The earth as a system
A system is comprised of a set of interacting components that combine to form a uniform whole. The earth can be said to be a system as it is formed by differentiated components to form a life-sustaining planet. For instance, the earth is comprised of water, air, life, and the surface, which includes mountains, minerals, and sand. The interaction of these varied components and the influence of the energy from the sun makes up the earth’s systems. Through cause and effect, occurrences in one system can cause changes in a different system. In essence, the earth is a system as it is composed of different components interacting with each other with the influence of the sun’s energy.
The earth has four systems, which are also known as spheres that are comprised of the biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and the lithosphere or the geosphere. The biosphere is the part of the earth that sustains life. It consists of all the living organisms found on the planet. It includes all forms of living things found in both water and land. The hydrosphere is made of water surfaces that form part of the earth and includes water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater and ice surfaces in the mountains. It is estimated that 70% of the earth’s surface is comprised of water forming part of the hydrosphere. The atmosphere is the layer of gases that surround the surface of the earth. The air around planet earth is constituted mainly of nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide gasses (Daly & Kent, 2013). The fourth system is known as the lithosphere that consists of main rocks, mountains, minerals, and liquid and solid components of the center of the earth. The lithosphere covers the inner part as well as the surface of the earth. The earth is therefore comprised of four spheres, namely: biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and lithosphere.
Further, the spheres interact as they interlinked through their cause and effects. The effects of one sphere are capable of affecting a different sphere. For instance, when the atmosphere takes up water to the point of saturation, rain falls on the earth’s surface. The rainwater, which was earlier part of the atmosphere, forms the hydrosphere that directly interacts with the lithosphere through soil erosion. Consequently, rainwater helps disintegrate big rocks into smaller fragments through weathering. When part of the rainwater seeps through the earth’s surface, it becomes part of the groundwater. The relationship between the earth’s spheres implies they are interlinked to form a system that sometimes results in a cause and effect relationship in different spheres (Dempsey, 2020). In the same manner, surface water in the hydrosphere may evaporate into the atmosphere transferring its energy. This implies that occurrences in one sphere can affect a different sphere.
Besides, the biosphere interacts with the lithospheres when humans construct dams from rock surfaces. Water that seeps through the ground to form groundwater, groundwater evaporates due to the heat from the earth’s core to form clouds or moisture in the atmosphere. Humans generate electricity by harnessing river currents that are part of the hydrosphere. A similar example is the case of a tree that forms part of the biosphere. The roots of the tree cut into the lithosphere, taking up groundwater (National Geographic, 2019). Although some interactions may have a negative impact on the environment, such as the burning of fossil fuels, interactions are aimed at restoring a balance. The lithosphere provides essential nutrients for the growth of the plant while the tree helps breakdown rocks into smaller particles. Through photosynthesis, Carbon dioxide in the air is processed into carbohydrates
While the earth derives its energy from two main sources, namely the sun and the earth’s core, the sun is the primary source of energy. Energy moves through the four systems through radiation, convection, and conduction. Energy is transported in space through radiation, while convection is the action by which energy moves through a fluid. Transmission of energy through solids is by a process known as conduction. Heat energy from the sun reaches the lithosphere through radiation, and from there, it is transferred through conduction by materials such as rocks and soil (Williams, 2015). Similarly, heat energy is transferred to hydrosphere through convection. Thus heat energy moves from sources to the spheres through conduction, radiation, and convection.
- Some causes and effect relationships resulting from the sphere interactions include:
- Humans (Biosphere) constructing a dam through the rock surfaces (Lithosphere)
- Water in the ocean evaporating into the air (atmosphere)
- Water in a dam (hydrosphere) seeping through to form groundwater (Lithosphere)
- Groundwater (Lithosphere) evaporating to form clouds (Atmosphere)
In conclusion, the earth is a system as a result of the interaction of the four spheres of the earth. Through interactions of the four spheres, a cause and effect relationship develops whereby the occurrences in one sphere impacts a different sphere. Energy is also transmitted through the varooms spheres in different spheres from the two main sources of energy, namely the sun and earth’s core.