LESSON 2: THE EARTH AND ITS SYSTEMS Content Standard: Learning Competencies: The learners demonstrate an The learners should be abl understanding of the subsystems cera (geosphere, hydrosphere, 4. recognize the uniqueness of the Earth, being the atmosphere, and biosphere) only planet in the solar system with properties that make up the Earth and its Necessary to suppor life (S11/12ES-la-e-3); internal structure. 2. explain that the Earth consists of four subsystems, ‘across whose boundaries matter and energy flow (S11/12ES-1a-e-4); 3. show the contributions of personalities/people on the understanding of the earth systems (S1I/2ES-la-e-6); and 4, identify and differentiate the layers of the earth (S11N2ES-1a-e-7 to 8). Concept Build-Up + There are some requirements to allow a planet to sustain life. These factors can be summarized as temperature (influencing the movement of molecules as well as the warmth needed by organisms), water (dissolves and transports chemicals within and to ‘and from the cells), atmosphere (traps heat, shields from harmful radiation, and provides the gases that sustain life), sources of energy (light in photosynthesis and chemical energy for life functions), and nutrients (to build and maintain organisms in the ecosystems). + The Earth is in a strategic location in the solar system such that it receives sufficient ‘amount of energy from the sun. The surface temperature is just right to allow life to thrive. The presence of enough oxygen from photosynthesis is integral to life on Earth. If the earth’s atmosphere was composed of entirely different gases of various amounts, life would not have existed. This condition allows water to remain in its liquid state, and the energy facilitates the cycle which not only affects organisms but also shapes the geologic features of the earth. The earth also has a magnetic field that not only protects it from cosmic radiation but also allows life to exist + The Earth is a system. A system is a collection of elements or components that are organized as a whole. It is made up of subsets or subsystems. The earth is essentially a closed thermodynamic system, where energy is exchanged between the earth and its surroundings. The figure on the left shows the earth’s subsystems. a‘solar Energy Atmosphere rr y ¥ The Earth System ‘The atmosphere consists ofa relatively thin layer of gases that surrounds the sold Earth, This is made up of numerous rapidly moving particles which collide with one another Due to gravity, more of these particles are located near the earth's surface than at high thinner with increasing height from the surface which altitudes. The atmosphere becomes gradually transitions to the very diffuse outer space. ‘A sample of pure and dry airis coloriess, odorless, and composed mostly of the molecules of about 78% nitrogen (N2), about 21 % oxygen (02), and about 1% argon (Ar). Most of the content of this atmosphere is in the troposphere where most of the weather patterns occur. The circulation in the atmosphere happens via convection currents through heat. The atmosphere plays an integral role in the hydrologic cycle. The earth's solid sphere is called the lithosphere which includes the rocks of the crust (oceanic and continental) and mantle, the iron-nickel liquid outer core, and the solid inner core. This subsystem encompasses the movements of the mantle; the deformation, destruction, and the creation of crust; the earth's magnetic field from the movement of the outer core; and the energy from the earth's interior. The hydrosphere is the collection of water on the earth. Water is the most abundant compound on the earth's surface (about 70%). On average, around 98% of this is liquid and is localized in basins and depressions on the earth’s surface. About 2% is snow and ice found in colder regions such as glaciers and icebergs. Less than 1% exists as water vapor in the atmosphere. Water is cycled between these reservoirs, but the hydrologic cycle keeps the percentage of water essentially constant.re than 97% ae ae wh of the water ofthe earth is found in the oceans which contain dissolved ig isiiad Han ik aclieag Potable by humans and for agricultural processes 'shwater. Most of the f : in the jae tte teen tak he freshwater (about two-thirds) is frozen in co 's those in Greenland, the Ant 's. Only the remaining one-third is as available f aaa eee freshwater on of water evaporated and precipitated over the land and the ocean is ie ina) the water that goes back to the streams and rivers and eventually fo the ocean basins. This continuous cycle of ¢ i vaporation, precipitation, runoff, and seepage to the water reservoirs sums up the hydrologic cycle - The biosphere is the totality of fe on Earth. It is used to refer to all areas that encompass life such as ecosystems be u oth terrestrial, marine, and estuarial. Energy from the sun enters the biosphere and allows this to be cycled through trophic relationships. There are other biogeochemical cycles Apart from the water cycle that allows the earth to sustain life. ‘Some examples are the carbon cycle and the phosphorus cycle, Vladimir Vernadsky coined the term “biosphere” and posited that life is a strong force that helps shape the dynamic Earth. Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt thought of the universe as ‘one interacting entity or singularity. He believed that the understanding of such a universe (the earth included) must be integrative and holistic. In the 1970s, James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis developed the Gaia Hypothesis which theorized that the biosphere, a self-regulating system, can control both the physical and chemical aspects of the environment. In 1983, the National Astronomical and Space Administration (NASA) advisory council created the Earth Systems Science Committee. Through the council, the report Earth ‘System Science: A Program for Global Change was published in 1988. This report is significant since it highlighted the interactions of the earth's many systems. The ancient Greeks declared that the diameter of the Earth is about 12,750 kilometers, but it was not until the turn of the 20th century that we came to understand that the earth's interior is not uniform. Using data from seismic waves, scientists divide the interior of Earth into three zones—the crust, mantle, and core. 1920 Several studies that relied on the behavior of seismic waves bee ree nsraten on ty ' it. The crust that composes the c moat he oceans hve some he rock materials that make beneath the oceans have some differences which include t Is them up. The oceanic crust is much thinner (around 5 to 8 km) than the continental crust (about 10 to 75 km). Seismic waves are faster through the oceanic crust than through continental crust. The continental crust is granitic (granite, schist, and gneiss) while the ‘oceanic crust is basaltic. The boundary between the crust and the mantle is delineated by a detectable surge in the seismic wave velocity due to the change in the composition of materials. This called the Mohorovicic discontinuity (Moho). ‘The oceanic crust has a density of about 3.0 g/cm? while the average density of continental crusts is about 2.7 gicm®. Generally, the continental crust which is thicker and less dense floats in the mantle above sea level, while the oceanic crust floats in the mantle deep below sea level (principle of isostasy). It is also estimated that the age of the earth's ‘oceanic crust is approximately less than 200 million years old and the continental crust is up to around 3.8 billion years old. The mantle is the 2,900-km thick layer separating the crust from the core. It takes up roughly 80% of the Earth's volume and about two-thirds of its mass. The data about the composition and nature of the mantle are derived from studies on seismological data, meteorites, and the nature of materials ejected by volcanoes. From these studies, the nature of the mantle is determined to be composed of iron, magnesium, and calcium. sierra:Atthe core of our planetis a dense iron-nickel layer. What we know about the nature of the core is derived from studies on Although enough evidence Supports the crust- the structure of the earth can be described. TI the history and present phy: mantle-core idea, there is another way his structure is significant in explaining ‘al appearance of the surface of the earth, the presence of earthquakes, and volcanism. There exists a thin tegion in the mantle where there is a drop in seismic wave velocity. This is referred to as the asthenosphere—the low-velocity zone, which is a hot, plastic semi- quid layer that extends around the earth. It is mobile, yields to stresses, and it is completely liquid in some regions. It is the source of magma that reaches the earth's surface as lava and drives the dynamics of the crust. The solid layer above the asthenosphere is called the hosphere. It includes the whole of the crust, the Moho, and the upper part of the mantle. The li lhosphere is composed of several rigid Plates that are isostatically positioned and are moving along the upper mantle.