1. 8.4 Components of Earth’s Climate System

2. 4 main components 1 - Atmosphere: layers of gases 2 - Hydrosphere: all water, salt, fresh & frozen 3 - Lithosphere: rocks and the Earth’s crust 4 - Biosphere: Living Things (plants, animals, algae and bacteria)

3. 1. The Atmosphere LayerHeight above the Earth Contents / Description Troposphere 6-20 km 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% other Traps solar energy to warm the Earth All of our weather occurs here. Stratosphere 50 km Majority of ozone O 3, absorbs high energy UV light - preventing it from reaching Earth Airplanes and weather balloons. Mesosphere 85 km Low density gases, meteors burn up here Thermosphere 690 km Very low density gases International Space Station

4. 2. The Hydrosphere

5. Large Bodies of water Water absorbs and store more thermal energy than land Water heats up and cools down slower than land Regions close to large bodies of water are cooler in the summer and warmer in the fall/winter

6. lake effect Regions downwind from large bodies of water experience “lake effect snow” ex: Buffalo, NY

7. Ice & Snow Reflect more radiant energy than soil, rock or vegetation Contributes to why polar regions are so cold, because the surface reflects so much of the Sun’s energy

8. 3. Lithosphere As air rises it becomes less dense (less air pressure) Air particles spread apart and cool

9. rain shadow effect

10. 4. The biosphere Natural processes by living things release gases into the atmosphere Gases absorb infrared radiation

11. PHOTOSYNTHESIS Plants take in CO 2 and release O 2 RESPIRATION Animals take in O 2 and release CO 2 DIGESTION & DECOMPOSITION Animals (and bacteria) release methane (CH 4 )