Common features of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere

The structure of the Earth is the totality, interaction and dependence of its main shells on each other. If there were no people on the planet, then perhaps its surface today would have looked different. Over millions of years, these shells were created, thanks to which life could appear and develop, and the common signs of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere inherent in them now indicate a strong anthropogenic impact on them of human activities.

Spheres of the earth

If we consider the structure of the planet from the point of view of its landscape sphere, then we can see that it includes not only the well-known surface of the earth's crust, but also several "neighboring" shells. It is such a close relationship between the boundaries that determines the common features characteristic of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere. They are manifested in the constant exchange of liquid, solid and gaseous components inherent in each of the shells. For example, the water cycle in nature is the exchange between the hydrosphere and the atmosphere.

If a volcanic eruption occurs with ash being released into the air, this is the interconnection of the lithosphere with the lower atmosphere, although some cataclysms can be of such power that they can almost reach its middle part. In the event that the volcano is located on an island or at the bottom of the ocean, then all the shells of the Earth will be involved, and the atmosphere, and the hydrosphere, and the lithosphere, and the biosphere. The latter is most often expressed by the death of vegetation and wildlife in the radius of the natural disaster.

Conventionally, the Earth’s spheres can be divided into 4 parts: atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, but some of them consist of several components.

Atmosphere

Atmosphere is the entire external gaseous sphere of the planet, surrounding it up to the vacuum in space. If the following shells of the Earth - the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere - interact with each other, then this cannot be said about some of their parts. The atmosphere is divided into 3 areas, each of which has its own height, for example:

• The lower part is the very air that breathes all life on the planet. It is called the troposphere and extends upward for 15 km. Between it and the next part of the atmosphere is the ozone layer, which just protects life on Earth from the radiation background, which can “come” from space, and ultraviolet rays emitted by the Sun. The most vulnerable and vital is the lower part of the troposphere, especially the one that extends above sea level no higher than 100 m. The exchange of energies and various substances between the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere occurs at this level.
  

• The stratosphere is another kind of “buffer” between space and life on Earth. The stratosphere located in the middle part of the atmosphere does not intersect with the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere, since it extends 100 km above sea level. It consists of various gases, for example, hydrogen, helium, nitrogen and others.
• The ionosphere is the uppermost layer, above which is already open space. It consists of decaying ions and electrons, the movement of which in the form of the northern lights can be observed in its lower part.

Of greatest interest to scientists and environmentalists is the lower region of the troposphere.

Hydrosphere

The water area located on the surface of the earth's crust and below it is called the hydrosphere. This is the totality of all waters, both fresh and saline, that exist on the planet. The depth of some water bodies can reach 3.5 km, which is inherent in the oceans, and in some areas called basins, even deepen by more than 10 km. The deepest known underwater “gutters” is the Mariana Trench, which, according to 2011 data, goes down 10,994 m.

Since life on Earth depends on the quality of water, the hydrosphere is as important as air, which is why an increasing number of environmental scientists are concerned about the impact of people on these areas. From the water on the planet not only all things appeared, but also depends on it so that life remains on it.

Scientists were able to prove that on the site, for example, the Saharas were prairies that crossed full-flowing rivers. When the water left this area, it was gradually filled with sands. If we consider what common features the hydrosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere, biosphere, then we can see that they are directly dependent on each other, and they all affect the existence of life on Earth.

If an environmental catastrophe occurs due to which rivers (hydrosphere) dry up, then vegetation and animals in this region (biosphere) suffer, the state of air (atmosphere), and the surface of the earth's crust (lithosphere) change .

Biosphere

This shell has appeared since the advent of life on the planet. The concept of “biosphere” was introduced as a term only at the end of the 19th century, and it included all the forms and types of life that exist on Earth.

She has a particularly strong connection with the rest of the shells of the planet. So various microorganisms are found in the lower part of the atmosphere. People, animals, birds, insects and plants live on the surface and underground (lithosphere). Rivers, seas, lakes and oceans (hydrosphere) are inhabited by freshwater and marine fish, microorganisms, plants and animals.

The boundary of the biosphere, as a rule, is determined by the conditions in which living organisms can be, and they are able to change. So, for example, in the oceans, life flows in all layers up to their bottom. Each layer has its own “set” of creatures and microorganisms, which is associated with salt saturation of water and the level of pressure of the water column. The closer the bottom, the higher it is.

Signs of the biosphere (in other words, the sphere of life) were found at an altitude of 20 km above sea level and at a depth of 3 km from the Earth's surface.

Lithosphere

"Litos" in Greek means "stone", so the entire earth's crust, which is a rock, was called the lithosphere. She has two parts:

1. The upper cover is sedimentary rocks containing granite.
2. The lower level is basaltic rocks.

A smaller part of the lithosphere (only 30%) is on land, the rest is covered by the waters of the oceans. The relationship of the lithosphere with the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere lies in the upper soil layer. There vegetation and animal life (biosphere) develops, aerobic bacteria live in it, which need air (atmosphere), they are fed with groundwater and in the form of precipitation (hydrosphere).

Human exposure to the atmosphere

The main features of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere were listed above. Since they interact very tightly, the effect on one of them is immediately reflected in the others. This is due to the fact that the common sign of all these shells of the Earth is the presence of life in them.

Today, one can observe how much damage people’s activities caused to the spheres of the planet. So emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere, cutting down of the Amazonian jungle, launching rockets and take-offs of planes every day gradually destroy the ozone layer of the Earth. If it becomes smaller (today its size is about 8 km), then all life on the planet can either mutate or die.

According to archaeologists, the Earth already experienced similar shocks, but in those days it was not inhabited by people. Nowadays, everything is different. Not so long ago there were cities where the level of exhaust emissions from cars was so high that people were forced to walk around the streets in masks. Scientists and environmental enthusiasts were able to “reach out” to the public in order to reverse the menacing situation.

More and more countries, realizing that the quality of life directly depends on the cleanliness of the air that their people breathe, switch to alternative energy sources, introduce electric cars into everyday life, close or modernize harmful industries. This gives hope that future generations of earthlings will have clean air.

Man and the hydrosphere

No less harm people have done to the planet’s water resources. Given that only 3% of the water is fresh, that is livable, then humanity is again at risk. The close connection of the hydrosphere with the rest of the Earth’s shells is through the water cycle in nature.

If some body of water is contaminated, water evaporated from its surface can spill infected rain in any part of the world, causing damage to the soil (lithosphere), wildlife (biosphere), and turn into a poisonous fog (atmosphere).

Although many states are involved in the cleaning and conservation of the planet’s natural resources, this is still not enough. Everyone is well aware of the problems with clean drinking water in the countries of Africa and Asia, whose population is sick precisely because of pollution of local water bodies.

Human violation of the Earth’s shell

Since all the spheres of the planet are interconnected and have a common feature - the presence of life in them, the imbalance in one immediately affects the rest. Deepening people into the bowels of the earth for the sake of mining, emissions of harmful chemicals into the atmosphere, oil spills in the seas and oceans - all this leads to the fact that every day the animal and plant world disappears or is threatened with extinction (biosphere).

If humanity does not stop its wrecking activity, then after a few hundred years, violations in the shells of the planet will be so significant that all life on the planet will die out. An example can be the same Sahara desert, which was once a flowering region in which primitive people lived.

Conclusion

Every moment the Earth’s shells exchange their components with each other. They have existed for billions of years, interacting with each other. The definitions of the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere were given above, and until people understand that the planet is a living organism, and if one “organ” is removed in it, the whole body suffers immediately, then the mortality rate will only increase.