of the Earth- Atmospere, Biosphere, Hydrosphere, and Lithosphere http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=6397 8. The Biosphere- How it works http://www.scienceclarified.com/everyday/Real-Life-Biology-Vol-3-Earth-Science-Vol-1/The-Biosphere-How-it-works.html#b 9. Nature of Geography- The four spheres http://www.skwirk.com.au/p-c_s-16_u-182_t-481_c-1755/NSW/7/Four-spheres/ 10. Physical Processes: the 4 spheres http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FooHD0atuc