Structure and

Subsystems of the
Earth
EARTH’S SUSBSYTEM
What is the Earth’s system?
• A system is a group of related objects or parts that
work together to form a whole.
• The Earth system is all of the matter, energy, and
processes within Earth’s boundary.
• Earth is a complex system made of living and non-
living things, and matter and energy continuously
cycle through the smaller systems.
GEOSPHERE
GEOSPHERE
• The mostly solid, rocky part of Earth.
• It extends from the center of Earth to the
surface of Earth.
• 94% of the Earth is composed of the elements
oxygen, silicon, and magnesium.
• Mineral resources are mined from the
geosphere.
Layers of the Earth
Geosphere
CRUST
• The layer that you live on so it is the most widely studied
and understood.
• The crust of the Earth is broken into many pieces called
plates.
• Consisting of the oceanic crust (the thinnest) and
continental crust (the thickest)
• Oceanic crust is 5 to 10 km thick. Continental crust is 35 to
70 km thick.
• The oceanic crust underlies all ocean basins.
• The continental crust underlies all the continental areas.
CRUST
MANTLE
• The largest layer of the Earth.
• The mantle is the layer that lies below the crust. It is about
2,900 km thick.
• Made of very slow-flowing, solid rock, consisting of silicate
minerals that are denser than the silicates in the crust.
• The movement of the mantle create the movement of the
Earth’s plates.
• Divided into two subdivisions: the upper mantle and the
lower mantle.
Upper MANTLE and Lower Mantle
• The crust and the upper mantle are then separated by
the Mohorovicic discontinuity or the Moho
discontinuity.
• Asthenosphere - part of the upper mantle that lies just
after the crust.
• The lower mantle exhibits plasticity because of the
higher pressure in this layer.
• Below the lower mantle and just above the outer core
is the Gutenberg discontinuity.
MANTLE
Core
• The core is the third layer as evidenced by
seismic wave data.
• Divided into two parts: the outer and the inner
core.
• The outer core is made mostly of molten iron
and nickel
• The inner core is believed to be magnetic and
is composed of solid iron and nickel.
Inner Core Vs. Outer Core
Inner Core Outer Core
Radius of 1250 km Radius of 2300 km

Solid Soft

Approx. 5400°C Approx. 4000°C

MANTLE
Hydrosphere
HYDROSPHERE
• The part of Earth that is liquid water.
• Oceans, lakes, rivers, marshes, groundwater, rain, and the water
droplets in clouds are part of the hydrosphere.
• Water found on the surface of our planet includes the ocean as well as
water from lakes and rivers, streams, and creeks.
• Water found under the surface of our planet includes water trapped in
the soil and groundwater.
• Water found in our atmosphere includes water vapor.
• Frozen water on our planet includes ice caps and glaciers.
• Only about 3% of the water on Earth is “fresh” water, and about 70% of
the fresh water is frozen in the form of glacial ice.
HYDROSPHERE
What is a cryosphere?
• The cryosphere is made up of all of the frozen water
on Earth.
• Snow, ice, sea ice, glaciers, ice shelves, icebergs, and
permafrost are all part of the cryosphere.
• Changes in the cryosphere can play an important role
in Earth’s climate and species’ survival.
HYDROSPHERE
ATMOSPHERE
ATMOSPHERE
• Mixture of mostly invisible gases that surround Earth.
• It extends outward about 500 to 600 km from Earth’s
surface, but most of the gases lie within 8 to 50 km of
Earth’s surface.
• About 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, and 1
percent many other gases.
• Minor gases in the atmosphere include argon, carbon
dioxide, and water vapor.
• Contains the air we breathe.
ATMOSPHERE
• Traps some energy from the sun, which helps keep Earth warm
enough for living things to survive and multiply.
• Some gases of the atmosphere absorb and reflect harmful
ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun, protecting Earth and its living
things.
• Causes space debris to burn up before reaching Earth’s surface
and causing harm.
• The atmosphere consists of unique layers (the troposphere, the
stratosphere, the mesosphere, the thermosphere and
exosphere).
Layers of the atmosphere - Troposphere
• The lowest layer of the atmosphere.
• It extends from the Earth’s surface to an average height of
about 12 km—9km at the poles and 17km at the equator.
• It contains about 80% of the total mass of the atmosphere.
• Most of the water vapor present in the atmosphere is
found in the troposphere.
• All weather associated cloud types are found in this layer.
Layers of the atmosphere - Stratosphere
• The second lowest layer of the Earth’s atmosphere.
• Lies above the troposphere.
• Contains the ozone layer in the stratosphere protects life on
Earth by absorbing ultraviolet radiation.
• The layer where commercial airliners are allowed to cruise due
to the low temperature and low air density- two factors that
reduces the drag.
• The stratosphere lacks the weather-producing air turbulence
and is almost completely free of clouds and other form of
weather.
Layers of the atmosphere - Mesosphere
• The third highest layer of the Earth’s atmosphere.
• Occupies the region above the stratosphere.
• Protects the Earth from meteoroids. Most meteoroids
that enter the atmosphere burn up due to the
intense friction that builds up between the air and
meteoroid.
Layers of the atmosphere - tHERMOSPHERE
• Beyond the mesosphere is the thermosphere that occupies
the region above the mesosphere
• Extends at an altitude of about 80 km to 700km.
• The portion of the thermosphere between 90 km to 500 km
above the Earth’s surface is called ionosphere.
• Ionosphere is a layer consisting of highly- ionized gas that
formed when ultraviolet rays knock off electron from nitrogen
and oxygen.
Layers of the atmosphere - tHERMOSPHERE
• This layers reflect ordinary radio waves back to Earth over and
over. This, in turn, aids the propagation of radio waves around
the Earth.
• The layer of the ionosphere that reflects radio waves is called
Kennelly- Heaviside layer.
• At the poles, the ion interact with air molecules to form an
aurora- a colorful displays of light.
• Aurora borealis or northern lights and aurora australis or
southern lights, depending on the location of the observer.
Layers of the atmosphere - EXOSPHERE
• The outermost layer of the Earth’s atmosphere that extends
from about 700 km to 1000 km above sea level.
• Most of the orbiting satellites as well as low density elements
such as hydrogen and helium are found.
ATMOSPHERE
BIOSPHERE
BIOSPHERE – THE “LIFE ZONE”
• made up of living things and the areas of Earth where they are
found.
• Organisms usually need oxygen or carbon dioxide to carry out
life processes
• Liquid water, moderate temperatures, and a stable source of
energy are also important for most living things.
• The biosphere is structured into a hierarchy known as the food
chain
• Energy and mass is transferred from one level of the food chain
to the next.
Hierarchy of life in a biosphere
Atoms Fundamental units of matter
Molecules Groups of atoms; smallest unit of most chemical compounds
Organelles Tiny organs making up the cell
Cell Smallest functional unit of life
Tissues Group of cells that have similar structure and functions
Organ Made up of tissues grouped together into a structural and functional
unit
Organ System Group of interacting organs that have a common function

Organism Individual living thing

Population Group of organisms of one type living in the same area

Community Populations that live together in a defined area

Ecosystem Community and its nonliving surrounding

Biosphere The part of the Earth that contains all ecosystems

What is an ecosystem?
• the interaction between the biotic community and the
abiotic environment in a defined region.
• The abiotic component includes sunlight, temperature,
precipitation, water or moisture, soil and others.
• The biotic components include the primary producers,
herbivores, carnivores, and detritivores among others.
• An ecosystem may be small like a decaying log or
large like a forest.
What is are Biomes?
• These are large ecosystems classified
according to the predominant vegetation
characterized by adaptation of organisms to
that particular environment.
• There are five major biomes on Earth:
Aquatic biomes
• includes freshwater (ponds, lakes, and rivers)
and marine (ocean and estuaries) biomes.
Grassland Biomes
• characterized by dominance of grasses rather
than large shrubs or trees.

Savanna Shrub land

Forest biomes
• include tropical, temperate, and boreal forest known as taiga.
Each type of forest has distinctive features dominated by trees
and other woody vegetation.

Tropical forest Temperate forest Boreal forest

Desert Biomes
• characterized by low rainfall (less than 50 cm/year).
• Most deserts have specialized vegetation as well as
specialized animals that can adopt to its condition.
Tundra biomes
• the coldest of all biomes and has low biotic
diversity and simple vegetation structure.
Thanks!
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