1. COEVOLUTION OF THE EARTH’S SYSTEMS AND LIFE ON EARTH
BY: SAMANTHA GERNAT

2. Provide evidence for the simultaneous coevolution of Earth's systems and life on Earth
Investigate the changing causes, effects, and feedbacks between the biosphere and Earth’s other systems, where geoscience factors control the evolution of life, which in turn continuously alters Earth’s surface. Examples include how photosynthetic life altered the atmosphere through the production of oxygen, which in turn increased weathering rates and allowed for the evolution of animal life; how microbial life on land increased the formation of soil, which in turn allowed for the evolution of land plants; or how the evolution of corals created reefs that altered patterns of erosion and deposition along coastlines and provided habitats for the evolution of new life forms.
The many dynamic and delicate feedbacks between the biosphere and other Earth systems cause a continual co-evolution of Earth’s surface and the life that exists on it.

3. What is coevolution?
It is the process of reciprocal evolutionary change that occurs between pairs of species or among groups of species as they interact with each other
Meaning that both are able to change simultaneously, even though they adapt in their own particular way
Always relying on each other

4. Earth’s spheres https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMxjz WHbyFM Biosphere
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Biosphere
Atmosphere
Geosphere
Hydrosphere
Lithosphere
Cryosphere

5. Photosynthetic life vs. Atmosphere
Plants create oxygen through photosynthesis
Increase in weathering rates
Weathering: Process at which rocks are broken down
Chemical/Physical
Oxygen
Carried by erosion
Before, Earth = no free oxygen
Great Oxidation = O2
Ozone layer = ultraviolet radiation
Allow bigger animals to live

6. Microbial life vs. Lithosphere/Geosphere
Microbe = single-celled organisms
Oldest life form on Earth
Air, ground, food, us
Without them =
No food digestion
Growth of plants
Less oxygen
Organic matter = remains of organisms & wastes in the environment
Organic compounds (chemical compounds that contain carbon)
Don’t involve life & nutrient role
Microbial activity measured by soil respiration & carbon dioxide release (organic matter nutrients>inorganic forms> plants)
Soil microorganisms = soil quality
Plants rely on them
Mineralize organic nutrients
Growth & Development
Plant litter and residues into soil organic matter
Direct reservoir of carbon & nitrogen through biological decomposition
Efficient nutrient cycle
Uniformly rocky surface gave way due to chemical elements > softer material (earliest soil form) > became enriched from minerals from rocks & decaying organic matter
Creation of soil = Earth itself, an atmosphere, waters, and life forms
Leaching = removal of soil particles that have become dissolved in water (potassium, calcium & magnesium) enough to set in motion the development of soil & essential for growth of plant life

7. Coral Reefs vs. Hydrosphere
Stromatolites =
Biochemical structures
Formed in shallow water by trapping, binding, and cementation
By microbial mats of cyanobacteria
Fossilized stromatolites provide ancient records of life on Earth
Remained reef-building organisms until 600million years ago
Pre-Cambrian era > Ordovician–Silurian Extinction Event > Devonian Period > Rapid fluctuations of sea levels > Permian period > Permian-Triassic Extinction > Cretaceous-Tertiary Mass Extinction > The Paleocene/Eocene Thermal Maximum > Modern Day
Corals (sea anemones, jellyfish, algae) settle on solid surfaces to create limestone
As the old die, creates surface new individuals to establish themselves
Wave erosion =
Act like sandpaper
More sediment = more erosion
Wave Deposition =
Slow water
Ocean Currents =
Transport basic nutrients needed to support life
Plankton (cannot effectively propel themselves) > right nutrients (phytoplankton) > population growth creates zooplankton > fish
Marine life > marine inhabitants > modified by their inhabitants (marine organisms = ecosystem engineers)

8. Glaciers vs. Cryosphere
Dense ice that move under their own weight
Ice Sheets (Continental glaciers) = glacier ice mass that covers terrain
Snow accumulates year after year and then melts > compresses > gets denser and firmer
Ice Sheet Dynamics = motion
Temperature and base strength
Basal Sheer strength = temperature, roughness, and softness
This causes hills, lakes, etc.
Regional affect on the elevation of land, which lifts up once the ice has melted
Creates cooler climates and different ecosystems

9. Works cited http://www.britannica.com/science/coevolution