Earth and its

Subsystems
 • The third planet in the
Solar System

Earth
• According to radiometric
dating, it is said to be 4.56
billion years old
• Revolves the sun around
365-366 days
• The only planet to harbor
life
Earth Science
•It is study of the
Earth’s
characteristics
and behavior.
Also called as
“geoscience”. It is
the
Why is the Earth
• It has a right distance from
habitable?
the Sun
• It has a strong magnetic field
that shields us from the
electromagnetic radiation
coming from the sun
• It is protected by the plate
tectonics from the very hot
temperature of the Core
• It has the right chemical
materials that could support
life (e.g. water)
 • The presence of
Why is the oxygen in the
Earth atmosphere
habitable? • Right atmospheric
conditions
 •Closed System –

Earth’s it means that the

something gets
what it wants but

System as a neither it returns it

back.

Closed •The Earth gets

energy or heat from
the Sun, but it

System returns only some of

the energy back to
space.
Cycles
• It is one of the
major themes of
the Earth’s
subsystems.
• It is the process
wherein the
material in the
Earth system
was continuously
recycled in
numerous
overlapping
 •Atmospher
e
Earth’s •Hydrosphe
re
Subsystems •Geosphere
•Biosphere
Atmosphere
• Set of layers of gases
that surrounds or
protects the planet
that is held by the
planet’s gravity
• Atmosphere of
Earth
Compositions:
Nitrogen – 78%
Oxygen – 20.95%
Argon – 0.93%
Other Gases –
•The four layers of
the atmosphere
include:

• The troposphere,
where we live;

• The stratosphere,
which contains the
ozone layer;

• The mesosphere,
where meteors
burn; and

• The thermosphere,
Atmospheric
Circulation

• It is the cycle
happening in
the
atmosphere
that is a way
of
redistributing
the heat from
the sun to the
Hydrosphere
• It is the liquid
component of the
Earth (including
glacial waters)
• Covers 70% of the
Earth’s
• surface

• 98% of the water on

Earth is saltwater
• Helps the
atmosphere to
become its
 • It is the cycle that explains
the continuous movement
of the water, above or
Hydrological below the Earth’s surface
• It also involves the
Cycle transfer of energy
(Water Cycle) • (e.g., evaporation
→condensation)
• The sun is the driving
agent of this cycle
 • Evaporation
Processes of • Transpiration
Hydrological
• Condensation
Cycle
(Water Cycle) • Precipitation
• Infiltration
Evaporation
• It is the first major
step in the
hydrological cycle
• The sun is the major
driving force of this
process for it will
heat the water and it
will become water
vapor
• It involves the
molecular change
 Transpiration
• It is a type of water
movement that is
typically happening in
plants
• The sun absorbs the
water from the aerial
parts of a plant
(e.g. leaves) and it will
evaporate and become
water vapor
• If there are many leaves in
the plant, it would lose
more water because it has
Condensation • It is the reverse
process of the
evaporation
• It is happening
when the
evaporated water
vapor cooled down
to its dew point
• It is usually when
the clouds are
Precipitation • It is the water
released from
the condensed
clouds
• It is the primary
connection in the
water cycle that
provides for the
delivery of the
 Rain
• It is the liquid
Types of water droplets
that is
Precipitation responsible for
the bringing of
freshwater into
the Earth
Snow
• It is the solid type of
precipitation that has a
temperature of below 0˚C
• It is the ice crystals that
precipitate from the
atmosphere
• It is usually precipitated in the
polar regions or places with
Hail
• It is the other type of solid
precipitation
• Hails are small irregular lumps or
balls of ice, about the size of 5 mm
to 15 cm
• Usually occurs in thunderstorms
Infiltration
•It is the process by which
precipitation (water) was
absorbed by the soil and moves
into the rocks and usually
replenishes the groundwater
system.
 • It is the solid state
of Earth
• It includes the
structure,
composition,
minerals, and

Geosphere processes of Earth

• Lithosphere – it
is a part of the
geosphere that
is composed of
the solid,
• outermost part
of the planet.
Tectonic Plates
• These are the rocky parts of
the lithosphere that are
divided into numerous plates
due to the drifting of the plates
as times goes by.
• Estimated to move about 1-16
cm per year
The Pioneers
of Continental
Drift Theory
Eduard
Suess
• Austrian geologist and
a pioneer of ecology
• Appointed professor of
paleontology in University
of Vienna in 1856
• Theorized that the continents
had once joined together
named Gondwana and had
an ocean beside it named
Tethys Ocean
Alfred Russel
Wallace
• British naturalist, geographer,
and biologist
• Conceived the theory of
evolution through Natural
Selection before Charles
Darwin’s publication
• Father of Biogeography
• Discovered that different
locations have the same
topography as each other
 Alfred
Wegener
• German geophysicist
and meteorologist
• First to use the phrase
“continental drift”
• He organized the thoughts or
information about the
continental Drift Theory
• – he saw that the continents are
like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle
and argued that the continents
once
• was all joined together and
since drifted away
• Urkontinent –
the term called
by Wegener to
the
supercontinent
but later
replaced with
the Greek word
“Pangaea”
Maurice
Ewing
• American geophysicist and
oceanographer
• Discovered the mid-oceanic
range at the Atlantic ocean
floor
• Pioneered the study of ridge
system – the crust are
continuously replaced at the
ridge system
THE DIFFERENT
LAYERS OF
EARTH
CRUST
• describes the
outermost shell of a
terrestrial planet. Our
planet's thin, 40-
kilometer (25-mile)
deep crust—just 1% of
Earth's mass—
contains all known life
in the universe.
CRUST
• Two types of Earth’s
Crust: Oceanic (found
in oceanic bases) and
Continental (found
beneath the
continents)

• Temperature ranges
from 200˚-400˚C
Mantle
• Also called as
“sima”
• The biggest part of
the Earth in terms
of depth and
volume
• The mantle is
2,900 km thick
• The average
temperature is
3,000˚C
Outer
Core
• It is the fluid (magma-
like) part of the Core
• It is 2,890 – 5,000 km
beneath the Earth’s
surface
• The temperature of
the outer core
ranges from 4,500
– 6,000˚C
• This is the layer that
creates the Earth’s
magnetic field
Inner
Core
• It is the deepest part of
the Earth and made up
of iron-nickel alloy
• The average
temperature of the
Inner Core is
• 5,500˚C
• Unlike the Outer Core, it
is solid due to the
pressure created by the
total weight of the
three other layers.
Biosphere
• It is the most important
subsystem on Earth
• It is the totality of all the
ecosystems in the whole
Earth
• It drives us to be in constant
need of interaction with the
planet
• Coined by the geologist
Eduard Suess in 1875