EAS205 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Regolith, Hydrosphere, Geosphere

• School: University of Alberta
• Department: Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
• Course: EAS205
• Professor: Fred Clark

Document Summary

Any part of the universe that can be isolated from the rest of the universe for the purpose of observing and measuring changes. Isolated: exchange of neither mater nor energy with it"s surroundings. Closed: the boundary permits the exchange of energy but. Open: both mater and energy are exchanged with other systems across a boundary. Energy arrives across its boundary as solar radiaion, and leaves as long-wave infrared radiaion. Incoming bolides (asteroids and comets) have kineic energy, which is transformed to heat and other forms upon arrival at the outer limit of the earth system. Reservoirs: (where mater as well as energy is exchanged between various components: geosphere: the solid earth materials, including rocks (which are cohesive) and regolith (which are loose, non-cohesive, and include soils) Atmosphere: a mixture of gases dominated by n2,o2, ar, co2 and h2o(v) that surrounds the earth. The human porion is a very efecive coupler between other reservoirs.