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Science Insight 4

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Joy Zee
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13 views

Science Insight 4

Uploaded by

Joy Zee
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Models and Systems (Equilibrium in Earth System)

The Earth is a complex system that is composed of different attributes, elements and
relationships. It has components such us life that makes up the community which interacts with the
surrounding physical environment. To understand the relationships between these elements, the
world has now created visual presentations such as system modeling. A model can be physical,
mathematical, or otherwise logical representation of a system. Different models serve different
purposes; a classification of models can be useful for selecting the right type of model for the
intended purpose.

Earth system maintains its existence and functions as a whole through the interactions of its
parts. At a lower level, it is helpful to think of the Earth system in terms of four central components
known as the subsystems – the hydrosphere, geosphere, atmosphere and biosphere. These
subsystems are interconnected by processes and cycles, which, over time, transform or transfer
matter and energy throughout the whole Earth system in ways that are governed by the laws of
matter and energy. The energy that drives these processes comes mainly from the Sun and
sometimes from energy sources within the Earth. To understand the complexity of the Earth
system we need to know that the manipulation in one part of a subsystem can cause effects in
other parts of that subsystem or the other subsystems, sometimes in ways that are quite
unexpected. This response occurs because the subsystem attempts to maintain its stability, so if
one variable changes, other variables may be affected.

The rising temperature in the atmosphere can bring on succession of stage of


environmental changes to restore equilibrium across the subsystems, such as changes in
evaporation rates, weather patterns such as winds and type of species and numbers of organisms.
Each response to a change can trigger a string of interconnected responses, which makes an
indirect consequence to an action of any single change in this complex and dynamic Earth system
difficult to predict.

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