Terrestrial Subsystems: What They Are and Main Characteristics

The terrestrial subsystems they are four fundamental parts of the Earth that interact with each other and make possible the existence of life and ecosystems on the planet. Earth is the third planet in the solar system, after Mercury and Venus; It is the only planet in this system that has 4 subsystems so complex and the only one that houses intelligent life.

Every kind of thing or organism that is found on Earth can be classified in a subsystem. The four main subsystems of the Earth include masses of water, air, soil and living beings. In turn, these subsystems are divided into other branches that help classify more specifically all types of substance found on the planet.

The subsystem that encompasses living beings is unique in the solar system. It is suspected that in a moon of the planet Jupiter (called Europe) there can be water; therefore, the subsystem that includes this element would not be exclusive of the Earth.

What are the solar subsystems and what are their characteristics?

The four main terrestrial subsystems are: the atmosphere, the geosphere, the hydrosphere and the biosphere. In some cases, the cryosphere is also included as an additional layer due to the important presence of frozen liquid in the planet. However, ice is generally included within the hydrosphere.

The atmosphere refers to all the gaseous material that surrounds the planet (air, gases); For its part, the geosphere is made up of all solid material on Earth (soil, rocks).

In the case of the hydrosphere, it encompasses all types of natural liquids (water in all its states) and the biosphere refers to any living, unicellular or multicellular organism that inhabits the planet.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere is the outermost layer of the Earth and contains all the air and the elements that develop in it, such as carbon dioxide.

It consists of nitrogen for the most part, oxygen in a smaller amount, argon in less than 1% of its total and other gases in very small quantities. Carbon dioxide occupies less than 1% of the total atmospheric.

The oxygen present in this layer is what makes breathing possible for multicellular organisms (mammals, reptiles, etc.). Nitrogen is used mainly by bacteria, and is used to produce other substances, such as amino acids.

Carbon dioxide is absorbed by plants for the process of photosynthesis, through which the oxygen breathed by terrestrial beings is generated.

All the planets of the solar system have an atmosphere, but the terrestrial one is the only one capable of housing organisms such as humans and animals in natural conditions (without the help of breathing devices). Its composition makes possible the breathing and complexity of the organisms of the planet.

The upper part of the atmosphere protects the organisms from ultraviolet radiation, absorbs and emits heat towards the lower part. There it cools or warms up, causing the different temperatures on the planet.

geosphere

The geosphere includes all types of soil on the planet - whether warm or icy -, the semi-solid crust beneath it, and the soft soil near the center of the planet. The surface of the geosphere is quite irregular: it is made up of all the land that can be seen with the naked eye, such as mountains, canyons, hills and plains.

All the layers that make up the planet have different chemical compositions, which gives specific properties to each one. For example, the outer layer contains fairly loose soil rich in nutrients, silicon and oxygen.

The lower layer has large amounts of oxygen and silicone, followed by a thicker layer with the same components, together with a high amount of iron and magnesium.

Between this thick layer and the center of the Earth is a layer of nickel and iron, surrounding the planet's core.

Hydrosphere

The hydrosphere contains all types of water present on the planet, whether in its liquid, gaseous or solid form. It has an approximate extension of 10 to 20 kilometers and is measured from the surface of the planet. It extends from the ground to the bottom of the sea and from the bottom of the sea to the atmosphere (in gaseous form: clouds, vapor).

The portion of water on Earth that is not salty can be found in the form of rain, in rivers, lakes and in ponds found in the subsoil of the planet. However, this type of water is the least found on Earth: 97% of the planet's water is salty.

Salt water is found mostly in the oceans and its temperature varies depending on where in the world it is. The closer the water is to the poles, the colder the temperature. On the other hand, if it is near the equator of the Earth, its temperature will be higher.

The temperature of the water is what dictates the physical state in which it is: if it is exposed to low temperatures it reaches a solid state when frozen. On the other hand, if it is exposed to high temperatures it reaches a gaseous state upon evaporation.

Biosphere

The biosphere contains all living beings and organisms on the planet. This includes microorganisms, animals and plants.

The biosphere is broken down into ecological communities depending on the area in which they live. These communities where living beings develop are called biomes, and each biome has specific climatic conditions. The deserts, the plains, the mountains and the jungles are all biomes of the planet Earth.

Animals and plants make up diverse ecosystems whose composition in turn is unique, depending on the region they inhabit. The sum of all ecosystems is what makes up the biosphere as a whole.

Although living organisms can not be seen from space, because their size does not allow it, a part of the biosphere can be clearly seen: plants. The green tones of Earth that are seen from space represent the biosphere and can be clearly seen hundreds of kilometers away.

According to the scientific knowledge that we have so far, the Earth is the only solar body that has a complex biosphere and is definitely the only planet in the solar system that has the presence of plants and intelligent life.

References

1. Four different spheres of Earth, (n.d.). Taken from eartheclipse.com
2. Earth's spheres, ETE Team, 2004. Taken from cotf.edu
3. The 4 Spheres of the Earth, M. Rosenberg, August 19, 2017. Taken from thoughtco.com
4. The atmosphere, Lutgens, F. K., Tarbuck, E. J., & Tusa, D. (2001). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
5. Atmosphere, (n.d.), March 13, 2018. Taken from wikipedia.org
6. Biosphere, (n.d.), February 28, 2018. Taken from wikipedia.org
7. Lithosphere, (n.d.), February 2, 2018. Taken from wikipedia.org
8. Hydrosphere, (n.d.), February 16, 2018. Taken from wikipedia.org