EARTH’S SYSTEMS

Visually and verbally describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and

atmosphere interact.

THE SPHERES OF EARTH

• The Atmosphere

• The Geosphere

• The Hydrosphere

• The Biosphere

THE SPHERES OF EARTH

• Atmo

• Hydro

Sphere: place in which a thing belongs

• Geo

• Bio

THE SPHERES OF EARTH

THE SPHERES OF EARTH

• Atmo: air

• Hydro: water

Sphere: place in which a thing belongs

• Geo: land

• Bio: lifeExamples: gases, wind, air Examples: rocks, mountains, sand

Examples: humans, plants, animalsExamples: rivers, oceans, glaciers

SPHERE INTERACTIONS

What spheres do you

see in this picture?

SPHERE INTERACTIONS

Interact: act in such a way to

have an effect on another

SPHERE INTERACTIONS

What interactio

ns between

the spheres do you see?

SPHERE INTERACTIONS

Humans (biosphere) built a dam out of rock materials (geosphere).

SPHERE INTERACTIONSWater in the lake (hydrosphere) seeps into the cliff walls behind the dam, becoming groundwater (geosphere), or evaporating into the air (atmosphere).

SPHERE INTERACTIONS

Humans (biosphere) harness energy from the water (hydrosphere) by having it spin turbines (geosphere) to produce electricity.

Plants (biosphere) draw water (hydrosphere) and nutrients from the soil (geosphere) and release water vapor into the atmosphere.

SPHERE INTERACTIONS

Humans (biosphere) use farm machinery (manufactured from geosphere materials) to plow the fields, and the atmosphere brings precipitation (hydrosphere) to water the plants.

SPHERE INTERACTIONS

Energy from the sun is stored by plants (biosphere). When humans or animals (biosphere) eat the plants, they acquire the energy originally captured by the plants. Humans expend some of this energy arranging bricks and wood (geosphere and biosphere) into buildings.

SPHERE INTERACTIONS

SPHERE INTERACTIONS

Wind farm, Norfolk County, England

Oil wells burning, Kuwait and the Persian Gulf

Tropical Island, Palau Islands

Mount Etna, a volcano on the island of Sicily, Italy

Suez Canal, Egypt

Forest fire, Montana, U.S.A.

Andes Mountains

Desert

Rain Shadow

Atlantic Ocean

Pacific Ocean

SPHERE INTERACTIONS

What are some sphere interactions that result

from your daily activities?