landscapes, mountains, valleys, plains, deserts, rocks, sand and clay. Things related to earth's foundations, the solid earth, dirt, rocks, mountains, valleys, soils, and clay,
Links:
| The Lithosphere | The Lithosphere |
| Continental Drift | The GeoSphere |
| Plate Techtonics | Earth's Crust |
oceans, lakes, rivers, streams, glaciers. Things related to the water and its effects on the earth's surface,
Links:
| The Hydrosphere | Water around the World |
| Earth is Water | Hydrologic Cycle |
| Hydrosphere Tour | Ground Water |
weather,wind, rain, snow. Things airy and their effects,
Links:
| The Atmosphere | The Atmosphere |
| A Delicate Situation | Encarta |
| Earth's Atmosphere | The UV Menace |
all living things, microbes to mammals, plants and animals, insects, fish, birds and amphibians. Things living, plants and animals, birds and insects and fish and humans.
Links:
| The Biosphere | The Global Biosphere |
| Life in the Solar System | Smithsonian 'Biosphere' |
| The Biosphere | Biosphere II |
The "sphere" of human structures, roads, buildings, dams, excavations, berms and embankments, clearing for agriculture, deforestation, pollution, etc..
Links:
| US Census Bureau | The Anthrosphere |
| 6 Billion Human Beings | |
| The Earth at Night |
The term "cryosphere" is defined as the portion of the climate system
consisting of the world's ice masses and snow deposits. This includes ice sheets, ice shelves, ice caps and glaciers, sea ice, seasonal snow cover, lake and river ice, and seasonally frozen ground and permafrost.
Links:
| Antarctica Connection | Glacier! |
| Welcometo Antarctica! | National Snow & Ice Center |
| Cryosphere activity | Great Lakes Cryosphers |
Is there a 7th sphere ? (It's not part of the 'traditional' system, but it's interesting!)
Is there a sphere surrounding all spheres, the central vantage point of upon human perception...
"Emotisphere"
or sphere of our emotions, the interpretations of happenings in the
physical spheres that leads us to act in certain ways that affect
our local environment. The "sphere" of human emotions, feelings of concern,
empathy, a love of nature undistrubed ("EO Wilson's "biophilia"), and responsibility?
An all encompassing sphere of perception, form which we derive our viewpoint
and visualization of the other spheres.
Materials
modified from