Core 2
Global Climate
Key Questions:
How do natural and human
processes affect the global energy
balance?
What are the effects of global
climate change on places, societies
and environmental systems?
What are the possibilities for
responding to climate change and
who has power over the decisionmaking process?
The four
spheres
Before we start, watch the
(slightly childish, but
informative) clips to learn
about Earth’s four spheres.
Part 1
Part 2
Hydrosphere
The hydrosphere includes all the gaseous,
liquid, and solid water of the planet earth.
The hydrosphere stretches all the way from
the Earth’s surface downward numerous
miles into the lithosphere and high above
the crust into the atmosphere. Most of the
water in the atmosphere is in gaseous form
and as it rises higher into the atmosphere it
condenses to form clouds which fall back on
earth as precipitation.
Biosphere
All the living things in the planet are
categorized under the biosphere. In this
view, the biosphere includes all of the
animals, plants, and microorganisms of
earth. Humans as well belong to this
group. The entire ecological communities
within the physical surrounding of the
earth are within the umbrella of living
things (biosphere).
Geosphere / Lithosphere
The lithosphere is made up of all the hard and
solid land mass on the earth’s surface, the
semi-solid rocks (molten materials) underneath
the earth crust, and the liquid rocks in the
inner core of the earth. The surface of the
lithosphere is uneven as it is characterized by
various landform features. Some of the
landforms include mountains like the Mount
Fuji in Japan and Mount Vesuvius in Italy,
deep valleys within the mountain ranges, huge
plains like the ones in Texas and Brazil,
extensive plateaus like Bolivian plateau in
South America and the Colorado plateau of
the United States, and hills like the black hills.
Atmosphere
All the air in the atmosphere makes up the atmosphere. The
atmosphere is a mixture of nitrogen (about 78%), oxygen
(about 21%), and other gasses (about 1%) such as carbon
dioxide (0.039%), argon (0.93%) and the rest are trace gases
(krypton, neon, helium , and xenon). The higher the
atmosphere, the thinner it becomes, and this trait gradually
moves towards space. The atmosphere extends all the way
from the earth’s crust to more than 6200 miles (10,000
kilometers) above the earth’s surface into space. The
atmosphere is divided into several layers and amongst the
layers is the stratosphere that contains the ozone layer
which protects the organisms in the biosphere from the
sun’s
harmful
radiation.
Other layers of the atmosphere include the troposphere,
mesosphere, thermosphere, and the exosphere..
The Atmospheric System
Learn about the different layers of the earth’s atmosphere
The Earth’s
Atmosphere
The atmosphere is a mix of solids,
liquids and gases that are held near
to the Earth by gravitational force.
It is made up of five different layers:





Troposphere
Stratosphere
Mesosphere
Thermosphere
Exosphere
Learn a little about each layer on the
following slides.
Watch the videos and
take rough notes
Animation Layers
Our atmosphere
Earth's atmosphere
Describe the
diagram using the
notes you have just
taken while watching
the videos.
Add your notes neatly to
the diagram worksheet.
Create an infographic on our atmosphere.
What is the atmosphere? What is its
composition? How big is it?
What are the characteristics of the layers
of the atmosphere in terms of:
 Temperature
 Composition
 Altitude
What if Earth suddenly lost its atmosphere?
What if...?