Final Exam Question #1

The atmosphere is gases that surround a material body, in a layer, of sufficient mass. In this case the body of sufficient mass is the Earth. The biosphere is the part of the Earth in which all occurs. This includes all air, land, and water where life exists. The geosphere is the densest part of the Earth which includes rock and soil. These areas include the core, the man, and the crust. The hydrosphere is the water on, over, and under the surface of the Earth. All of this includes the oceans (which is the majority of the hydrosphere), seas, underground water in aquifers, rivers, and lakes.

These four systems effect the other systems in changes they have. The biosphere affects the atmosphere in that the living organisms, especially humans, are making holes in the atmosphere with their pollution. The biosphere also affects the hydrosphere in that humans also pollute the water with dumping trash and oil spills. The winds in the atmosphere also affect the hydrosphere in that that is where all the water evaporates to. Then it rains and the winds can move the clouds to put the water in different places. Winds in the atmosphere can also create hurricanes which then in turn affect the biosphere because it destroys organism's homes and causes flooding.

Humans also burn fossil fuel. This affects the geosphere because it has to be removed from the geosphere by drilling oil wells. When it is burned it also effects the atmosphere because when fossil fuel is burned it is dispersed into the air as pollution. Also, if there is an oil spill, it can affect the biosphere and the organisms in it and can also be drained off into the waters near by (the hydrosphere). Ways that we could fix this would be to look for better alternative fuel sources such as solar or hydro powered energy plants. This would be more environmentally friendly.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosphere
Wikimedia Foundation Inc.
Wikipedia
Hydrosphere
May 26, 2008

http://www.geology.ufl.edu/Biosphere.html
Department of Geological Sciences
University of Florida
The Biosphere
February 1, 2008

Pictures:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth's_atmosphere
Wikimedia Foundation Inc.
Wikipedia
Atmosphere
May 26, 2008

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycle.html
United States Department of the Interior
United States Geological Survey
The Water Cycle
May 19, 2008