Four Subsystems Of Earth

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The four subsystems are the lithosphere, the biosphere, the atmosphere, and the hydrosphere. The lithosphere is the Earth’s crust; the dirt, rocks, and sand we see everyday. The biosphere is the layer of the Earth that is made of all living plants, creatures, and other organisms and recently deceased plants, animals, and other organisms. The atmosphere is the layer of gases that encase the Earth, including breathable air and upper layers that block out the suns rays. The hydrosphere is the layer of the Earth that has all types of water and ice that can be found on the surface of the Earth and in underground sources. The lithosphere interacts with the biosphere by providing nutrients to the organisms that live and die on the Earth’s surface. One way that the biosphere interacts with the atmosphere is that when plants and animals die they give off gasses that become part of the atmosphere. Some of the particles from the dead plants enter the atmosphere while the rest reenters the lithosphere to end up becoming fossils or other mineral deposits. The hydrosphere interacts with the lithosphere when rocks wear down and the remains of the rocks release salt. The salt reenters the hydrosphere and evaporates into the atmosphere. When it rains those salts are once again returned to the lithosphere. One type of resource people depend on from the lithosphere is oil. Dead plant and animal material trapped in the Earth’s layers compressed and became the oil deposits the world depends on. Plant life is a type of resource people all over the world depend on that comes from the biosphere. People make great use of hydrogen that comes from the atmosphere, as do many other trace gasses. The entire world depends on the water which is the hydrosphere to

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