M5 Importance of Photosynthesis Discuss your understanding of how photosynthesis has made the earth's atmosphere unique in the solar system. What effects would decreasing levels of photosynthesis hav
Read:
Required
Chapter 10: Cycles and Patterns in the Biosphere
Chapter 11: Terrestrial Flora and Fauna
Module Notes
Demonstration Playlist:
Chapter 13: Unconformity Types [video file, 1 minute 32 seconds]
Chapter 13: Sediment Transport by Wind [video file, 29 seconds]
Chapter 13: Seafloor Spreading and Plate Boundaries [video file, 21 seconds]
Chapter 13: Seafloor Spreading and Seafloor Magnetization [video file, 34 seconds]
Chapter 13: Relative Dating Principles [video file, 1 minute 3 seconds]
Chapter 13: Wave Reflection and Refraction [video file, 1 minute 51 seconds]
Chapter 13: Using Graphs To Understand Mantle Melting [video file, 43 seconds]
Chapter 13: How Magma Rises [video file, 47 seconds]
Chapter 13: Dry Compaction and Liquefaction [video file, 46 seconds]
Chapter 13: Kelvin Calculation of Earth Age [video file, 19 seconds]
Chapter 13: Forming Igneous Features and Landforms [video file, 28 seconds]
Chapter 13: Fractional Crystallization [video file, 33 seconds]
Chapter 13: Metamorphic Rock Foliation [video file, 33 seconds]
Chapter 13: Foliation [video file, 1 minute 15 seconds]
Chapter 13: Exposing Metamorphic Rock [video file, 24 seconds]
Chapter 13: Erosion of Deformed Sedimentary Rock [video file, 26 seconds]
Module 5: Module Notes: Earth's Lithosphere and Biosphere
We begin this module by looking at the different "biogeochemical" cycles of energy, water and nutrients that link the biosphere with the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and the lithosphere. The concepts of food chains, ecosystems and biomes are presented, as well as an overview of basic environmental relationships.
When studying the biogeochemical cycles, look for the relationships between these cycles and other patterns and processes covered in previous chapters. For example, relate the energy cycle and the carbon cycle to the various components of Earth's solar radiation budget (Module 2) and examine the water cycle in the context of the material about the hydrosphere presented in Module 4. Especially note the important relationship between the distribution patterns of organisms and the distribution of climate.
We then continue our examination of the biosphere, moving beyond the introduction of biogeochemical cycles and environmental influences presented previously, to a more specific look at the distribution patterns of plants and animals. Here the most important characteristics and adaptations of plants and animals to constraints in the natural environment are highlighted. A key geographic relationship is well illustrated in the concluding section on the major biomes of the world: the close relationship between climate and the distribution of various plant communities. As you study these topics, look for the relationships between the pattern of biomes and climatic patterns we have studied, such as temperature and precipitation.