the Biosphere?

•••

Updated April 16, 2018

By Emmalise Mac

Generally defined, the portion of the universe where all life is found is called the biosphere. Since
scientists have not found organisms beyond planet Earth, the biosphere is defined as the parts of Earth
where life exists. The biosphere is made of three parts, called the lithosphere, atmosphere and
hydrosphere. Some portions of each may not support life, however; for example, the upper regions of
the atmosphere do not support life, while the lower regions do. This general definition of the biosphere
is commonly accepted, although geologists sometimes define the biosphere more narrowly to include
only the life itself - the bacteria, algae, plants and animals, including humans, that inhabit the earth,
instead of their environments. Under these more narrow definitions, the biosphere forms a fourth part
of the Earth system and interacts with the other three.

TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read)

The biosphere is the portion of Earth where life occurs -- the portions of the land, water and air that hold
life. These parts are known, respectively, as the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere. The
lithosphere is the land mass, excluding Earth’s mantle and core, which do not support life. The
hydrosphere is the aquatic portion of the planet, all of which supports life. The atmosphere is the air that
living organisms use for respiration, and which supports life up to 2,000 meters above the planet’s
surface.

The Lithosphere

The lithosphere is the terrestrial part of the biosphere. It consists of the solid land masses, such as
continents and islands. The deeper parts of the lithosphere, known as the lower mantle and the core, do
not support life. The rest of the lithosphere supports a variety of life from bacteria to large mammals and
trees hundreds of feet tall. The weathering of the lithosphere crust forms soil, which provides minerals
and organic waste to support life. In addition, the land provides shelter and protection for animals from
weather and predators, and an anchor for plants.

The Hydrosphere
The hydrosphere is the aquatic part of the biosphere. This includes oceans, rivers, lakes and other bodies
of water. Unlike the lithosphere and the atmosphere, every portion of the hydrosphere supports life.
Specially-adapted bacteria grow in hot springs, tube worms form the basis of sulfur-based communities
around deep-sea, hydrothermal vents, and in more hospitable regions, life abounds. Water-dwelling
individuals of virtually every taxonomic group of plants and animals have been identified as important
parts of the biosphere. Water is essential to life, and the hydrosphere also plays an important part in
atmosphere formation.

The Atmosphere

The atmosphere is the gaseous envelope surrounding a planet. On Earth, it is also called air. The lower
regions of the atmosphere contain gases such as oxygen and carbon dioxide that are essential for plant
and animal respiration. Birds, insects and other life can be found up to approximately 2,000 meters
above the earth's surface. The atmosphere also plays critical roles in shaping the biosphere by deflecting
harmful radiation from the sun and determining weather patterns

References

About the Author

What Causes a Tundra to Form?What Causes a Tundra to Form?

What Percent of the Earth is Covered by the Lithosphere?What Percent of the Earth is Covered by the
Lithosphere?

Why Do Plants & Animals Need Nitrogen?Why Do Plants & Animals Need Nitrogen?

Unique Facts About the SunUnique Facts About the Sun

Five Levels of the BiosphereFive Levels of the Biosphere

Abiotic Factors of the Neritic ZoneAbiotic Factors of the Neritic Zone

Where Does Photosynthesis Occur in Mosses?Where Does Photosynthesis Occur in Mosses?

What Are the Functions of Photosynthesis?What Are the Functions of Photosynthesis?

What is Earth's Position in the Solar System?What is Earth's Position in the Solar System?

Which Biome Has the Least Biodiversity?Which Biome Has the Least Biodiversity?

What Gases Make Up the Air We Breathe? What Gases Make Up the Air We Breathe?

Five Parts of the Climate SystemFive Parts of the Climate System

What Is the Zone Between the Earth's Core & Crust?What Is the Zone Between the Earth's Core & Crust?

The Major Producers Found in Aquatic EcosystemsThe Major Producers Found in Aquatic Ecosystems

What Is the Difference Between the Troposphere & the Stratosphere?What Is the Difference Between
the Troposphere & the Stratosphere?

What Does the Sun Have to Do With the Carbon Cycle?What Does the Sun Have to Do With the Carbon
Cycle?

How the Atmosphere Protects the EarthHow the Atmosphere Protects the Earth

Different Biome TypesDifferent Biome Types

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Characteristics of a Marine Biome

•••

Updated June 24, 2019

By Emily Neal

The marine biome is an environment characterized by the presence of salt water. The marine biome is
found in all of Earth's oceans and is the largest biome in the world. The marine biome is home to an
amazing array of living organisms, from the enormous blue whale to microscopic cyanobacteria.

Marine Biome Climate

The average water temperature of the marine biome is 39 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) but
can be colder or warmer depending on location. Shallow oceans or those near the equator will have a
higher temperature than those near the poles. Depth and temperature of the marine waters greatly
impact all life within the marine biome.
Marine Water

Earth is nicknamed the "Blue Planet" because its surface is mostly covered by water. Three-quarters of
Earth's total surface is covered with water. Two-thirds of Earth's surface is covered by marine water (salt
water). More than 90% of Earth's water by volume is marine water.

Marine water is generally composed of about 96.5% pure water and 3.5% percent dissolved compounds.
Salinity refers to the saltiness of water. The composition of marine water varies depending on several
factors such as latitude, depth, erosion, volcanic activity, atmospheric activity, erosion and biological
activity.

Marine Water and Sunlight

Marine water is inhabited by a wide variety of organisms that depend on the presence of sunlight and
nutrients in order to thrive. Coastal marine ecosystems are able to retain more nutrients than those of
the deep ocean because dead organic matter falls to the sea floor where it becomes available for marine
organisms. Nutrients are recycled quickly through a marine ecosystem and do not build up on the sea
floor the way soil does in a terrestrial forest.

The availability of sunlight is largely dependent on water depth. Sunlight becomes less available as ocean
water becomes deeper. Other factors that influence light availability include local cloud cover, water
turbidity, ocean surface conditions and water depth. The photic zone refers to water depths of up to
approximately 100 meters, where sunlight can penetrate and photosynthesis can occur. The aphotic zone
refers to water depths greater than 100 meters, where light can not penetrate and photosynthesis can
not occur.

Marine Ecosystems

A marine ecosystem is the interaction of the community of marine organisms and their environment.
Marine ecosystems are characterized by factors such as availability of light, food and nutrients. Other
factors that affect marine ecosystems include water temperature, depth and salinity, as well as local
topography. Changes in these conditions can change the composition of species that make up the marine
community.

The pelagic zone includes the water and organisms that spend their lives floating or swimming in the
water. Pelagic organisms include plankton (such as algae, bacteria, protozoans and diatoms) that drift in
the ocean currents and provide the basis of the marine food chain and nekton (such as fish, penguins,
squid and whales) that swim and eat the plankton and smaller organisms.

The benthic zone includes the sea floor and the organisms that live there. Benthic zones include semi-dry
areas such as intertidal zones, coastal marine ecosystems like coral reefs, and also deep ocean trenches.
Benthic organisms receive nutrients from organic matter that falls from the pelagic zone. Benthic plants
and plant-like organisms include sea grasses, seaweeds and algae. Examples of benthic animals include
crabs, corals, shellfish and sea stars.

Examples of Marine Ecosystems

Examples of marine ecosystems include coral reefs, estuaries, open ocean, mangrove swamps and
seagrass meadows. Marine ecosystems can generally be split into two categories: coastal and open
ocean habitats. While only 7% of the total area of the ocean is considered coastal habitat, the majority of
marine life is located in coastal waters. Coastal waters have more available sunlight and nutrients than
the open ocean.

Coastal Zone and Oceanic Zone

The coastal zone is the area where land and water meet and extends to ocean depths up to
approximately 150 meters and it is also the area where most marine organisms live. The coastal marine
waters are located over the continental shelf. These waters are shallow enough to allow sunlight to
penetrate to the sea floor. This allows for photosynthesis to occur, which in turn provides food for fish
and other living things.

The oceanic zone is the area of open ocean that extends beyond the continental shelf, where the ocean
depth typically is greater than 100 to 200 meters. The depth of the sea floor in the oceanic zone can be
deeper than 32,800 feet (10,000 meters), a depth greater than the height of Mount Everest. Most of the
marine waters in the oceanic zone are too deep, dark, cold and devoid of nutrients to support living
things.

References

About the Author

Photo Credits

What Causes a Tundra to Form?

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Updated April 24, 2017

By Frederick S. Blackmon

The tundra is one of the coldest regions on the planet, with an average temperature of 16 degrees
Fahrenheit. Several key factors help geologists and environmentalists determine the conditions of a
tundra. The Koppen system classifies a tundra as Dfc. The "D" pertains to the tundra's snowy climate.
The "f" stands for sufficient precipitation year-round, and the "c" indicates that fewer than four months
have average temperatures over 50 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1 degree on the Celsius scale. Precipitation is
sparse and primarily snow, with no more than 18 inches a year. There are tundras in northern Europe,
Russia, parts of Alaska, and northern Canada--all near the Arctic Circle.

A tundra forms because the area takes in more carbon dioxide than it produces. The tundra is one of
Earth's three major carbon dioxide sinks. Plants indigenous to the tundra region do not undergo a
regular photosynthetic cycle. They absorb oxygen during the short summer months but quickly freeze
during winter and trap in carbon dioxide. Normally plants give off carbon dioxide when they decompose,
but in the tundra they undergo a phenomenon called permafrost. Scientists have uncovered thousand-
year-old plants frozen in the tundra permafrost.
The northern latitude and unusually cold climate create the unique soil structure of the tundra. The
permafrost is a layer of Earth's soil that freezes all year long. The animals in tundra regions are prevented
from burrowing into the surface, as so many other species do in warmer climates. The permafrost acts as
a barrier, providing no shelter from the harsh winds and temperatures. Only a portion of the topsoil
thaws during the summer months, and the lower soil remains biologically inactive.

Several plants and animals have adapted to the tundra and its harsh conditions. Cushion plants like
moss, heaths, and lichen grow in warm rock depressions where there is shelter from the harsh winds.
This creates a soggy bottom floor covered with marshes and boggy lakes. This also makes the tundra an
insect-rich environment, supporting species of mosquitoes, flies and midges. Larger animals like
mountain goats, foxes and caribou have adapted to live in the tundra's barren wasteland.

References

About the Author

Photo Credits

The biosphere, (from Greek bios = life, sphaira, sphere) is the layer of the planet Earth where life exists.
This layer ranges from heights of up to ten kilometres above sea level, used by some birds in flight, to
depths of the ocean such as the Puerto Rico trench, at more than 8 kilometres deep. These are the
extremes; however, in general the layer of the Earth containing life is thin: the upper atmosphere has
little oxygen and very low temperatures, while ocean depths greater than 1000 m are dark and cold. In
fact, it has been said that the biosphere is like the peel in relation to the size of an apple.
The development of the term is attributed to the English geologist Eduard Suess (1831-1914) and the
Russian physicist Vladimir I. Vernadsky (1863-1945). The biosphere is one of the four layers that
surround the Earth along with the lithosphere (rock), hydrosphere (water) and atmosphere (air) and it is
the sum of all the ecosystems.

The biosphere is unique. So far there has been no existence of life elsewhere in the universe. Life on
Earth depends on the sun. Energy, provided as sun light, is captured by plants, some bacteria and
protists, in the marvellous phenomenon of photosynthesis. The captured energy transforms carbon
dioxide into organic compounds such as sugars and produces oxygen. The vast majority of species of
animals, fungi, parasitic plants and many bacteria depend directly or indirectly on photosynthesis.

In the late 70's ecosystems were discovered which were relatively independent of the sun. From fissures
in the deepest ocean, water of extremely high temperature (400° C) vents out, heated by the magma
beneath the Earth's crust. On contact with the cold water dissolved minerals precipitate, forming
chimneys that can reach great heights. In the vicinity of hydrothermal vents exists a dense animal
community that is dependent on chemosynthetic bacteria. The bacteria use and convert sulphur
compounds driven out by the hot water and are preyed upon by a variety of animals including small
crustaceans (amphipods and copepods), which in turn are prey for snails, crabs, shrimp, worms, giant
tube worms, fish and octopus.

Gaia hypothesis. English chemist James Lovelock (1919 - ) proposed the hypothesis that the Earth
functions as an interactive system in which living things have an influence on their physical
characteristics and vice versa. Gaia, also known as Gea, was the Greek goddess of the Earth and regarded
as mother goddess. She was equivalent to the Roman goddess Terra.

Biosphere, relatively thin life-supporting stratum of Earth’s surface, extending from a few kilometres into
the atmosphere to the deep-sea vents of the ocean. The biosphere is a global ecosystem composed of
living organisms (biota) and the abiotic (nonliving) factors from which they derive energy and nutrients.

Before the coming of life, Earth was a bleak place, a rocky globe with shallow seas and a thin band of
gases—largely carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, molecular nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, and water
vapour. It was a hostile and barren planet. This strictly inorganic state of the Earth is called the
geosphere; it consists of the lithosphere (the rock and soil), the hydrosphere (the water), and the
atmosphere (the air). Energy from the Sun relentlessly bombarded the surface of the primitive Earth,
and in time—millions of years—chemical and physical actions produced the first evidence of life:
formless, jellylike blobs that could collect energy from the environment and produce more of their own
kind. This generation of life in the thin outer layer of the geosphere established what is called the
biosphere, the “zone of life,” an energy-diverting skin that uses the matter of the Earth to make living
substance.

The biosphere is a system characterized by the continuous cycling of matter and an accompanying flow
of solar energy in which certain large molecules and cells are self-reproducing. Water is a major
predisposing factor, for all life depends on it. The elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen,
phosphorus, and sulfur, when combined as proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids, provide the
building blocks, the fuel, and the direction for the creation of life. Energy flow is required to maintain the
structure of organisms by the formation and splitting of phosphate bonds. Organisms are cellular in
nature and always contain some sort of enclosing membrane structure, and all have nucleic acids that
store and transmit genetic information.

All life on Earth depends ultimately upon green plants, as well as upon water. Plants utilize sunlight in a
process called photosynthesis to produce the food upon which animals feed and to provide, as a by-
product, oxygen, which most animals require for respiration. At first, the oceans and the lands were
teeming with large numbers of a few kinds of simple single-celled organisms, but slowly plants and
animals of increasing complexity evolved. Interrelationships developed so that certain plants grew in
association with certain other plants, and animals associated with the plants and with one another to
form communities of organisms, including those of forests, grasslands, deserts, dunes, bogs, rivers, and
lakes. Living communities and their nonliving environment are inseparably interrelated and constantly
interact upon each other. For convenience, any segment of the landscape that includes the biotic and
abiotic components is called an ecosystem. A lake is an ecosystem when it is considered in totality as not
just water but also nutrients, climate, and all of the life contained within it. A given forest, meadow, or
river is likewise an ecosystem. One ecosystem grades into another along zones termed ecotones, where
a mixture of plant and animal species from the two ecosystems occurs. A forest considered as an
ecosystem is not simply a stand of trees but is a complex of soil, air, and water, of climate and minerals,
of bacteria, viruses, fungi, grasses, herbs, and trees, of insects, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and
mammals.

Stated another way, the abiotic, or nonliving, portion of each ecosystem in the biosphere includes the
flow of energy, nutrients, water, and gases and the concentrations of organic and inorganic substances in
the environment. The biotic, or living, portion includes three general categories of organisms based on
their methods of acquiring energy: the primary producers, largely green plants; the consumers, which
include all the animals; and the decomposers, which include the microorganisms that break down the
remains of plants and animals into simpler components for recycling in the biosphere. Aquatic
ecosystems are those involving marine environments and freshwater environments on the land.
Terrestrial ecosystems are those based on major vegetational types, such as forest, grassland, desert,
and tundra. Particular kinds of animals are associated with each such plant province.
Ecosystems may be further subdivided into smaller biotic units called communities. Examples of
communities include the organisms in a stand of pine trees, on a coral reef, and in a cave, a valley, a lake,
or a stream. The major consideration in the community is the living component, the organisms; the
abiotic factors of the environment are excluded.

A community is a collection of species populations. In a stand of pines, there may be many species of
insects, of birds, of mammals, each a separate breeding unit but each dependent on the others for its
continued existence. A species, furthermore, is composed of individuals, single functioning units
identifiable as organisms. Beyond this level, the units of the biosphere are those of the organism: organ
systems composed of organs, organs of tissues, tissues of cells, cells of molecules, and molecules of
atomic elements and energy. The progression, therefore, proceeding upward from atoms and energy, is
toward fewer units, larger and more complex in pattern, at each successive level.

The Diversity Of Life

The biosphere supports between 3 and 30 million species of plants, animals, fungi, single-celled
prokaryotes such as bacteria, and single-celled eukaryotes such as protozoans (Figure 1). Of this total,
only about 1.4 million species have been named so far, and fewer than 1 percent have been studied for
their ecological relationships and their role in ecosystems. A little more than half the named species are
insects, which dominate terrestrial and freshwater communities worldwide; the laboratories of
systematists are filled with insect species yet to be named and described. Hence, the relationships of
organisms to their environments and the roles that species play in the biosphere are only beginning to
be understood.

The organization of the biosphere

Natural groupings

This tremendous diversity of life is organized into natural ecological groupings. As life has evolved,
populations of organisms have become separated into different species that are reproductively isolated
from one another. These species are organized through their interrelationships into complex biological
communities. The interactions in these communities affect, and are affected by, the physical
environments in which they occur, thereby forming ecosystems through which the energy and nutrients
necessary for life flow and cycle. The mix of species and physical environments vary across the globe,
creating ecological communities, or biomes, such as the boreal forests of North America and Eurasia and
the rainforests of the tropics. The sum total of the richness of these biomes is the biosphere.

Processes of evolution

This hierarchical organization of life has come about through the major processes of evolution—natural
selection (the differential success of the reproduction of hereditary variations resulting from the
interaction of organisms with their environment), gene flow (the movement of genes among different
populations of a species), and random genetic drift (the genetic change that occurs in small populations
owing to chance). (See evolution.) Natural selection operates on the expressed characteristics of genetic
variants found within populations, winnowing members of the population who are less well suited to
their environment from those better suited to it. In this manner, populations become adapted to their
local ecosystems, which include both the physical environment and the other species with which they
interact in order to survive and reproduce.

The genetic variation that is necessary for a species to adapt to the physical environment and to other
organisms arises from new mutations within populations, the recombination of genes during sexual
reproduction, and the migration of and interbreeding with individuals from other populations. In very
small populations, however, some of that variation is lost by chance alone through random genetic drift.
The combined result of these evolutionary processes is that after many generations populations of the
same species have widely divergent characteristics. Some of these populations eventually become so
genetically different that their members cannot successfully interbreed, resulting in the evolution of a
separate species (speciation).

The diversification of life through local adaptation of populations and speciation has created the
tremendous biodiversity found on the Earth. In most regions a square kilometre (0.4 square mile) will
harbour hundreds—in some places even thousands—of species. The interactions between these species
create intricate webs of relationships as the organisms reciprocally evolve, adapting to one another and
becoming specialized for their interactions (coevolution; see community ecology: The coevolutionary
process). Natural communities of species reflect the sum of these species’ interactions and the ongoing
complex selection pressures they constantly endure that drive their evolution. The many ecological and
evolutionary processes that affect the relationships among species and their environments render
ecology one of the most intricate of the sciences. The answers to the major questions in ecology require
an understanding of the relative effects of many variables acting simultaneously.

The importance of the biosphere

The continued functioning of the biosphere is dependent not only on the maintenance of the intimate
interactions among the myriad species within local communities but also on the looser yet crucial
interactions of all species and communities around the globe. The Earth is blanketed with so many
species and so many different kinds of biological communities because populations have been able to
adapt to almost any kind of environment on Earth through natural selection. Life-forms have evolved
that are able to survive in the ocean depths, the frigid conditions of Antarctica, and the near-boiling
temperatures of geysers. The great richness of adaptations found among different populations and
species of living organisms is the Earth’s greatest resource. It is a richness that has evolved over millions
of years and is irreplaceable.

It is therefore startling to realize that our inventory of the Earth’s diversity is still so incomplete that the
total number of living species cannot be estimated more closely than between 3 and 30 million species.
Decades of continuous research must be carried out by systematists, ecologists, and geneticists before
the inventory of biodiversity provides a more accurate count. The research has been slow. Only recently,
as the extinction rate of species has been increasing rapidly, have societies begun to realize the
interdependence of species. To sustain life on Earth, more than the few animal and plant species used by
humans must be preserved. The flow of energy and the cycling of nutrients through ecosystems, the
regulation of populations, and the stability of biological communities, all of which support the continued
maintenance of life, rely on the diversity of species, their adaptations to local physical conditions, and
their coevolved relationships.

Despite the limited scientific knowledge of most species, ecological studies during the 20th century
made great headway in unraveling the mechanisms by which organisms coevolve with one another and
adapt to their physical environment, thereby shaping the biosphere. Each new decade has produced a
steady stream of studies showing that the biological and physical elements of the Earth are more
interconnected than had been previously thought. Those studies also have shown that often the most
seemingly insignificant species are crucial to the stability of communities and ecosystems. Many
seemingly obscure species are at risk worldwide of being dismissed as unimportant. The effect that the
loss of species will have on ecosystems is appreciated only by understanding the relationships between
organisms and their environments and by studying the ecological and evolutionary processes operating
within ecosystems.

The need to understand how the biosphere functions has never been greater. When human population
levels were low and technological abilities crude, societies’ impact on the biosphere was relatively small.
The increase in human population levels and the harvesting of more of the Earth’s natural resources has
altered this situation, especially in recent decades. Human activities are causing major alterations to the
patterns of energy flow and nutrient cycling through ecosystems, and these activities are eliminating
populations and species that have not even been described but which might have been of central
importance to the maintenance of ecosystems.

The biologist Edward O. Wilson, who coined the term biodiversity, estimated conservatively that in the
late 20th century at least 27,000 species were becoming extinct each year. The majority of these were
small tropical organisms. The impact that this freshet of extinctions would have on the biosphere is akin
to receiving a box of engine parts and discarding a portion of them before reading the directions,
assuming that their absence will have no negative repercussions on the running of the engine. The
following sections describe how many of the biological and physical parts fit together to make the engine
of the biosphere run and why many seemingly obscure species are important to the long-term
functioning of the biosphere.

The Biosphere

The highest level of ecological organization is the biosphere. It is the part of Earth, including the air, land,
surface rocks, and water, where life is found. Parts of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere
make up the biosphere. The lithosphere is the outermost layer of the Earth's crust; essentially land is
part of the lithosphere. The hydrosphere is composed of all the areas that contain water, which can be
found on, under, and over the surface of Earth. The atmosphere is the layer of gas that surrounds the
planet. The biosphere includes the area from about 11,000 meters below sea level to 15,000 meters
above sea level. It overlaps with the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. Land plants and animals
are found on the lithosphere, freshwater and marine plants and animals are found in the hydrosphere,
and birds and other flying animals are found in the atmosphere. Of course, there are countless bacteria,
protists, and fungi that are also found in the biosphere.
Is the Biosphere Living?

The Gaia hypothesis states that the biosphere is its own living organism. The hypothesis suggests that
the Earth is self-regulating and tends to achieve a stable state, known as homeostasis. For example the
composition of our atmosphere stays fairly consistent, providing the ideal conditions for life. When
carbon dioxide levels increase in the atmosphere, plants grow more quickly. As their growth continues,
they remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In this way, the amount of carbon dioxide stays
fairly constant without human intervention.

For a better understanding of how the biosphere works and various dysfunctions related to human
activity, scientists have simulated the biosphere in small-scale models. Biosphere 2 (Figure below) is a
laboratory in Arizona that contains 3.15 acres of closed ecosystems. Ecosystems of Biosphere 2 are an
ocean ecosystem with a coral reef, mangrove wetlands, a tropical rainforest, a savannah grassland and a
fog desert. See http://www.b2science.org/ for additional information.

Additional biosphere projects include BIOS-3, a closed ecosystem in Siberia, and Biosphere J, located in
Japan.