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The five components of the climate system all interact. They are the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the cryosphere, the lithosphere and the biosphere. [1]: 1451 Earth's climate system is a complex system with five interacting components: the atmosphere (air), the hydrosphere (water), the cryosphere (ice and permafrost), the lithosphere (earth's upper rocky layer) and the biosphere (living things).
Over 1.5 million living animal species have been described—of which around 1 million are insects—but it has been estimated there are over 7 million in total. Animals range in size from 8.5 millionths of a metre to 33.6 metres (110 ft) long and have complex interactions with each other and their environments, forming intricate food webs.
The biosphere, for its part, and in particular continental vegetation, which constitutes over 99% of the total biomass, has played a critical role in establishing and maintaining the chemical composition of the Earth's atmosphere, especially during the early evolution of the planet (See History of Earth for more details on this topic).
By the most general biophysiological definition, the biosphere is the global ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationships, including their interaction with the elements of the lithosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. The biosphere is postulated to have evolved, beginning with a process of biopoiesis (life ...
Earth science generally recognizes four spheres, the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere and the biosphere [3] as correspondent to rocks, water, air and life respectively. Some scientists include as part of the spheres of the Earth, the cryosphere (corresponding to ice ) as a distinct portion of the hydrosphere, as well as the ...
A classic example of co-evolution is the evolution of oxygen-producing photosynthetic cyanobacteria which oxygenated Earth's Archean atmosphere. The ancestors of cyanobacteria began using water as an electron source to harness the energy of the sun and expelling oxygen before or during the early Paleoproterozoic .
The Earth's atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere together hold less than 0.05% of the Earth's total mass of oxygen. Besides O 2 , additional oxygen atoms are present in various forms spread throughout the surface reservoirs in the molecules of biomass , H 2 O , CO 2 , HNO 3 , NO , NO 2 , CO , H 2 O 2 , O 3 , SO 2 , H 2 SO 4 , MgO , CaO ...
The troposphere is the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere. It extends from Earth's surface to an average height of about 12 km (7.5 mi; 39,000 ft), although this altitude varies from about 9 km (5.6 mi; 30,000 ft) at the geographic poles to 17 km (11 mi; 56,000 ft) at the Equator, [17] with some variation due