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Chapter 1 Suggested time allotment 2 hours

MODULE

6 Contributors in Understanding the Earth Systems

INTRODUCTION
Earth System Science (ESS) is the study of the Earth as
a system. It considers interactions between the Earth’s
“spheres” – atmosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and
biosphere. It is a relatively new field whose foundations are
established long ago by scientists in other fields.
In particular, it considers interactions and 'feedbacks',
through material and energy fluxes, between the Earth's sub-
systems' cycles, processes and "spheres"—atmosphere,
hydrosphere, cryosphere, geosphere, pedosphere, lithosphere,
biosphere, and even the magnetosphere—as well as the impact
of human societies on these components. At its broadest scale,
Earth system science brings together researchers across both
the natural and social sciences, from fields including ecology,
economics, geography, geology, glaciology, meteorology,
oceanography, climatology, paleontology, sociology, and space
science.
Like the broader subject of systems science, Earth Figure 1. The dynamic interaction of the Earth's oceans,
system science assumes a holistic view of the dynamic climatological, geochemical systems.
interaction between the Earth's spheres and their many Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_system_science
constituent subsystems fluxes and processes, the resulting
spatial organization and time evolution of these systems, and their variability, stability and instability. Subsets of Earth
System science include systems geology and systems ecology, and many aspects of Earth System science are
fundamental to the subjects of physical geography and climate.
The study of the Earth as a system involves all these specialties. Separate investigations of the oceans, the
atmosphere, and the solid Earth are no longer practical.
In this module, you will cite the contributions of personalities/people to the understanding of the earth systems.

At the end of Module 6, you are expected to answer the key question below:

Who are the scientists who contributed to the understanding of

the Earth system?

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LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Discuss the significance of Earth System Science and
2. Recognize the scientists who contributed to the understanding of the Earth
system

Let us determine how much you already know about the contributors in understanding
the earth systems. Take the test below.

Pre-Test
Multiple Choice
Select the correct letter.
1. Which of the following describe the Earth System B. plants
Science? C. animals
I. It is a field that was established in the 17th D. fungi
century. 5. What is the basic idea of the Gaia hypothesis?
II. It is the integration of humanities and A. It is impossible to change an Earth system.
sciences. B. The development of human cognition
III. It considers interactions between the Earth’s transformed the biosphere.
“spheres.” C. The Earth works as a self-regulating system.
IV. It seeks to understand the past, current, and D. The emergence of life on Earth transformed
future states of the Earth. the geosphere.
A. I and II 6. Which of the following describe the concepts of
B. II and III uniformitarianism?
C. III and IV I. Geological forces in the past are the same as
D. I and IV those in the present.
2. Who is the father of modern geology? II. The Earth's history can be determined by
A. James Hutton studying the rocks.
B. Alexander von Humboldt III. Life regulates the chemical composition of the
C. Vladimir Vernadsky soil and the atmosphere.
D. James Lovelock IV. The planet is changing in response to human
3. Who proposed the Gaia hypothesis? influences.
A. Aldo Leopold A. I only
B. Alexander von Humboldt B. I and II
C. Vladimir Vernadsky C. I and III
D. James Lovelock D. III and IV
4. Which of the following modified the Earth’s 7. According to Vladimir Vernadsky, which of the
atmosphere during the Precambrian times? following describes the noosphere?
A. bacteria I. It is the sphere of human consciousness.

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II. It is the third phase of the Earth’s
development.
III. It is the coevolution of living and nonliving
things.
IV. It is the sphere that comprises all nonliving
matter.
A. I only
B. II only
C. I and II
D. All of the above
8. Which of the following happens when human
activities increase the concentration of carbon
dioxide and aerosols in the atmosphere?
A. The atmospheric temperature increases and
the climate changes.
B. The atmospheric temperature decreases and
the climate remain the same.
C. The atmospheric temperature remains the
same and the climate changes.
D. The atmospheric temperature and the climate
remain the same.
9. What did Alexander von Humboldt realize when
he studied the botanical samples he collected?
A. He found out that the temperature had an
influence on plant growth.
B. He found out that the plants regulate the
ocean temperatures.
C. He discovered that all atmospheric gases
come from plants.
D. He discovered that evolution of life started
with plants.
10. How does NASA contribute to the understanding
of the Earth system?
A. They use the satellite images of the Earth
show how beautiful the planet is.
B. They use satellites to observe how the Earth
changes in response to human influences.
C. They use satellites to study the chemical
composition of the soil and the atmosphere.
A. They use satellites to find and observe life on
other planets in the universe.

Glossary of Terms
Let’s learn about it!

List of important terms that you should familiarize and remember:

Earth system - refers to Earth´s interacting physical, chemical, and biological processes. The system consists of the
land, oceans, atmosphere and poles. It includes the planet's natural cycles — the carbon, water, nitrogen,
phosphorus, sulphur and other cycles — and deep Earth processes.
Gaia hypothesis - named after the ancient Greek goddess of Earth, posits that Earth and its biological systems
behave as a huge single entity. This entity has closely controlled self-regulatory negative feedback loops that keep
the conditions on the planet within boundaries that are favorable to life. Introduced in the early 1970s, the idea
was conceived by chemist and inventor James E. Lovelock and biologist Lynn Margulis. Gaia Hypothesis
proposed by James Lovelock (1972) suggests that living organisms on the planet interact with their surrounding
inorganic environment to form a synergetic and self-regulating system that created, and now maintains, the
climate and biochemical conditions that make life on Earth possible.

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Reading Resources and Instructional Activities

Activity 1: Labelling

• Use the following words below to label

the four reservoirs of the Earth and 1.____________
_
how they interact with each other:
atmosphere

hydrosphere

biosphere
2.____________
solid earth _
4.____________
3.____________ _
_

Activity 2: Word association

• Use the following words or phrases below to associate the contributions of the figures at the right side.
• Indicate only the number below the image corresponding to your choice.
1. use satellites for long-
term observations of the
Earth

2. primary modern
proponent for the
significance of symbiosis
in evolution

3. proposed the Gaia

hypothesis

4. popularized the term

noosphere

5. introduced the concept

of uniformitarianism

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Let’s learn about it!

The Four Reservoirs of the Earth System

A convenient way to think about the Earth as a system of interdependent parts is to consider it as four vast
reservoirs of material with flows of matter and energy between them.

The four reservoirs are:

1. The atmosphere, which is the mixture of gases—predominantly nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and
water vapor—that surrounds the Earth.
2. The hydrosphere, which is the totality of the Earth's water, including oceans, lakes, streams, underground
water, and all the snow and ice, but exclusive of the water vapor in the atmosphere.
3. The biosphere, which is all of the Earth's organisms as well as any organic matter not yet decomposed.
4. The solid Earth, which is composed principally of rock (by which we mean any naturally formed,
nonliving, firm coherent aggregate mass of solid matter that constitutes part of a planet) and regolith (the
irregular blanket of loose, uncemented rock particles that covers the solid Earth).

Figure 2. Diagrammatic representation of the Earth as a

system of interacting parts. Each character represents a
reservoir, and each arrow a flow of energy or materials.

Water leaves the ocean by evaporation and forms

water vapor, which then mixes with the other gases of the
atmosphere. Thus, water vapor moves from the
hydrosphere reservoir to the atmosphere reservoir.

As water vapor in the atmosphere rises, it cools and

condenses to form clouds and eventually rain or snow,
which falls on either the land or the sea. Thus, water flows
from the atmosphere reservoir to the hydrosphere
reservoir and from the atmosphere reservoir to the solid
Earth reservoir.
Source: Skinner, B. and Porter, S. (1994)

The water that falls on the land can either evaporate again, be taken up by plants in the biosphere reservoir
(in both cases, water vapor is added to the atmosphere and eventually forms clouds and rain), run back to the
sea, or seep into the ground. Transpiration is the name given to the passage of water vapor from a living body
through a membrane or pore. This means water flows from land to atmosphere and from land to ocean. Snow
that falls on the sea melts and mixes back into the ocean. Snow that falls on the land will also eventually melt,
but most of the snow that happens to fall in Greenland, Antarctica, or high mountains may become part of an
ice sheet or mountain glaciers. It could be hundreds or even thousands of years before melting occurs and the
water flows back into the sea again.

Definition
The Science Education Resource Center, Carleton College, offers the following description: "Earth System
science embraces chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics and applied sciences in transcending disciplinary

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boundaries to treat the Earth as an integrated system. It seeks a deeper understanding of the physical, chemical,
biological and human interactions that determine the past, current and future states of the Earth. Earth System
science provides a physical basis for understanding the world in which we live and upon which humankind
seeks to achieve sustainability".

Earth System science has articulated four overarching, definitive and critically important features of the
Earth System, which include:

Variability: Many of the Earth System's natural 'modes' and variabilities across space and time are beyond
human experience, because of the stability of the recent Holocene. Much Earth System science therefore relies
on studies of the Earth's past behavior and models to anticipate future behavior in response to pressures.
Life: Biological processes play a much stronger role in the functioning and responses of the Earth System
than previously thought. It appears to be integral to every part of the Earth System.
Connectivity: Processes are connected in ways and across depths and lateral distances that were previously
unknown and inconceivable.
Non-linear: The behavior of the Earth System is typified by strong non-linearities. This means that abrupt
change can result when relatively small changes in a 'forcing function' push the System across a 'threshold'.

Contributors in Understanding the Earth Systems

James Hutton, the father of modern geology, was a Scottish farmer

and naturalist. It was in farming that he observed how land was shaped by
destructive forces of wind and weather systems. He described how the
Earth was formed in a repeated cycle of erosion and sedimentation, with
heat from volcanic activity as the driving force.

Through reasoned study of features in the coastlines and landscape of

his native Scottish Lowlands, Hutton developed the theory that geological
features were not static but underwent perpetual transformation over long
periods of time. He argued that the earth could not be young and advanced
the idea that its remote history can be inferred from evidence in present-day
rocks. He was thus an early proponent of what came later to be called
uniformitarianism, the science which explains features of the Earth's crust
by means of natural processes over the long geologic time scale.

He also introduced the concept of uniformitarianism, implying that Figure 3. James Hutton
the geological forces (such as those that trigger erosion and volcanic
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe
activities) in the past are the same as those in the present, making it possible dia/commons/f/f3/Sir_Henry_Raeb
to determine the Earth's history by studying rocks. urn_-_James_Hutton%2C_1726_-
_1797._Geologist_-
_Google_Art_Project.jpg)

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Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14

September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a Prussian polymath, geographer,
naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science.
He helped establish the foundation for Earth System Science through his
observations of nature. He, together with his colleagues, traveled to
America; collected botanical, zoological, and geological specimens;
recorded the location of the specimens where they were found; and
performed atmospheric and geophysical measurements. From his records,
he recognized patterns that reveal underlying processes, such as the
transport of heat in ocean currents and the influence of temperature on
plants.

Figure 4. Alexander von Humboldt

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_von_Humboldt

Vladimir Vernadsky, one of the founders of geochemistry,

popularized the term noosphere. In his theory of Earth development, he
stated that geosphere was the first phase of the Earth that was developed.
The second phase was the biosphere or biological life. The emergence of
life on Earth transformed the geosphere. Then the noosphere, the sphere
of human consciousness, is the third phase. The development of human
cognition then transformed the biosphere.

He is most noted for his 1926 book “The Biosphere” in which he

inadvertently worked to popularize Eduard Suess' 1885 term biosphere, by
hypothesizing that life is the geological force that shapes the earth. Today,
the study of human impact on the biosphere led to the concept of
sustainability, which is the capacity of the Earth to continue to support
human life.
Figure 5. Vladimir Vernadsky
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Vernadsky)

James Lovelock, a British environmentalist, proposed the Gaia

hypothesis, which postulates that the Earth works as a self-regulating
system. He stated that the living organisms co-evolve with nonliving things
in the environment to form a synergistic, self-regulating system where life
is maintained and perpetuated. He cited as evidence the photosynthetic
bacteria during the Precambrian times. The bacteria modified the Earth’s
atmosphere to become oxygen-enriched. The change in the atmosphere
then supported the evolution of more complex organisms.

Figure 6. James Lovelock

( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Lovelock)

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Lynn Margulis (born Lynn Petra Alexander; March 5, 1938 –

November 22, 2011) was an American evolutionary theorist, biologist,
science author, educator, and science popularizer, and was the primary
modern proponent for the significance of symbiosis in evolution. She
further developed Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis. Margulis noticed that all
kinds of bacteria give off gases and thought that atmospheric gases were
from biological sources. She collaborated with Lovelock and published a
paper on how life regulates the temperature and chemical composition of
the soil and the atmosphere.

In particular, Margulis transformed and fundamentally framed current

understanding of the evolution of cells with nuclei – an event Ernst Mayr
called "perhaps the most important and dramatic event in the history of life"
– by proposing it to have been the result of symbiotic mergers of bacteria.

Figure 7. Lynn Margulis

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_
Margulis)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

The major landmark in the formal development of the Earth System Science was
the formation of the Earth System Science Committee in NASA in 1983. NASA began
to study components of the Earth system, their linkages, dependencies, and fluxes.

Scientists from NASA conduct the Earth Science Program with a purpose of
understanding the Earth system by using satellites for long-term observations. By
viewing the Earth from space, they have studied how the planet is changing in response
to human influences. For instance, they have shown how the climate is changing due to
the increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide and aerosols from human activities.
These substances trap the Sun’s heat causing an increase in the global temperature.

At present, NASA continues to answer the question “How is the Earth system
changing, and what are the consequences of these changes for life on Earth?”

Figure 8. NASA
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
NASA)

What do I think?

Q1. Why is it necessary to understand how the field of Earth System Science developed?

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I should try it!

Q2. Choose one of the Earth’s subsystems – atmosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, or biosphere. Research on
how humans affect that subsystem. What activities of humans have positive effects on that subsystem?
What are the activities that have negative effects? When the subsystem changes due to the human activities,
how does the change affect humans in return?

• Earth System Science (ESS) is the study of the Earth as a system. It considers interactions between the Earth’s
“spheres” – atmosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.
• James Hutton, the father of modern geology, proposed uniformitarianism, which implies that the present
geological processes are the same as those in the past.
• Alexander von Humboldt laid the foundations for Earth System Science by his holistic observations of nature.
• Vladimir Vernadsky, one of the founders of geochemistry, popularized the term noosphere, which is the sphere
of human consciousness.
• James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis collaborated on the Gaia hypothesis, which postulates that the Earth works
as a self-regulating system.
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) studies components of the Earth system, their
linkages, dependencies, and fluxes.

How much I have learned?

The following questions will determine how much you have learned from the module.

Posttest
Essay
1. Discuss the significance of Earth System Science.
2. Recognize and discuss the scientists who contributed to the understanding of the Earth system.

EVALUATION
NEEDS MEETS EXCEEDS
NOT VISIBLE
IMPROVEMENT EXPECTATIONS EXPECTATIONS
Can discuss the significance of Earth
System Science.
Can recognize and discuss the scientists
who contributed to the understanding of
the Earth system.

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References and Links

1) Alexander von Humboldt. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_von_Humboldt

2) Contributors in understanding the Earth Systems.
https://link.quipper.com/en/organizations/547ffb0fd2b76d0002002393/curriculum#curriculum
3) Earth and Life Science TG. P.57
4) Earth system science. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_system_science
5) Earth system. http://www.igbp.net/globalchange/earthsystemdefinitions.4.d8b4c3c12bf3be638a80001040.html
6) Gaia hypothesis. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/gaia-
hypothesis#:~:text=The%20Gaia%20hypothesis%2C%20named%20after,that%20are%20favorable%20to%20
life.
7) James Hutton. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hutton
8) James Lovelock. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Lovelock
9) Lynn Margulis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Margulis
10) NASA. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA
11) Skinner, B. and Porter, S. (1994) The Blue Planet. “An Introduction to Earth System Science” (John Wiley &
Sons) pp. 4-5
12) Vladimir Vernadsky. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Vernadsky

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