The Earth System

The Earth System is a set of systems that work together in making the world we know. Five of these important systems are the Systems in Space, the Geosphere, the Hydrosphere, the Atmosphere, and the Biosphere.

These systems, and others, have been working together since the Earth’s beginning about 4.5 billion years ago. They are still interacting, because the Earth is always changing, even though we cannot always observe these changes. Energy from within and outside the Earth leads to changes in the Earth System. Changes in any one of these systems affect the others. This is why we think of the Earth as made of interrelated systems.

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