A person habitually calls the surrounding space nature or habitat. Most of us gained fundamental knowledge about this concept in school lessons: natural science (Grade 3), geography and biology (4), anatomy and chemistry (6). But few understand how these sciences are combined, except that they all belong to the field of natural science. To summarize all human knowledge about the world around us, one capacious name has been created - the biosphere. Despite many years of research and careful study, the planet Earth still gives scientists a reason to think about the processes taking place on it.
Definition
What is called the biosphere? Interpretations of this term can be found in the literature quite a lot, and they all differ in content, but are almost identical in meaning. Most often, the biosphere is the global ecosystem of the planet, into which a person enters as one of the few species. If you translate the name "biosphere" literally from the ancient Greek language, then it has two roots. “Sphere” means “region, sphere, ball”, and the root “bios” translates as “life”. It turns out a sufficiently capacious and accurate name, which, in essence, gives a definition of complex and multifaceted science. V.I. Vernadsky gives an extended answer to the question of what is called the biosphere. He defines this concept as a complex of scientific knowledge about the Earth, which includes geography, geochemistry, biology, geology. The biosphere is a collection of earth shells that are united according to the principle of the presence of living things and their environment. All spheres are different in composition, functions and properties, but each of them plays a significant role in the existence and evolution of the world around us.
Doctrine of the biosphere
Created an integrated system of knowledge of the philosopher, scientist, geologist and biochemist V.I. Vernadsky. Until the beginning of the 20th century, there was a lot of research work on the Earth and the processes occurring on it, but the great Russian scientist managed to deepen and generalize this material. At the beginning of the 19th century, the French natural scientist Lamarck defined the initial concept of future science, but did not give it a name. In 1875, the Austrian paleontologist and geologist Eduard Suess proposed the term “biosphere”, which is used to this day. He will define this science as knowledge of all life on our planet. Only after 50 years, Vernadsky will prove the relationship of living organisms and inorganic substances, their cycle. What is called the biosphere at the present stage? This is one of the shells of the planet in which natural elements of various origins interact, and it is their combination that creates a unique, balanced system.
Atmosphere
The outer air shell of planet Earth. Most of its mass is concentrated at the very surface, and in height it extends over three thousand kilometers. The atmosphere is the lightest of all shells; it does not leave the surface only due to the attractive force of the planet, but with increasing height its layers are gradually discharged. The ozone layer provides protection against radioactive sun exposure, reducing the level of ultraviolet radiation that hits the earth. The atmosphere includes gases: carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen, argon, which ensure the existence of living organisms.
Hydrosphere
The biosphere of the Earth includes a part of the water shell of the planet. Its composition varies in the state of aggregation of the substance. The hydrosphere combines all the water resources on the planet that may be in liquid, gaseous, and solid form. The surface layers of the oceans serve to redistribute the heat coming from the sun through the atmosphere. Of particular importance is water during the cycle of substances in nature, as it is the most mobile fraction. Organisms of the biosphere have fully mastered the water element, they can be found in the deepest bottom troughs of the oceans and in the Arctic glaciers. The chemical composition of the hydrosphere includes the following basic elements: magnesium, sodium, chlorine, sulfur, carbon, calcium, etc.
Lithosphere
In our solar system, not all planets have a hard shell, the Earth in this case is an exception. The lithosphere is a huge mass of rocks (hard) rocks that form part of the land and serve as a bed of the oceans. The thickness of this shell of the Earth is from 70 to 250 kilometers, its composition is most diverse in the number of chemical elements (silicon, aluminum, iron, oxygen, magnesium, potassium, sodium, etc.), which are necessary for the existence of all living organisms. This geosphere is characterized by the smallest layer of life distribution. The most developed is the upper layer of the lithosphere, which is several meters. As it deepens, the temperature and density of the hard shell increases, which, along with the absence of light, do not allow living organisms to exist.
Biosphere
This geosphere combines all the shells of the Earth (hydrosphere, atmosphere and lithosphere) by the presence of living matter in them. It is difficult to overestimate the role of the biosphere for all of mankind; it is the environment and the source of occurrence. This is a complex system of relationships that condition the existence of any organism through the exchange of matter and energy. More than 40 chemical elements are involved in the cycle of the process, which constantly occurs between organic and inorganic compounds. The main source of energy is the sun. The Earth is located at an optimal distance from the star and is equipped with a protective barrier in the form of the atmosphere. Therefore, along with living matter, solar energy is the most important biochemical factor in the existence of the biosphere. Due to the influence of a number of factors, the processes that take place have a complete cyclic appearance; they provide a cycle of matter between the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and living organisms.
The boundaries of the biosphere
When analyzing the length of the shell of the biosphere, you can see its uneven distribution. The lower boundary is located in the layers of the lithosphere; it does not fall below the value of 4 km. The upper layer of the earth's crust - soil - is the most saturated layer of the biosphere in terms of the density of living matter. The hydrosphere, which includes the vast expanses of the oceans, rivers, lakes, swamps, glaciers, is fully included in the “living shell”. The highest concentrations of organisms are observed in the surface and coastal layers of water bodies, but life exists in deep-sea basins, at a maximum depth of more than 11 km, and in bottom sediments. The upper boundary of the biosphere is located at a distance of 20 km from the surface. The atmosphere limits the “living layer” to an ozone shield, above which organisms will be destroyed by short-wave ultraviolet radiation. Thus, the maximum concentration of living matter is at the boundaries of the lithosphere and atmosphere.
Structure
The doctrine of the biosphere was created by V.I. Vernadsky; he also determined the key role of organisms in the formation and functioning of the "living shell" of the Earth. Earlier, other scientists came to similar conclusions, but the Russian naturalist was able to prove the need for the presence of inorganic compounds in the structure, which also participate in the general cycle. In his opinion, the biosphere has the following composition:
- Living organisms (biological mass, a combination of all types).
- Biogenic substance (created in the process of vital activity of living organisms, is a product of their processing).
- Inert substance (inorganic compounds that are created without the participation of living organisms).
- Biocosal substance (formed together by living organisms and inert substance).
- A substance of cosmic origin.
- Scattered atoms.
History of occurrence
Billions of years ago, the Earth formed a solid shell - the lithosphere. The next stage in the formation of what is called the biosphere occurred due to geological processes that moved tectonic plates, caused volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, etc. After the formation of stable geological forms, the turn of the emergence of living organisms came. They got the opportunity to develop due to the active emissions of various biochemical elements that occurred during the formation of the lithosphere. Living matter for several millions of years created conditions acceptable for life. Due to its phased evolution, a gas composition of the atmosphere was formed. The constant interaction of organic and inorganic compounds under the influence of solar energy made it possible for living matter to spread throughout the planet and significantly change its appearance.
Evolution
The first living organisms on Earth appeared in the hydrosphere, their gradual release to land lasted a rather long period. The development of another shell of the biosphere - the lithosphere, has led to the formation of the ozone layer. Due to the process of photosynthesis, a huge biological mass absorbed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and released oxygen. In this case, living matter uses a practically inexhaustible source of energy - the Sun. Aerobic organisms, which lacked organic matter in the thickness of the hydrosphere, came to the surface of the land and significantly accelerated the evolution process due to the energy cycle. Currently, the "living shell" of the Earth is in a state of stable equilibrium, but humanity is having an increasingly negative effect on it. A new sphere of the earth is being created - the noosphere, it implies a more harmonious contribution of man and nature, but this is a separate and very interesting topic for study. The biosphere continues to function, despite a significant decrease in biomass, the “living shell” seeks to compensate for the harm caused by human activities. As history shows, this process can take a considerable amount of time.
Biochemical functions
The main component in the structure of the biosphere is biomass. It performs all the biochemical functions of the “living shell”, maintains its composition in a state of equilibrium, and provides the process of cycling of substances and energy. The gas function maintains an optimal composition of the atmosphere. It is carried out through the photosynthesis of plants that produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide. Living organisms, when exhaling and in the process of decomposition, emit CO 2 . Gas exchange occurs constantly, inorganic compounds take part in it during chemical reactions. The energy function is the assimilation and conversion by biomass (plants) of an external source - sunlight. The concentration function ensures the accumulation of nutrients. All organisms in the process of life accumulate the necessary level of biochemical elements, which after their death returns to the biosphere in the form of organic and inorganic compounds. The redox function is a biochemical reaction. It occurs during the life of a living organism and is a necessary link in the cycle of substances.
Biomass
All living organisms are unevenly distributed over the earth's spheres. The highest biomass concentration is observed at the junctions of the planet's geospheres. This occurs due to the formation of optimal living conditions (temperature, humidity, pressure, the presence of biochemical compounds). The biomass composition is also not the same. On land, plants have an advantage; in the hydrosphere, animals form the basis of living matter. The biomass density depends on the geographical location, the depth of habitat in the lithosphere and the height in the atmosphere. The number of species of plants and animals is very large, but the habitat of all organisms is the biosphere. Biology, as a separate science, to a large extent explains all the processes occurring in it. This is the origin, reproduction, migration of all types of biomass.
Features of the biosphere
The significance and scale of the “living shell” of the Earth will ensure its constant study by new generations of natural scientists. The system is unique in its integrity, dynamism of development, balance. As its main and most surprising feature, we can distinguish stability and ability to recover. The number of disasters during the existence of the biosphere as a living film of the planet is huge. They led to the extinction of most of the biomass, significantly changed the appearance of the planet, and corrected the processes occurring on its surface and in the core. But after each impact, the biosphere was restored in an altered form, adapting to the negative influence or suppressing it. That is why the earth’s biosphere is a living organism that can independently regulate all processes occurring in nature.
Development prospects
Every modern child in elementary school studies a subject such as natural science (Grade 3). In these lessons, the little person is explained what the world is and by what rules it exists. Perhaps it’s worth changing the program a bit and teaching the children to respect and love nature, then humanity will be able to create a new geosphere. All knowledge accumulated over the centuries about the biosphere must be applied for its further development, which will imply the union of nature and man. Until it’s too late to fix the harm done to the environment, people should think about the fact that the “living shell” of the Earth can recover on its own, but at the same time it can eliminate an object that causes permanent damage to its integrity and harmony.