A change spreads
One change in a sphere can lead to others.
Less snow, less grass?
In winter the hills get less snow than usual. Later, in summer, a lake in the hills is low on water.
Could the snow in winter have anything to do with the grass near the lake?
What this lesson covers
The idea
Solar heating, movement of air and water, and nutrient cycling connect the spheres in a delicate balance, so a disturbance in one sphere can lead to changes in others.
Less snow, less grass?
In winter the hills get less snow than usual. Later, in summer, a lake in the hills is low on water.
Could the snow in winter have anything to do with the grass near the lake?
- Yes, the spheres are linked
- No, snow and grass are unrelated
- Only the lake can be affected
Follow the chain
Press Next step to follow one change from sphere to sphere.
A balance that can be disturbed
Snow, lake water and grass sit in three different spheres, yet one change reached all three. Heating by the Sun, the movement of air and water, and the cycling of nutrients keep the spheres in a delicate balance.
Solar heating, movement of air and water, and nutrient cycling connect the spheres in a delicate balance, so a disturbance in one sphere can lead to changes in others.
Notes
Solar heating, air and water movement and nutrient cycling link the spheres, so a disturbance in one sphere can lead to changes in others.
Check yourself
In the chain you followed, what may less snowfall in winter lead to?
What connects the Earth's spheres in a delicate balance?
Warmer Arabian Sea water causes more evaporation. This in turn causes fluctuations in the …
What can happen when one sphere is disturbed?
- More water in the lake in summer. The chapter says less snowfall may lead to less water in the lake, not more.
- Less water in the lake in summer — correct. Yes!
- No change anywhere, because the spheres are separate. The spheres are connected, so a change in the cryosphere can lead to changes in the hydrosphere.
- Each sphere working on its own. The spheres act on one another, they are not separate.
- The rocks of the geosphere alone. Rocks are one part of the Earth system. The chapter names solar heating, movement of air and water, and nutrient cycling as the links.
- Solar heating, movement of air and water, and nutrient cycling — correct. Yes!
- Southwest monsoon — correct. Yes!
- Tilt of the Earth. The Earth's tilt causes the seasons. It is not part of this chain of changes.
- Ozone layer. The ozone layer is not part of this chain of changes in the chapter.
- The change stays inside that sphere. The spheres are linked, so a disturbance in one can lead to changes in others.
- Other spheres can change too — correct. Yes!
- The other spheres cancel the change at once. The chapter says a disturbance in one sphere can lead to changes in others, not that it is cancelled.