The anthrosphere or anthroposphere (sometimes also called the technosphere
Novel ecosystem
Novel ecosystems are human-built, modified, or engineered niches of the Anthropocene. They exist in places that have been altered in structure and function by human agency. Novel ecosystems are part of the human environment and niche (including urban, suburban, and rural), they lack natural analogs, and they have extended an influence that has converted more than three-quarters of wild Earth.
Lithosphere
A lithosphere is the rigid, outermost shell of a terrestrial-type planet or natural satellite that is defined by its rigid mechanical properties. On Earth, it comprises the crust and the portion of the upper mantle that behaves elastically on time scales of thousands of years or greater. The oute…
Cryosphere
The cryosphere is those portions of Earth's surface where water is in solid form, including sea ice, lake ice, river ice, snow cover, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, and frozen ground (which includes permafrost). Thus, there is a wide overlap with the hydrosphere.
Full Answer
What is the anthroposphere?
The anthrosphere or anthroposphere (sometimes also called the technosphere) refers to the part of the environment that is made or modified by humans and is used for human activity. It is one of the earth's spheres. Other major spheres include the atmosphere, lithosphere, cryosphere, biosphere and hydrosphere.
How does the anthroposphere affect the biosphere?
To make room for and to feed these added billions, the anthroposphere has expanded to occupy more land for dwellings and agriculture. However, these activities have expanded the anthroposphere by infusing pollutants into our water and air, negatively affecting the biosphere, and bringing about global warming.
What is the biosphere?
The biosphere, (from Greek bios = life, sphaira, sphere) is the layer of the planet Earth where life exists. The biosphere is one of the four layers that surround the Earth along with the lithosphere (rock), hydrosphere (water) and atmosphere (air) and it is the sum of all the ecosystems.
What is an asthenosphere?
Recent Examples on the Web These pieces, divided between older continental crust and younger oceanic crust, ride atop the gooey asthenosphere, a semiliquid layer of magma and partly melted rock.
What is an example of Anthrosphere?
Using a broad definition of the anthroposphere, it extends beyond Earth. For example, our radio and television broadcasts of the 20th and 21st centuries travel at the speed of light as an expanding electromagnetic sphere of human origin into the Milky Way galaxy.
Why is the Anthrosphere important?
By analogy, the infrastructure of the anthrosphere facilitates infrastructure activities including acquisition and processing of materials, the conversion of materials to manufactured items, and the distribution of such items.
What are examples of geosphere?
Earth's land makes up the geosphere. We rely on the geosphere to provide natural resources and a place to grow food. Volcanos, mountain ranges, and deserts are all part of the geosphere.
What is human sphere?
Human sphere comprises of human, its various products and environments of both natural and artificial characters. It now surpasses its biological limit, affecting inorganic earth realms such as atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. A new model chart of the earth realms containing human sphere is proposed.
How does the Anthrosphere interact with the other spheres?
All the spheres interact with other spheres. For example, rain (hydrosphere) falls from clouds in the atmosphere to the lithosphere and forms streams and rivers that provide drinking water for wildlife and humans as well as water for plant growth (biosphere).
What is an example of biosphere?
The biosphere is defined as the area of the planet where organisms live, including the ground and the air. An example of the biosphere is where live occurs on, above and below the surface of Earth. The part of the Earth and its atmosphere capable of supporting life.
Whats is a geosphere?
The geosphere includes the rocks and minerals on Earth – from the molten rock and heavy metals in the deep interior of the planet to the sand on beaches and peaks of mountains. The geosphere also includes the abiotic (non-living) parts of soils and the skeletons of animals that may become fossilized over geologic time.
What is the geosphere of Earth?
The geosphere includes all the rocks that make up Earth, from the partially melted rock under the crust, to ancient, towering mountains, to grains of sand on a beach. Both the geosphere and hydrosphere provide the habitat for the biosphere, a global ecosystem that encompasses all the living things on Earth.
Is air a geosphere?
The geosphere consists of the core, mantle and crust of the Earth. The atmosphere contains all of the Earth's air and is divided into troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and ionosphere.
How do the 4 spheres interact with each other?
Four spheres are all independent parts of a system. The spheres interact with each other, and a change in one area can cause a change in another. Humans (biosphere) use farm machinery manufactured from geosphere materials to plow the fields, and the atmosphere brings precipitation (hydrosphere) to water the plants.
Which sphere is the home of humans?
Troposphere: The Densest Layer in the Atmosophere The troposphere is the layer of the Earth's atmosphere that humans live and breathe in. The troposphere starts at ground level and extends to 10 kilometers in altitude.
How long has the anthroposphere existed?
The Rise of the Anthroposphere since 50,000 Years: An Ecological Replacement of Megaherbivores by Humans in Terrestrial Ecosystems? Megaherbivores fulfilled a number of important ecological functions in terrestrial ecosystems and behaved as ecological engineers since 300 million years until around 12,000 years ago.
What is the anthroposphere?
T he anthroposphere encompasses the total human presence throughout the Earth system including our culture, technology, built environment, and associated activities. The anthroposphere complements the term anthropocene – the age within which the anthroposphere developed.
How does the anthroposphere change?
W hen compared with most natural changes in other spheres, change in the anthroposphere is happening rapidly. This is partly due to the rapid increase in population over the past several centuries but also as a result of the strides in technology and energy that have empowered humans to directly and indirectly affect environmental change.
Buttermilk Falls (Beaver County)
Buttermilk Falls in Beaver County. Homewood Sandstone (link is external) (link is external) , a common building material in 19th century western Pennsylvania, was quarried on the site.
Julian Wetlands
Artificially constructed wetlands due to ones destroyed during the construction of I-99 in Pennsylvania.
Bear Run, Near Fallingwater
Bear Run, coursing through the woods of Fayette County. In the background, Pottsville formation rocks ( http://mrdata.usgs.gov/geology/state/sgmc-unit.php?unit=PAPAp;6 (link is external) ) like those used in the exterior of Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic Fallingwater.
Smallest National Park - Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial
August 25, 2016, marks the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service. Did you know that the smallest of all the national parks is right here in Pennsylvania? That honor belongs to the Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial (link is external) in Philadelphia.
Building stone geology of First National Bank
This historic building was built in 1899 as the First National Bank in Media, PA. The building is excellent to help students learn not only about local history, but building stone geology. This building was designed by John Dilks and is an example of French Renaissance Revival architecture.
Happy Valley (PSU) From the ISS, 261 Miles Up!
My 8th grade Earth Science students requested this image from the International Space Station's EarthKAM camera during the April, 2016 EarthKAM Mission. During the time of the photograph, a cool, clear high pressure system was situated over the northeastern United States, making for excellent viewing opportunities.
E S on rocks (Earth Science Rocks!)
Look - we found "E" (for Earth) and "S" (for Science) on rocks! And we already knew that Earth Science rocks! Actually, these compass directions are part of the markers in the Stopford Family Meadow Maze at Tyler Arboretum (link is external) (link is external) in Media, PA.
What is the anthroposphere?
The anthroposphere isn’t naturally occurring like the biosphere or the atmosphere, it’s more conceptual than that. However, like those other spheres, the anthroposphere does encompass roughly the entire surface of our planet. This is because the anthroposphere has been developed throughout the course of human history.
When did the anthroposphere begin?
There are several different schools of thought when it comes to marking the emergence of the anthroposphere. Some believe that it begins with that first agricultural discovery, while others think it began when we started to communicate things to one another in something more than grunts and shouts.
How does the anthroposphere affect the biosphere?
If you’re a longtime reader of Green Matters, then you probably understand that humanity’s overarching effect on the planet has been anything but good.
How do humans affect the biosphere?
In these ways and countless others, our effect on the biosphere has been all-encompassing and entirely destructive. According to Learn for Sustainability, nearly everything we do has an adverse effect on our planet and all of those things, from food production to energy generation, are considered a part of the anthroposphere.
What is the definition of atmosphere?
Medical Definition of atmosphere. 1 : the whole mass of air surrounding the earth. 2 : the air of a locality. 3 : a unit of pressure equal to the pressure of the air at sea level or to 101,325 pascals or to approximately 14.7 pounds per square inch.
What is the atmosphere?
English Language Learners Definition of atmosphere. : the whole mass of air that surrounds the Earth. : a mass of gases that surround a planet or star. : the air in a particular place or area. See the full definition for atmosphere in the English Language Learners Dictionary.
What is the atmosphere of a planet?
1 a : the gaseous envelope of a celestial body (such as a planet) b : the whole mass of air surrounding the earth. 2 : the air of a locality the stuffy atmosphere of the waiting room. 3 : a surrounding influence or environment an atmosphere of hostility.
Who invented the term "atmosphra"?
Note: The word atmo-sphæra was apparently introduced by the English clergyman and natural philosopher John Wilkins (1614-72) in The Discovery of a World in the Moone (London, 1638), p. 138: "Proposition 10. That there is an Atmo-sphæra, or an orbe of grosse vaporous aire, immediately encompassing the body of the Moone."
What are some examples of atmosphere?
Examples of atmosphere in a Sentence. Experts have noticed changes in the atmosphere. Meteoroids burn up as they pass through Earth's atmosphere. The planets have different atmospheres. a country inn with lots of atmosphere The food was good but the restaurant has no atmosphere. See More. Recent Examples on the Web With rising emissions choking ...
Examples of asthenosphere in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web These pieces, divided between older continental crust and younger oceanic crust, ride atop the gooey asthenosphere, a semiliquid layer of magma and partly melted rock.
History and Etymology for asthenosphere
Note: The term was introduced by the American geologist Joseph Barrell (1869-1919) in "The strength of the earth's crust. Part VI. Relations of isostatic movements to a sphere of weakness—the asthenosphere," Journal of Geology, vol. 22 (1914), p.
