Knowledge you can walk. Read the idea below, then step up to the general, across to peers or down to the specific.
Physical
Earth Systems
Earth Systems treats the planet as one connected whole, in which air, water, ice, rock, soil and life constantly affect each other.
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The idea
Earth Systems is the study of Earth as one connected whole. Scientists divide the planet into parts called spheres: the atmosphere (air), the hydrosphere (water), the cryosphere (ice), the geosphere and lithosphere (rock), the pedosphere (soil) and the biosphere (living things). Even the magnetosphere, the magnetic field around the planet, is included. Earth system science looks at how matter and energy move between these spheres, and at how human societies affect them.
The key idea is that a change in one sphere spreads to the others. Water evaporates from the ocean, falls as rain, wears down rock and feeds plants. Plants take carbon dioxide out of the air, while volcanoes add gases back into it. When a change loops back to strengthen or weaken itself, scientists call it a feedback. For example, melting ice uncovers darker ground or water, which soaks up more sunlight and leads to even more melting.
Because the subject is so broad, it brings together many fields, including geology, meteorology, oceanography, ecology, climatology, economics and sociology. Smaller branches of the subject include systems geology and systems ecology. Earth system science is also a foundation for physical geography and climate science.
Check yourself
Question 1 of 2
In Earth system science, what is a change that loops back to strengthen or weaken itself called?
Composition
what it's made of
- Atmosphere — The layer of gases around the planet, where weather happens.
- Hydrosphere — All the liquid water on Earth, in oceans, lakes, rivers and underground.
- Cryosphere — The frozen parts of the planet, such as glaciers, ice sheets and sea ice.
- Geosphere — The solid Earth, from the rocky crust down to the deep interior.
- Biosphere — All living things and the places on Earth where life is found.
- Feedbacks — Loops in which a change in one part of the system comes back to strengthen or weaken itself.
Connection
how it relates
Under Physical
Change
how and why it evolves
- Past
- Before this approach, researchers usually studied each part of the planet in a separate field. The new field applied systems science, an older and broader subject, to Earth.
- Now
- Today the field brings together researchers from both the natural and the social sciences. Researchers also study how stable or unstable these systems are and how they change over time.
- Next
- Better satellites and computer models will likely help scientists predict how the spheres will respond as people keep changing the planet.