Which example best explains the interaction of earth’s spheres when acid rain affects trees?

Everything in Earth’s system is placed into one of the four subsystems: land, water, living things, or air. The subsystems are known as “spheres.” Specifically, they are known as the geosphere (land), hydrosphere (water), biosphere (living things) and atmosphere (air). Environmentalists use this system to classify and study the organic and inorganic materials found on the Earth. In this article, we discuss these four spheres in detail.

The geosphere includes all the elements that form the crust and core of the Earth. Rocks and sand particles ranging from drylands to those found at the bottom of the ocean are examples of the geosphere. Examples also involve minerals, lava, molten magma and mountains. The geosphere undergoes constant processes that modify other spheres. One of the examples is the rock cycle.

An illustration of the rock cycleIn this cycle, the melted rock from below the Earth’s crust is blown out to the surface through vents as lava. Hardened lava, together with rock materials, is weathered and eroded from earth movements. The eroded particles end up somewhere and build up. After many years of buildup, the pressure from the overlying weight causes them to bury themselves more in-depth in the crust. They are melted by the extreme heat until they are spewed out to the surface again. You may have noticed that this cycle doesn’t conclude on its own. It is affected by other factors such as the wind, temperature and water, which are a part of other spheres.

The hydrosphere includes all the water parts of the planet. It includes water on the surface, subsurface and water vapour in the atmosphere. It undergoes infinite processes every day. The water cycle is one way to understand what is the importance of the hydrosphere, its functions and how it supports other spheres.

An illustration of the water cycleThe ocean and water bodies absorb the sun’s energy and warm up. Transpiration by trees and evaporation of surface water occurs. The water vapour in the atmosphere condenses to form rain clouds and comes down as rain. The rain falls into water bodies and the cycle continues. Other spheres are also impacted during the water cycle.

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Environmental science studies the interactions between the physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment, including their effects on all types of organisms. Earth science (also known as geoscience), is an inclusive term for all sciences related to Earth (geology, meteorology, oceanography, etc). Although environmental and earth science cover essentially the same material, environmental science places greater emphasis on the biological realm, while earth science places greater emphasis on the physical realm.
Environmental and earth science study the interactions of four major systems or “spheres” (figure 8.6).

The geosphere consists of the core, mantle and crust of the Earth.
The atmosphere contains all of the Earth’s air and is divided into troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and ionosphere.
The hydrosphere contains all of the solid, liquid and gaseous water on Earth, extending from the depths of the sea to the upper reaches of the troposphere where water is found. Ninety-seven percent of the hydrosphere is found in salty oceans, and the remainder is found as vapor or droplets in the atmosphere and as liquid in ground water, lakes, rivers, glaciers and snowfields.
The biosphere is the collection of all Earth’s life forms, distributed in major life zones known as biomes: tundra, boreal forest, temperate deciduous forest, temperate grassland, desert, savannah, tropical rainforest, chaparral, freshwater, and marine.

Although the four systems have their unique identities, there is substantial interaction between them. Environmental scientists study the effects of events in one sphere on the other spheres. For example, a volcanic eruption in the geosphere may cause profound direct and indirect effects on the hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere as follows:

Example 1 (Volcano) On May 18, 1980, Mount Saint Helens, in the state of Washington, erupted. This event altered the surrounding environment, and provided scientists with an opportunity to study the effects of volcanic eruptions on the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere. Such studies are vital because volcanic eruptions will continue to occur, and will have increasing impact on humans as people continue to settle lands closer to dormant volcanoes. The following are but a few of the myriad of interactions resulting from a volcanic eruption.

Volcano >> geosphere >> atmosphere >> hydrosphere >> biosphere
Volcanoes (an event in the geosphere) release a large amount of particulate matter into the atmosphere. These particles serve as nuclei for the formation of water droplets (hydrosphere). Rainfall (hydrosphere) often increases following an eruption, stimulating plant growth (biosphere). Particulate matter in the air (atmosphere) falls out, initially smothering plants (biosphere), but ultimately enriching the soil (geosphere) and thereby stimulating plant growth (biosphere).

Volcano >> geosphere >> hydrosphere >> biosphere
Volcanoes (events in the geosphere) may release a substantial amount of hot lava (geosphere), which causes mountain glaciers (hydrosphere) to melt. Mudflows (geosphere) and flooding may occur downstream from volcanoes and may inundate streamside communities (biosphere).

Volcano >> geosphere >> atmosphere >> biosphere >> geosphere
Volcanoes (events of the geosphere) release a large amount of carbon dioxide (atmosphere), the raw material for sugar production in plants (biosphere). This may increase photosynthetic production and eventually increase the amount of biomass, which, after a very long time, forms coal and oil deposits (geosphere).

Volcano >> complex interactions
Volcanoes (geosphere) may emit large quantities of sulfur dioxide (atmosphere). When atmospheric sulfur dioxide combines with water (hydrosphere), sulfuric and sulfurous acid form. Rain (hydrosphere) may bring these acids to the Earth, acidifying soils (geosphere), lakes and rivers (hydrosphere). Acidic water leaches nutrients from the soil (geosphere) into the water table (hydrosphere), making the soil less fertile for plants (biosphere), and the subterranean water supply (hydrosphere) less potable for humans (biosphere). Acid rain falling on lakes and streams reduces the pH of the water (hydrosphere), which may result in a decrease in phytoplankton and zooplankton growth (biosphere). If photosynthesis is reduced, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide can build up and stimulate global warming (atmosphere) which may contribute to increased melting of glaciers (hydrosphere).

Sample ESS Events

Acid rain Amazon deforestation California wildfires Carbon monoxide Coal mining Drought Flooding Gulf oil sill Hurricane Katrina Ocean actdification Ozone depletion Phytoplankton bloom Salt water intrusion Sulfur dioxide Sunspots Thermal Islands Tsunami Volcano Wind farm development Yellowstone fires Yucatan Impact

Yucatan meteor