BIOPHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS

The Atmosphere
The atmosphere is the air that surrounds the Earth. It is always in motion and constantly changing,
held in its place by the Earth's gravity. There are about 14 different gases that make up the
atmosphere. There are three gases which are most prevalent and compose about 99 percent of
the environment. Nitrogen (N2) = over 78 percent, oxygen (O2) = over 20 percent, and argon (Ar)
= about 1 percent. Aside from these gases, the atmosphere is also made of moisture found within
the gases and solid particles, known as particular matter.

The atmosphere is responsible for the weather. All weather occurs within the lower atmosphere.
Weather is the short-term change within the atmosphere and is dependent upon several factors:

- Temperature
- Precipitation (rainfall)
- Humidity (moisture in the air)
- Air pressure (weight of the air)

Speed and direction of wind

The atmosphere is made of various 'layers' of air. The layers

are separated by invisible 'lines'. These lines separate the
changes in temperature that occur with the increase in
altitude in the atmosphere.

1. The bottom layer of the atmosphere is the troposphere.

The troposphere is where weather happens. It is warmest
near the Earth because of the heat rising from the Earth's
surface. It becomes colder with altitude.
2. Above the tropopause is the stratosphere. There is a large
concentration of ozone gas in the stratosphere. The ozone
gases absorb most radiant solar energy, protecting the Earth from harmful ultra violet (UV)
rays
3. The mesosphere is the coldest of the spheres. It is so cold that water vapours often freeze
and create clouds made purely of ice
4. The topmost layer is the thermosphere. Within this layer, many satellites circle the Earth.
Because of the thin air and proximity to the sun, the temperatures in the thermosphere
increase and decrease rapidly
- Solar radiation
o Absorption: the atmosphere absorbs some of the sun’s heat. Most
absorption occurs in the troposphere.
o Reflection: the sun’s heat is reflected back into space by the earth. The
percentage of sola
radiation reflected by an object is it’s albedo
o Scattering: Solar radiation is scattered in the atmosphere. It is both
reflected back towards Earth and upwards into space
- Heat distribution
o Daily differences: The Earth rotates about its axis every 24hrs. The sun’s
radiation is only received during the day. At night ( when a place is
obscured from the sun) more heat is lost from the Earth’s surface than is
replaced by incoming radiation.
o Seasonal differences: Heat is unevenly distributed during the year. This is
because:
  The earth revolves around the sun once every
year
 The earth’s axis has a fixed tilt of about 23
degrees
o Latitude: At latitudes further away the rays fall
on the earth at a more acute angle, and less
radiation is received.

The global heat budget

o In some locations on the earth, there is more
heat received from the sun than is reflected by
earth. These locations are mainly in the tropics. In
contrast, in polar regions and at high altitudes, less
heat is received from the sun than is reflected by
earth. The excess of heat that results in the tropics is
transferred to the poles and high altitudes by the
two processes of Horizontal Transfers and Vertical
Transfers.
o Lapse rate- The lapse rate is the rate at which temperature in Earth's
atmosphere decreases with an increase in altitude, or increases with the
decrease in altitude.
 Approx- 6.5o for every 1000m (every km)
Surface winds
Caused by the movement of air from areas of high pressure to low pressure

The Hadley Cells, produce descending air in the mid latitudes on either sides of the
equator. This Air moves back towards the equator as a surface wind. Air moving towards
the Equator is deflected to the left in the Southern Hemisphere and to the Northern
Hemisphere by the Coriolis Effect.

Air in high pressure systems moves in an anticlockwise direction (in the southern
hemisphere), while air in low pressure systems moves in a clockwise direction due to the
rotation of the Earth. (CLOCKWISE FOR CYCLONE)
A low pressure system is a whirling mass of warm, moist air that generally brings stormy
weather with strong winds. A high pressure system is a lot more of a calm condition

The Hydrosphere
- The hydrosphere encompasses all forms of water in the Earth's environment.
 - The middles of oceans and lakes also move due to wind and temperature changes,
which create currents.
GLOBAL WATER CYCLE

The amount of water involved in

the hydrological cycle each
year. Average annual
precipitation over the whole
globe is about 86 cm, of which
77% falls on the oceans and
23% on land.

The Lithosphere
The lithosphere, which evolved about 4.6 billion years ago, is composed of an outermost layer of
hard rock. This outer rock layer is made up of the crust and the first hard layer of mantle. The
lithosphere includes various landforms such as mountains and valleys, as well as rocks, minerals
and soil. The lithosphere is constantly being shaped by external forces such as sun, wind, ice,
water and chemical changes.

Tectonic plates drift and are moving. As a result of the plate movement, mountains become taller
and valleys grow wider. Scientists believe that the continents, which rest on the various plates,
were at one point joined in a single 'super continent' known as

The Earth's surface is composed of the two types of lithospheres: the oceanic and the continental.
The oceanic lithosphere includes the uppermost layers of mantle topped with the thin but heavy
oceanic crust. This is where the oceans of the hydrosphere meet the lithosphere. The continental
lithosphere includes the uppermost layers of mantle topped with a thick, lighter continental crust.
This is where the atmosphere, biosphere and the hydrosphere meet the lithosphere.

GRADATIONAL PROCESSES

- WEATHERING- The breaking down of rock through the forces of rain, wind, heat, and
cold.
- MASS MOVEMENT- Process by which soil, sand, regolith, and rock move downslope
typically as a solid, continuous or discontinuous mass, largely under the force of gravity,
- EROSION AND DEPOSITION- The gradual destruction or diminution of something AND
when sediments, soil and rocks are added to a landform or land mass THROUGH
TRANSPORTATION FROM A GEOLOGICAL FORCE EG A RIVER OR WIND

SOIL
The Biosphere

The biotic elements include all plants and animals. All life exists in the biosphere. The biosphere
cannot survive without elements from all the other spheres. Plants and animals need water from
the hydrosphere, minerals from the lithosphere and gases from the atmosphere. The air, water,
and land provide homes for all the various forms of life.

The environment contains all the factors that surround and influence the biotic and abiotic things
within it. The environment is our surroundings. Each living thing within the biosphere inhabits and
interacts with the things that surround them. This is their biophysical environment. It is in this
environment that we find ecosystems. An ecosystem is a smaller function within the environment.
It is the unique interaction between the living and non-living elements. An ecosystem is a
community functioning together as one unit.

FACTORS EFFECTING GLOBAL VEGETATION

- Climate- temperate
- Topography – altitude and aspect
- Edaphic- soils
- Biotic – living environments

HUMAN INTERACTIONS/ IMPACTS

ATMOSPHERE HYDROSPHERE LITHOSPHERE BIOSPHERE
 AIR POLLUTION POLLUTION OF OUR FRACKING ACID DEPOSITION
WATER SOURCES
GREEN HOUSE GASES DEFORESTATION OZONE THINNING-
ACID RAIN EFFECTING THE EARTHS
DEPLETED OZONE LAYER OVERGRAZING POLAR REGIONS BOITIC
OVER USE AND MISUSE FEATURES
DESERTIFICATION
All the water used for DEFORESTATION
fertilizers can be good for
plants but harmful for the DESERTIFICATION
water we use, the excess
fertilizer goes into ENERGY USE
groundwater that pollutes
our potable SOIL AQUATIC LIFE DEPLETION

The hydrosphere and the atmosphere connect through Evaporation from the hydrosphere provides the medium for
cloud and rain formation in the atmosphere. The atmosphere brings back rainwater to the hydrosphere.

Water provides the moisture and medium for weathering and erosion of rocks on in the geosphere. The geosphere,
in turn, provides the platform for ice melts and water bodies to flow back into the oceans.

The atmosphere provides the biosphere with heat and energy needed for rock breakdown and erosion. The
geosphere, in turn, reflects the sun's energy back into the atmosphere.

The biosphere receives gases, heat, and sunlight (energy) from the atmosphere. It receives water from the
hydrosphere and a living medium from the geosphere.