Earth's Spheres

Radioactive decay

Radioactive decay

________ provides heat in an ongoing way throughout the Earth and keeps the Earth much warmer than it would have been had it simply been cooling over time.

supply food

Ecosystems ________, fuel, oxygen, and nutrients needed to sustain life.

Lord Kelvin

________ tried to apply science in discovering the age of the Earth by trying to determine the cooling of a molten ball the size of Earth to current temperatures.

Ecosystems

________ provide services such as climate regulation, the cycling and purification of water, and the development and maintenance of soil all needed to maintain the biosphere.

solid earth

Geosphere: the ________ and loose debris on top.

energy

The sun provides the majority of the ________ that runs processes on the surface.

Heat flow

________ from the Earths core is measured in microwatts /meter².

solar radiation

Incoming ________ at the surface of the earth is 240 watts /meter².

Feedbacks

________ are changes that can increase or decrease the original change and be unpredictable and /or irreversible.

Feedback loops

________ are a system where some portion or all of the produced by the system returns as output.

Earth

________ loses mass through the escape of gasses into space.

Earth gains

________ and loses energy through incoming radiation from the sun, heat loss into space, and gravitational forces from the sun, moon, and planets.

Ecosystems

________ are regions where organisms actively interact with each other and their environments.

solar radiation

The sun provides 340 watts /meter² at the edge of the atmosphere of incoming ________.

Earth gains

________ mass from impacts of meteorites and comets.

Earth

________ operates as a system of interconnected spheres.

Biosphere

all living things

Hydrosphere

all forms of water

Geosphere

the solid earth and loose debris on top

Atmosphere

all gasses

The Earths internal source comes from 2 sources

the cooling of this original molten earth, and radioactive decay

Earth's external energy source is

the sun

Earth's internal energy source is

Earth's core

The sun provides how much incoming solar radiation at the edge of the atmosphere?

340 watts/meter²

The sun provides how much incoming solar radiation to the surface of the Earth?

240 watts/meter²

Heat flow from the Earth’s core is measured in

microwatts/meter²

The effects of the heat flow from Earth's core are that it

runs all plate tectonic movements, including volcanos, earthquakes, mountain building, and basin formation

Lord Kelvin tried to apply science in discovering the age of the Earth by

trying to determine the cooling of a molten ball the size of Earth to current temperatures

Earth’s processes are the result of

energy flowing and mass cycling within and between Earth’s systems

True or false: Carbon in large amounts constantly cycles within Earth’s systems

True

Earth gains and loses energy through

incoming radiation from the sun, heat loss into space, and gravitational forces from the sun, moon, and planets

Earth gains mass from

impacts of meteorites and comets

Earth loses mass through

the escape of gasses into space

Ecosystems are regions where organisms

actively interact with each other and their environments

Ecosystems supply

food, fuel, oxygen, and nutrients needed to sustain life

Ecosystems provide services such as

climate regulation, the cycling and purification of water, and the development and maintenance of soil all needed to maintain the biosphere

Geoscience

is the study of the Earth’s complex systems and how Earth systems interact with each other and society.