Biosphere
All of life on the Earth is contained in the biosphere. All the plants and animals of the Earth live in this layer which is measured from the oceanfloor to the top of the atmosphere. It includes all living things, large and small, grouped into species or separate types.
The main compounds that make up the biosphere contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. These elements interact with other Earth systems.
The biosphere includes the hydrosphere, crust, and atmosphere. It is located above the deeper layers of the Earth.
Life is found in many hostile environments on this planet, from extremely hot temperatures near volcanic spouts rising from the ocean floor to polar subzero extremely cold temperatures.
The Earth’s biodiversity is truly amazing. Everything from exotic and fearsome deep-ocean creatures to sightless fish found in underground caverns and lakes are part of the biosphere.
There are sulfur-fixing bacteria that thrive in sulfur-rich, boiling geothermal pools, and there are frogs that dry out and remain barely alive in desert soils until infrequent rains bring them back to life. It makes the study of Earth Science fascinating to people of many cultures, geographies, and interests.
However, the large majority of biosphere organisms that grow, reproduce, and die are found in a narrower range. The majority of the Earth’s species live in a thin section of the total biosphere. This section is found at temperatures above zero, a good part of the year, and upper ocean depths to which sunlight is able to penetrate.
The vertical section that contains the biosphere is roughly 20,000m high. The section most populated with living species is only a fraction of that. It includes a section measured from just below the ocean’s surface to about 1000m above it. Most living plants and animals live in this narrow layer of the biosphere.
