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Canadian Geography 1202
Unit One – Natural and Human Systems
What Are Systems?• A system is made up of many parts that
connect to form a whole
Is Earth system?
Systems
• Systems are connected into a complex web.
• Systems are dynamic
• Systems have synergy
•Dynamic: Continually Changing
•Synergy: Whole system is greater than the sum of its parts
•How is this system dynamic?•How does this system show synergy?
Natural and Human Systems
• Natural Systems: Systems that occur in nature.
•Human Systems: Systems created by people
Hayman Island Resort
•They include• The circulation of water, • Weather and climate• Drainage systems• Energy Cycles
Together Natural Systems form the ecosystems that make up our environment
Ecosystem: Community of plants and animals that interact with each other
•They include:• Settlements• Transportation systems• Communication systems• Information systems
Natural Systems
Support all living things
Are connected to one another in a complex network of
relationships
Decompose and recycle
all waste
Operate over very
long timelines
Operate in all four of earth’s spheres
Display synergy
Are driven by the sun
Characteristics common among All Natural Systems.
Earth’s Four Natural Systems
• Cause and effect relationship
• Protects you from the suns intense energy
• Circulates air
• Regulates temperature
Atmosphere: Thin layer of mixed gases that make up the are
you breathe
•Features
•Consist of nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor, carbon dioxide
and Ozone
Atmosphere
Lithosphere
• Cause and effect relationship– Lithosphere broken into plates– Movement of plates causes plate tectonics– Results in earthquakes volcanoes, and mountains
Lithosphere: The earth’s uppermost crust and part of the
underlying mantle
Main features:
• Consists of rock and minerals
• Varies in thickness from 2km (under oceans) to
250km (under thick continents)
Hydrosphere
• Cause and effect relationships:– Moderates temperature– Used for transportation– Essential for life
Hydrosphere: All the water on the Earth’s crust
Main features:• Lakes, rivers, glaciers, swamps,
water vapour in the atmosphere• Includes all water stored in organs
of plants and animals
Biosphere
– Cause and effect relationships:• Includes all interactions between plants and animals.
Biosphere: Layer of the earth where all life evolves
Main Features:
•Supports all living things on earth
•Includes all life in the atmosphere and Hydrosphere
Examples of Natural Systems
• In the atmosphere air is cycled from warmer
areas to cooler areas.
• This moderates the temperature.
• Without atmospheric circulation it would
always be colder in Canada!!
Examples of Natural Systems
• The water cycle is a key natural system
Has a defined beginning and end
Earth never loses or gains any water
All of our water has been recycled over hundreds of
millions of years.
1. Water is stored in the ocean
2. Evaporation and transpiration sends moisture into the atmosphere
3. As moisture gathers and cools it condenses
4. Precipitation
5. Water runs off through, lakes, streams, and underground aquifers.
Examples of Natural Systems
• In the Hydrosphere ocean currents circulate
the water and moisture.
• Ocean currents have a dramatic effect on
climate.•Warm ocean currents bring moisture
• Cool ocean currents are associated with deserts
Examples of Natural Systems
Desert
Cold Current
Desert
Cold Current
Desert
Cold Current
Examples of Natural Systems
• The rock cycle is how the Lithosphere recycles itself
1. Volcanoes and cooling magma form igneous rock
2. Over time the rock is weathered, eroded away, and deposited
3. As sediment builds up it forms sedimentary rock
4. As sedimentary rock is pulled under it is subjected to heat and pressure forming metamorphic rock
5. Eventually the rock melts and the cycle starts again
The Rock Cycle
Examples of Natural Systems
• The biosphere is where all living things
interact
• One of the most simple ways animals interact is in a
food chain
•The sequence of producer consumer decomposer is
also a natural system
