Energy Flows and Ecosystems

The Sun

Biosphere

The sun directly dictates the temperature experienced on dry land, as well as humidity and pressure levels in the air.

Hydrosphere

main source of moisture for precipitation and which exchange gases, such as CO2, and particles, such as salt, with the atmosphere.

Energy from the Sun is very important to the Earth. The Sun warms our planet, heating the surface, the oceans and the atmosphere. This energy to the atmosphere is one of the primary drivers our weather.

Cryosphere

whether on land or at the ocean's surface, that plays a special role in the Earth radiation balance and in determining the properties of the deep ocean.

Atomsphere

Immediately affects our conditions

The extra solar energy absorbed there heats up the air, land and water.

That creates airflow, a circuit from the equator up and splitting to the north and south, then cooling and falling back down to the surface and reversing direction to head toward the equator again.

Thermosphere

Solar activity strongly influences temperature in the thermosphere. The thermosphere is typically about 200° C hotter in the daytime than at night, and roughly 500° C hotter when the Sun is very active than at other times. Temperatures in the upper thermosphere can range from about 500° C to 2,000° C or higher.

Stratosphere

the temperature increases with altitude. On Earth, ozone causes the increasing temperature in the stratosphere. Ozone is concentrated around an altitude of 25 kilometers. The ozone molecules absorb dangerous kinds of sunlight, which heats the air around them.

Lithosphere

The gravitational pull of the moon and the sun creates tides on the earth. While tides are most commonly associated with oceans and large bodies of water, gravity creates tides in the atmosphere and even the lithosphere (the surface of the earth).