Earth’s Systems and Patterns

The Atmosphere- denser near Earth’s surface and thinner farther from Earth - keeps Earth warm –greenhouse effect (CO2) Atmosphere made up of nitrogen (78%), oxygen, trace gases (CO2, ozone, argon, water vapor)

Troposphere: where we live, weather happens Stratosphere- ozone, airplanes Mesosphere: ionosphere/auroras Thermosphere: meteors burn up Exosphere: low pressure and density, molecules escape gravity

The Hydrosphere: system containing all of Earth’s water

The Cryosphere: frozen portion of water on Earth’s surface – snow, glaciers, icebergs The Biosphere: all living things

The Geosphere: solid part of Earth 3 layers of Earth: crust, mantle, core. Crust- brittle outer layer, make of rock, thinnest layer Mantle- largest layer, made of rock- hotter and denser Core- center of Earth, made of metal iron and nickel outer core: liquid inner core: dense ball of solid iron

INTERACTION OF EARTH SYSTEMS

The Water Cycle

Changes in the Atmosphere Weather: influenced by geosphere and hydrosphere -we describe using air temperature, pressure, wind, humidity

Weather Patterns

Weather Patterns – FRONTS – boundary between air masses https://www

Severe Weather Thunderstorms Tornadoes Hurricanes Blizzard Why is tracking the weather important?

Climate: average weather pattern for region over long period of time - influenced by altitude, latitude, rain shadows

Rain Shadows

Climates classified based on temperature, precipitation, and native vegetation Microclimate: localized climate different from climate of larger area around it -city, forest Climate determines what food we can grow, how we design buildings, what organisms can survive Weather vs climate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XirAUvS_29I

WEATHERING, EROSION, AND DEPOSITION

Weathering: physical and chemical processes that change objects on Earth’s surface over time. Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-Iak3Wvh9c Mechanical weathering: rock breaks naturally into smaller pieces – chemical makeup stays the same - ice wedging, abrasion, plants, animals https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-Iak3Wvh9c

Chemical weathering: changes materials of the rock into new materials - water (dissolving) - acids - oxidation: combines oxygen, produces oxide - rust

The environment helps determine the rate of weathering. What affects weathering rates? The environment helps determine the rate of weathering. The type of rock being weathered also affects the rate of weathering and determines what kinds of products result.

How are features on Earth’s surface influenced by Weathering