ESS - Topic 1.2 Systems

Define each term below, explain it, and outline at least one specific example

System

Any set of interactions or parts organized to create a functional whole with a purpose.

Systems Approach

Exploring connection between the parts of a system to understand the whole.

Storages

An accumulation of material, energy, or information into or out of a storage in a system.

Flows

The movement of mater, energy or information into or out of a storage in a system.

Inputs

Things going into a system that can be counted or accumulated

Outputs

Things going out of a system that can be counted or accumulated

Transfers

A change in location of energy or matter, without any change in its state or form

Transformations

Move in energy and matter, but in the process there is a change in the chemical nature, state, or in energy

Open System

A system that exchanges both matter and energy with its external environment

Closed System

Exchanges energy with the external environment but NOT matter

Biosphere

All of Earth’s organisms, including humans

Hydrosphere

Liquid ocean, inland bodies of water ground water

Cryosphere

All frozen water

Geosphere

The Earth’s core, mantle, crust, and soils

Atmosphere

The gases and particles that surround the Earth

Anthroposphere

Human impact on Earth, including culture, technology, built environment, etc.

Gaia Hypothesis

All living organisms form a complex system that maintains conditions suitable for life.

Negative Feedback Loop

The output of a storage/ system returns as an input in a way that reverses the operation of the same processes

Positive Feedback Loop

The output of a storage/ system returns as an input in a way that amplifies change disestablishing the system and driving it away from its equilibrium

Steady-State Equilibrium

A situation, mainly in open systems, where there are continuous inputs and outputs of energy or matter that may result in short-term changes and imbalances

Tipping Point

The minimum amount of change that will cause destabilization within a system leading to a new equilibrium state

Model

A simplified representation of structures, relationships, or processes

Emergent Properties

Characteristics of a system that appear when the individual system parts interact; the parts themselves do not have the characteristics

Resilience

A system’s ability to recover after a disturbance by avoiding tipping points and staying stable due to a balance of positive and negative feedback loops

Regime Shifts

A large, persistent change in an ecosystem’s structure and function, moving it from one stable state to another

Alternative Stable States

Two or more distinct, non-transitory conditions that an ecosystem can exist in, even under the same external environmental conditions.