SPHERES OF THE EARTH

Observations of Earth Using an Earth System Science Approach

Systems and FeaturesEarth is made up of systems that work together.

What do you know about our systems? What are they called? Turn and talk!

HINT: They all end in sphere.

COMPLETE THE TABLE USING THE WORD BANK TO TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF EARTH’S SPHERES. GOOD LUCK!!!

The Human BodyAnother system we know about and are connected

with is the human system. Our systems help keep us alive and we can’t live without them!

We have the:

Circulatory system-moves our blood around

Skeletal system-made of our bones and holds us together

Respiratory system-keeps oxygen moving through our bodies and helps release carbon dioxide

THIS IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE SYSTEMS OF EARTH!!!!

The Spheres of EarthFill in the blanks on your notes as we go along.

The Earth Systems are sometimes called the spheres of Earth.

AtmosphereAtmosphere-this sphere relates to activity such as weather, clouds, or particles in the air. Features include:

-Clouds -Air pollution -

Hurricanes and cyclones -Dust and sand storms

BiosphereBiosphere- this sphere is associated with living systems such as biomes or eco systems. This includes life on land, in the oceans and rivers, and even life we cannot see with the naked eye. Features we can observe in astronaut photographs include:

-Coastal biomes -Forests -Deserts

-Grasslands -Urban/agriculture Ecosystems

HydrosphereHydrosphere-This sphere is associated with water in solid (ice) and liquid states. Water in a gas state (water vapor) is probably best considered a feature of the atmosphere. Features include:

-Oceans -Lakes and rivers -Snow

-Ice bergs -Glaciers

Litho/GeosphereLitho/Geosphere-This sphere is associated with solid portions of the Earth. It includes rocks, sediments and soils, surface landforms, and the processes that shape the surface. Features associated with this sphere can be broken down into a variety of different processes and related surface landforms. These are:

Fluvial and Alluvial Processes: Valley networks, river channels/canyons, deltas, alluvial fans

Aeolian Processes: Sand dunes, yardangs, wind streaks

Tectonic Processes: Folds, faults, mountains

Volcanic Processes: Volcanoes, central vents, volcanic deposits

Impact Processes: Impact craters

Other Processes: Mass wasting processes, erosional processes

Images From SpaceAstronauts have been taking images from space since the 1960’s. These images show the various spheres of Earth and their features. In this photo taken from space, can you tell what the blue color is and what the brown is? What are these features of Earth?

The image shown here illustrates what an astronaut would see looking out the Destiny window from the ISS. You can see the circular outline of the window as well as the amount of surface area that would be imaged with different lenses.

Images From Space

We can see more than one sphere from satellite images from space.

Identifying Sphereshttp://eol.jsc.nasa.gov

Look under the tab “Find Photos”

Select “Weekly Top 10”

Choose one of the photos to observe.

Fill out the Spheres of Earth table with your findings.

Do this activity for two more photos for a total of 3.

Be prepared to share with the class one of your observations.

Show What You Know!Now that you have learned about the different spheres of Earth, you will fill out the table we used in the beginning of class.