Biosphere - History, Requirements For Life, Evolution Of The Biosphere, Current Research
lithosphere atmosphere surrounding earth
The biosphere is the space on and near the earth's surface that contains and supports living organisms and ecosystems. It is typically subdivided into the lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. The lithosphere is the earth's surrounding layer composed of solid soil and rock, the atmosphere is the surrounding gaseous envelope, and the hydrosphere refers to liquid environments such as lakes and oceans, occurring between the lithosphere and atmosphere. The biosphere's creation and continuous evolution result from physical, chemical, and biological processes. To study these processes a multi-disciplinary effort has been employed by scientists from such fields as chemistry, biology, geology, and ecology.
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For organisms to live, appropriate environmental conditions must exist in terms of temperature, moisture, energy supply, and nutrient availability. Energy is needed to drive the functions that organisms perform, such as growth, movement, waste removal, and reproduction. Ultimately, this energy is supplied from a source outside the biosphere, in the form of visible radiation received from the Sun. …
During the long history of life on Earth (about 3.8 billion years), organisms have drastically altered the chemical composition of the biosphere. At the same time, the biosphere's chemical composition has influenced which life forms could inhabit its environments. Rates of nutrient transformation have not always been in balance, resulting in changes in the chemical composition of the biosph…
Most research investigating the biosphere is aimed at determining the effects that human activities are having on its environments and ecosystems. Pollution, fertilizer application, changes in land use, fuel consumption, and other human activities affect nutrient cycles and damage functional components of the biosphere, such as the ozone layer that protects organisms from intense exposure to solar…
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