IBL - Interactions Between Life and Earth Systems Module Overview

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Interactions Between Life and Earth Systems

what did earth look like before life appeared?What did Earth look like before life appeared? One of the best ways to begin formulating an answer to this question is to consider the two lifeless planets closest to us. Both Mars and Venus have atmospheres rich in carbon dioxide, with a minor component of nitrogen. Both are virtually devoid of oxygen. Earth's atmosphere, on the other hand, has an atmosphere that is currently 21% oxygen; has it always been that way? In what ways has life altered the conditions on Earth, and in what ways have these modifications helped to shape the life that followed? Understanding that life has a significant impact on nonliving conditions has led us to a new way of viewing the relationship between biotic and abiotic components on Earth.

Essential Questions:

  • How has life responded - through extinction, migration, and/or adaptation - to major events in Earth's history?
  • In what ways have biological processes caused major changes in Earth's systems through geologic time?

Key Words:

  1. Adaptation - a change or the process of change by which an organism or species becomes better suited to its environment
  2. Atmosphere - which consists of the air that surrounds the earth and is divided into several layers
  3. Biosphere - all life on Earth, placed in different biomes around the world
  4. Biogeochemical cycle - relating to or denoting the cycle in which chemical elements and simple substances are transferred between living systems and the environment
  5. Carbon Fixation - the process in plants and algae by which atmospheric carbon dioxide is converted into organic carbon compounds, such as carbohydrates, usually by photosynthesis
  6. Carbon Cycle   - a series of processes by which carbon compounds are interconverted in the environment, chiefly involving the incorporation of carbon dioxide into living tissue by photosynthesis and its return to the atmosphere through respiration, the decay of dead organisms, and the burning of fossil fuels
  7. Erosion - the process of eroding or being eroded by wind, water, or other natural agents
  8. Extinction - the state or process of a species, family, or larger group being or becoming extinct
  9. Geosphere - consists of the core, mantle, and crust of the Earth
  10. Hydrosphere - consists of all of the solid, liquid, and gaseous water on Earth
  11. Nitrogen Cycle - the series of processes by which nitrogen and its compounds are interconverted in the environment and in living organisms, including nitrogen fixation and decomposition
  12. Oxygen Cycle   - the process by which oxygen is released into the atmosphere by photosynthetic organisms and is taken up by aerobic organisms while the carbon dioxide released as a byproduct of respiration is taken up for photosynthesis
  13. Permafrost - perennially   frozen subsoil
  14. Phosphorous Cycle - biogeochemical cycle that describes the movement of phosphorus through the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere
  15. Succession - the progressive replacement of one community by another until a climax community is established

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