Earth's Systems Interactions

The water cycle is the continuous movement of water on, above, and below the Earth's surface.

Evaporation: The process when a liquid becomes a gas.

Transpiration: The process by which plants release water vapor from their leaves.

Respiration: Water vapor and carbon dioxide released by organisms breathing.

Condensation: The process by which a gas changes in a liquid. When water loses it's thermal energy it becomes tiny droplets, when millions of droplets join together, clouds form.

Precipitation: Moisture that falls from clouds to Earth's surface. This includes rain and snow. More than 75% of precipitation fall into the ocean.

Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a certain time and place.

Air temperature: the measure of the average amount of energy produced by the motion of air molecules.

Air pressure: the force exerted by air molecules in all directions.

Wind: the movement of air caused by differences in air pressure.

Humidity: the amount of water vapor in a given volume of air.

Weather is influenced by conditions in the atmosphere, geosphere and hydrosphere. Air masses take on the characteristics of the are they form. Cool Ocean = Cool moist air.

Warm tropical waters provide thermal energy for hurricanes.

Climate is the average weather pattern for a region over a long period of time.

Mountains: Air temperature decreases with altitude, so the air at the top of a mountain, is cooler than the air below. Mountains also cause rain shadows,.

Ocean Currents: Surface currents caused by wind transport thermal energy, warming certain areas.

The Rock Cycle is the series of processes that transport and continually change rocks into different forms.

Igneous Rock: When molten material, magma, cools and hardens.

Sedimentary Rock: When forces like water, wind, and ice break down rocks into small pieces of sediment, these layers are compressed and cemented together.

Metamorphic Rock: When extreme temperatures and pressure within Earth change existing rocks into new rocks. They don't melt, their structure or composition changes.

Uplift: The process that moves large bodies of Earth material to higher elevations, often associated with the formation of mountains.

Weathering: the wind, rain, and glaciers break down rocks into sediment.

Erosion: the carrying of sediment, by water, wind, or glaciers, to new locations.

Deposition: when sediment finally settles. Over time, layers of sediment form.