Earth Spheres

Earth Spheres
What are the different spheres that

make up Earth?
Earth is the third planet from the sun and the
only planet in the solar system that can
sustain life.
Earth as “The Blue Marble”
With these, it can clearly be seen that the
earth can be divided into different spheres:
• Hydrosphere – the water portion of the

earth.
• Atmosphere – the gaseous envelope of

the earth.
• Geosphere – the solid component of the
Earth.
• Biosphere – the living component of the

Earth.
These spheres interact with one another that
enable Earth to sustain life. The interaction is
what makes Earth as a system where one
sphere cannot act independently from the
other.
Hydrosphere
 Earth is sometimes called the blue planet
or the blue marble is because of its water
component.
 Water is what makes the Earth unique
since it appear in any of its three phases.
 And water is such an important
component to sustain life on earth. But
how is Earth’s water distributed?
 The hydrosphere makes up 71% of
Earth’s surface and most of it is saltwater
found in the oceans.
 It also includes the fresh water found in

glaciers, rivers, streams, lakes, and
underground.
 It is the fresh water part of the
hydrosphere that is important to living
things.
 Groundwater is the largest reservoir of

fresh water available to humans.
Atmosphere
 The atmosphere is the thin life – giving
gaseous envelope of the Earth.
 Its composition is divided into two: the

major components and the variable
components.
 The major components include the
gaseous compound nitrogen and oxygen
along with the trace gases. These major
components provide the air that people
breath and it can also trap the outgoing
infrared radiation to keep Earth warm.
 Water vapor and aerosols are the variable
components responsible for the weather
and climate that is experienced on Earth
through interaction of the atmosphere to
the hydrosphere and geosphere.
 Water vapor is needed for cloud
formation and for trapping heat on Earth.
 Aerosols serve as condensation nuclei for

the water vapor and it can absorb, reflect
and scatter incoming solar radiation.
 Ozone is another variable component of
the atmosphere that protects Earth from
harmful ultraviolet radiation of the sun.
 The atmosphere is divided into different
layers:
• Troposphere
• Stratosphere
• Mesosphere
• Thermosphere
Troposphere
 Troposphere is the lowest layer of the

atmosphere where temperature decreases
with altitude.
 It is about 11 km thick and all weather
phenomena occur in this layer.
 The boundary between the troposphere
and the next layer is the tropopause.
Stratosphere
 The next layer after the troposphere is the
stratosphere that is about 11 km – 48 km
from Earth’s surface.
 In this layer, the temperature increases
with altitude due to the presence of the
ozone layer.
 The boundary between the stratosphere
and the next layer is the stratopause.
Mesosphere
 The next layer after the stratosphere is the
mesosphere.
 In this layer, the temperature decreases
with altitude and it reaches about 90°C
which is the coldest temperatures in the
atmosphere.
 It is also in this layer that meteors burn
up.
 The boundary between the mesosphere

and the next layer is the mesopause.
Thermosphere
 The next layer after the mesosphere is the

thermosphere.
 Thermosphere starts at about 55 km and
has no definite upper – limit.
 It has the least amount of atmospheric
molecules but these receive most of
high – energy radiation that leads to the
increase in temperature as altitude
increases.
Geosphere
 Beneath the atmosphere is the solid earth,
the geosphere.
 It does not only comprise the visible layer

but it extends to the center of the earth.
 It has a depth of 6400 km, making the
largest sphere of the earth.
 It is divided into different layers: crust,
mantle, outer core and inner core.
The Crust
The crust is outermost layer of the Earth.
It is relatively thin that it occupies just about
1% of Earth’s volume. It is 5 km thick on the
ocean floor, where it is known as the oceanic
crust but 35 km thick on continents, where it
is called the continental crust.
The Mantle
 Below the crust is the mantle, which is
marked by Mohorovicic continuity, a
distinct difference between the denser
mantle and the crust. This also marks the
base of the crust or the top of the mantle.
Mantle comprises 82% of Earth’s volume
and is divided into upper mantle and lower
mantle.
About 100 km thick of the upper mantle is
made of solid rocks and together with the
crust is known as the lithosphere.
 Below the solid portion of the upper
mantle is the weaker region about 700 km
thick or semi – solid or plastic
athenosphere.
 And below the athenosphere is the lower
mantle is the hot semi – solid rock that is
about 2100 km thick.
The Outer and Inner core
 Lastly, at the center of the earth is core.
Marking the boundary between solid
mantle and liquid outer core is the
Gutenberg Discontinuity.
 The outer core extends 2266 km while the
inner core is 1220 km thick and more than
6200 km below the surface of the Earth.
The temperature increases as we go
deeper into the Earth’s layer.
The inner core consists of molten rock
called magma, the same material that is
ejected from erupting volcanoes.
The inner core is the very center of the
Earth, and the hottest part of the planet.
Biosphere
 Biosphere is the biological component of
the Earth.
 It includes all of the microbes, plants, and

animals that can be found from about
kilometer above sea level down to the
deepest parts of the ocean.

Earth Spheres

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Earth Spheres

What are the different spheres that

• Hydrosphere – the water portion of the

• Atmosphere – the gaseous envelope of

• Biosphere – the living component of the

 It also includes the fresh water found in

 Groundwater is the largest reservoir of

 Its composition is divided into two: the

 Aerosols serve as condensation nuclei for

 Troposphere is the lowest layer of the

 The boundary between the mesosphere

 The next layer after the mesosphere is the

 It does not only comprise the visible layer

 It includes all of the microbes, plants, and

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