Biosphere
“The Biosphere is the matrix of humanity and all its works.”
John P. Allen
The biosphere is all about life. Physical geographers use the term biosphere to describe our living world. All of the microbes, plants, and animals can be found somewhere in the biosphere. The biosphere extends to the upper areas of the atmosphere where birds and insects can be found. It also reaches to dark caves deep in the ground or to the bottom of the ocean at hydrothermal vents. The biosphere extends to any place that life of any kind might exist. The biosphere is the crossroads of all the other earth science spheres you will study in class. Think about the possible interactions for a second.
- The land of the lithosphere interacts with the oceans of the hydrosphereat the coastlines. The coasts are teeming with life such as fish, birds, invertebrates, and mammals.
- The land also interacts with the air of the atmosphere and differentclimates. Rising mountains cool the air and force clouds to drop their water, leading to rain for forests of trees and rivers filled with fish.
- There is even interaction between the forces deep in the Earth and energycoming to the Earth from space. Volcanic vents under the seas are surrounded by life.
All of these interactions create the variety in our living world.
- The land of the lithosphere interacts with the oceans of the hydrosphereat the coastlines. The coasts are teeming with life such as fish, birds, invertebrates, and mammals.
- The land also interacts with the air of the atmosphere and differentclimates. Rising mountains cool the air and force clouds to drop their water, leading to rain for forests of trees and rivers filled with fish.
- There is even interaction between the forces deep in the Earth and energycoming to the Earth from space. Volcanic vents under the seas are surrounded by life.
All of these interactions create the variety in our living world.
Scientists first discovered hydrothermal vents in 1977 while exploring an oceanic spreading ridge near the Galapagos Islands. To their amazement, the scientists also found that the hydrothermal vents were surrounded by large numbers of organisms that had never been seen before. These biological communities depend upon chemical processes that result from the interaction of seawater and hot magma associated with underwater volcanoes. Hydrothermal vents are the result of seawater percolating down through fissures in the ocean crust in the vicinity of spreading centers or subduction zones (places on Earth where two tectonic plates move away or towards one another). The cold seawater is heated by hot magma and reemerges to form the vents. Seawater in hydrothermal vents may reach temperatures of over 340°C (700°F).
Hot seawater in hydrothermal vents does not boil because of the extreme pressure at the depths where the vents are formed.