Lecture 1: Introduction

Earth’s Major Components

Atmosphere – troposphere, stratosphere and ozone layer
Biosphere – living and dead organisms
Hydrosphere
Lithosphere (litho – rocky)
- Crust – thinnest and outermost
- Mantle – made of two components: lower mantle and upper mantle
o 2900 km
o Accounts for about 80% of the volume of Earth
Outer core – 2200 km
Inner core – 1200 km
- Most inner part made of iron and nickel
- At that temperature, we expect materials to melt but they are solid
because of the pressure of the materials on top of them

The Earth’s Four Spheres

Geosphere
- Solid earth: core, mantle, crust
- Earth was formed by a frigid form of dust
- The sun was formed as gravity pulled materials to be centered in a
swirling motion
- When turbulence subsided, small grains of fist-sized materials were
compacted together to form planetesimals
- These planetesimals collided to form the Earth
- Later, asteroids and comets crashed into the surface of the Earth
generating additional heat
- At the same time as the heat was generated, radioactive heat was formed
Asthenosphere (plastic layer)
- Asthenos – weak
- Molten rock above the mantle layer (lava)
Ocean crust
- Made up certain minerals: basalt and gabbro
- MAFIC – high amount of magnesium
Continental crust
- Made up of SIAL: silica and aluminum
- Lighter compared to ocean crust
- In some cases, it is buoyant
Hydrosphere
- Water sources, rivers, ocean, etc.
- Cryosphere
o Accounts for 75% of water on earth
o Much of it is salty because of larger amount of dissolved minerals
- Palustrines
o Wetlands, swamps and peat bogs
Atmosphere
- Gaseous layer – zone of gases
- Largest portion is nitrogen, it makes up 78%
- We lose nitrogen through a process known as nitrogen fixation/nitrification
- Nitrogen unfixation/denitrification is the process of gaining nitrogen in the
atmosphere
- Oxygen accounts for 21%
- There are bacteria in the ocean that produce oxygen
- We can also gain oxygen through photosynthesis
- Carbon dioxide accounts for 0.033%
- Carbon dioxide is a primary contributor to the greenhouse effect
- We lose carbon dioxide by photosynthesis and the ocean’s absorption
- Forests and oceans are carbon sinks
- There are other secondary greenhouse gases present such as argon,
helium, methane, sulphur dioxide, mercury, etc.
Biosphere
- Realm of living organisms
- Nutrient cycles
- Includes organism that are found in the bottom of the ocean and also,
microscopic organisms
- Nekton are microscopic organisms that swim in the ocean
- Plankton are microscopic organisms that float
o Phytoplankton: plant-based microscopic organisms
o Zoo planktons: animal-based microscopic organisms
- Algae – provide nourishment to corals
- Reptiles and mammals that roam on the Earth’s surface

Earth as a System
- Ongoing relationships
- Everything is connected in some way
- Humans interact with the environment
o Size of systems
o System interact in complex ways
o Energy and material cycles are essential for the study of earth
systems
- Supra system: divided into components and each of a different size
- Subsystem: constant flow of energy and matter between the components
and the state of dynamism

Time and Rates of Change in Earth’s Science

James Hutton
- Observed that certain types of rocks are called sandstone
- Formulated the principle of uniformitarianism/gradualism
o The same physical processes now active in the environment were
operating throughout Earth’s history (the present is key to the past)
- Series of events that are imperceptible; cannot immediately be noticed
 - No vestige in the beginning neither a prospect of an end
o If someone asked when a mountain was made, there is no answer
- Geological change is very slow
William Whewell
- He argued that geological change is sometimes rapid
- Dramatic changes are unexpected: catastrophism, apocalyptic,
cataclysmic and paroxysmal
- Ex. Volcanic eruptions

Threshold Effect
- A change in one sphere will trigger changes in the other spheres
- Once it reaches the threshold or maximum limit, an additional small
perturbation (change) will cause rapid and dramatic changes in other
systems
- Every natural system has its own threshold
- When the threshold is passed for animal population, it causes food and
space limitations

Feedback Mechanism
- Occurs when a small perturbation affects other components in the Earth
system, amplifying the original effect
- Ex. Initial perturbation is when temperature increases. Due to this,
bacteria forms and carbon dioxide increases. This causes the Earth to
warm up quicker, thus amplifying the original effect.
- Negative feedback mechanism: would occur if the plants absorb the
carbon dioxide and the Earth cools

Energy Balance
- Constant energy transfer
- Transmission: the uninterrupted passage of shortwave and longwave
energy through either the atmosphere or water
- Energy is not the same throughout the Earth due to the uneven
distribution of solar energy by latitude and seasonal changes
Absorption
- Absorption of radiation by molecules of matter, converting it from one form
of energy to another
- Raises the temperature of the absorbing surface
- Water vapour and carbon dioxide are good absorbers of longwave
radiation
- Electromagnetic spectrum
- Wave frequency
Scattering
- Atmospheric gases and water droplets
- Occurs when particles such as pollen, water vapour, dust and ice crystals
disperse sunlight in different directions
- The shorter the wave length, the bigger the scattering
 - Why is the sky orange/red: low latitude and greater amount of scattering of
short wavelengths
Reflection
- Albedo: the reflecting quality or intrinsic brightness of surface materials
- Occurs when energy from the sun is diverted in a different direction
- Different surface materials have different reflecting characteristics
- Forests have lower reflecting characteristics
- Deserts have a 35% reflecting characteristic
- Vegetation have a 5% reflecting characteristic
- Snow and ice caps have a greater reflecting characteristic
- Mirror has about 100% reflecting characteristics
Refraction
- Occurs when the sun’s radiation passes through different media
- There will be changes in speed and shifts in direction
- Rainbows occur when solar radiation passes through a myriad of
raindrops
- Mirages occur when energy that is reradiated from the Earth passes
through the air

Radiation Balance
- Temperature and heat
- Advection: the horizontal movement of winds from land to sea and sea to
land, formation and movement of fog and air mass movements
- What are the key methods of heat transfer?
o Conduction: occurs when molecules and atoms in certain materials
vibrate violently and transfer heat from one part of the material to
another by contact (e.g. iron)
o Convection: occurs when there is physical movement (mixing) of
heated particles from one location to another (e.g. boiling water)
o Radiation: occurs through the transfer of heat in the form of waves
through space (vacuum) and requires no contact/presence of
matter

What Factors Influence Temperature Control?

- Ocean currents transfer heat across the globe
Altitude: height from the ground
- The higher you get, the cooler it is
Latitude: distance north and south of the equator
- Often measured by the angular distance from the latitude 0 degrees or
equator
- Latitude lines run parallel to each other

Ocean Currents
- Thermohaline: art of the large-scale ocean circulation that is driven by
global density gradients created by surface heat and freshwater fluxes