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Earth Systems Science
All the major spheres of the Earth are visible in this composite satellite photograph. White clouds represent the Atmosphere, but between them are visible the dark blue oceans and the Greenland ice cap, representing the Hydrosphere (and Cryosphere, which is sometimes broken out as a separate sphere). Land areas such as South America and eastern North America are coloured deep green by chlorophyll in the Biosphere. Desert areas in North Africa and elsewhere show brownish colours of the Geosphere surface.NASA images by Reto Stöckli, based on data from NASA and NOAA. Instrument: Terra – MODIS – Earth Observatory: Twin Blue Marbles, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24990771
In this section we introduce the ways that the scientific study of our planet is carried out, and, in a second chapter, introduce the concepts of systems and cycles. In a third chapter, we look at a system that is much larger than the Earth, the Solar System, and consider the flow of energy from the Sun through systems within the Earth.
