Earth System science is the
interdisciplinary study of earth as a
complex system composed of multiple
physical and biological processes that
interact within cycles or spheres to
give rise to the overall state of Earth
as an entire system of course people
have been studying earth for a long time
geologists study the formation of rocks
meteorologists are interested in the
atmosphere and so on with all of these
different domains supported by the deep
understanding of our physical
environment the physics is built up over
the past few centuries but is only more
recently that satellites have started to
allow us to see earth as an entirety and
human activity has begun to have a
significant enough effect to alter earth
systems making it increasingly important
for us to be able to model and manage
them from space we compute the net
result of us complex interactions and
with high-tech sensors on land and in
oceans we're getting a clearer idea of
its overall makeup from this researchers
in different domains are discovering how
their pieces of the puzzle are related
to one another
Earth System science tries to develop
models that give an integrator picture
of how all these parts fit together the
first of these models is of earth as a
system in space the inputs and outputs
of energy or radiation from the Sun with
this energy being a primary factor in
driving the dynamic processes within the
system as opposed to focusing on the
static properties versus individual
components Earth System science instead
takes a more dynamic view of the world
studying the way energy and materials
cycle through the different subsystems
or what are called spheres us different
spheres are largely defined by the
different phases of matter they're
composed of thus the atmosphere is
composed of gases the hydrosphere of
liquid water and the lithosphere of
solid materials added to this is the
biosphere which is the sum total of all
biological material and processes
within each sphere a process called a
cycle takes place for example in the
lithosphere we have the rock cycle
driven by the thermal energy within
Earth's interior the releases minerals
through ocean ridges and volcanoes that
a weathered as they cycled through the
Earth's crust and are eventually
subducted returning to their origin for
hydro cycle driven by the thermal energy
of the Sun cycles water between the
Earth's surface and atmosphere through
the process of evaporation condensation
and precipitation this process helps to
distribute moisture to sport ecosystems
at a variety of locations the atmosphere
is a layer of gases surrounding the
planet that is held in place by gravity
it is the primary vehicle of temperature
and climate regulation through the cycle
of carbon in and out of the atmosphere
where it functions through the
greenhouse effect to trap the sun's heat
the biosphere is the relatively thin
layer of a surface that supports all
biological activity the biosphere is a
system also characterized by the
continuous cycle of material and energy
in the form of the flow of solar energy
and nutrient mineral cycles solar energy
flows through the biosphere along a
unidirectional path as the sun's energy
is inputted through plant photosynthesis
and processed up through what are called
trophic levels from primary producers to
herbivores and on to predators in apex
predators alongside the flow of energy
through food webs is the cycle of
mineral nutrients the core substances
required for the construction of
biological material and processes carbon
water oxygen and nitrogen have been
continuously cycle through the biosphere
from one generation to the next for
billions of years these different
spheres interact create a unique state
or ecosystem an ecosystem is the
combination of a community of biological
organisms and a particular physical
environment with which they interact
thus we can understand an ecosystem as a
certain combination or mix about
different spheres in the climate for an
ecosystem to develop over time requires
a relatively stable balance between its
constituent elements this balance is
typically regulated through what are
called feedback loops Earth's system
scientists are beginning to understand
Earth's regulatory mechanism as a
complex of feedback loops these feedback
loops can be either positive or negative
positive feedback loops typically have a
destabilizing effect and can lead to
very rapid change inversely negative
feedback loops typically have a
stabilizing effect on Earth's systems
planet Earth is one of the true complex
systems with multiple diverse elements
on multiple scales that are highly
interconnected interacting and adapting
as they Co evolve over time developing
the models and amassing the data to get
a coherent picture of the function of
Earth's systems is one of the core
challenges to contemporary science