EARTH SCIENCE

NAME: ____________________________________ DATE:________________________

GRADE & SECTION:__________________________ TEACHER:_____________________

CONCEPT NOTES 9
I. TOPIC: EARTH SUBSYSTEMS

II. LEARNING GOAL: The students should be able to:

a. Define the concept of a system;
b. Recognize the Earth as a system composed of subsystems; and
c. Discuss the historical development of the concept of Earth System.
III. CONCEPTS
System
➢ A set of interconnected components that are interacting to form a unified whole

Atmosphere
A. The atmosphere is the thin gaseous layer that envelopes the lithosphere.
B. The present atmosphere is composed of 78% nitrogen (N), 21% oxygen (O2), 0.9%
Argon and trace amount of other gases.
C. One of the most important processes by which the heat on the Earth's surface is redistributed is
through atmospheric circulation.
D. There is also a constant exchange of heat and moisture between the atmosphere and the
hydrosphere through the hydrologic cycle.
Lithosphere
A. The lithosphere includes the rocks of the crust and mantle, the metallic liquid outer core, and
the solid metallic inner core.
B. The primary driving mechanism is the Earth's internal heat, such as that in mantle convection.
Biosphere
A. The biosphere is the set of all life forms on Earth.
B. It covers all ecosystems—from the soil to the rainforest, from mangroves to coral reefs, and
from the plankton-rich ocean surface to the deep sea.
C. For the majority of life on Earth, the base of the food chain comprises photosynthetic
organisms. During photosynthesis, CO2 is sequestered from the atmosphere, while oxygen is
released as a byproduct. The biosphere is a CO2 sink, and therefore, an important part of the
carbon cycle.
D. Sunlight is not necessary for life.

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Hydrosphere
A. A. About 70% of the Earth is covered with liquid water (hydrosphere) and much of it is in the
form of ocean water (Figure 3).
B. Only 3% of Earth's water is fresh: two-thirds are in the form of ice, and the remaining one-
third is present in streams, lakes, and groundwater.

• The hypsographic curve is a

graphical representation of the
proportion of land at various
elevations (meters above or below
sea level)

• Through the process of weathering

and erosion. The hydrologic cycle is
another important process
contributing to the shaping and
reshaping the surface of the Earth.

The origin of the systems approach to the study of the Earth

A. One of the first scientists to push for a more integrated or holistic approach in the
understanding of the universe (and by extension the Earth) was Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich
Alexander von Humboldt. He considered the universe as one interacting entity.
B. The term "biosphere" was popularized by Vladimir Vernadsky (1863-1945), a Russian -
Ukranian scientist who hypothesized that life is a geological force that shapes the Earth.
C. In the 1970s, the Gaia Hypothesis was jointly developed by James Lovelock, an English
scientist/naturalist, and Lynn Margulis, an American microbiologist. According to the Gaia
Hypothesis. The biosphere is a self-regulating system that is capable of controlling its physical
and chemical environment.
D. In 1983, NASA advisory council established the Earth Systems Science Committee. The
committee, chaired by Moustafa Chahine, published a groundbreaking report Earth System
Science: A Program for Global Change in 1988. For the first time, scientists were able to
demonstrate how the many systems interact.

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