Biosphere

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This article is about the sum of all ecosystems. For the sum of all planetary spheres, see Ecosphere (planetary). For other uses, see Biosphere (disambiguation).

A false color composite of global oceanic and terrestrial photoautotroph abundance, from September 2001 to August 2017. Provided by the SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center and ORBIMAGE.[citation needed]

The biosphere (from

biogenesis (life created from living matter), at least some 3.5 billion years ago.[3][4]

In a general sense, biospheres are any closed, self-regulating systems containing ecosystems. This includes artificial biospheres such as Biosphere 2 and BIOS-3, and potentially ones on other planets or moons.[5]

Origin and use of the term

A beach scene on Earth, simultaneously showing the lithosphere (ground), hydrosphere (ocean) and atmosphere (air)

The term "biosphere" was coined in 1875 by geologist

Earth's surface where life dwells.[6]

While the concept has a

interdisciplinary concept for integrating astronomy, geophysics, meteorology, biogeography, evolution, geology, geochemistry, hydrology
and, generally speaking, all life and Earth sciences.

Narrow definition

Geochemists define the biosphere as being the total sum of living organisms (the "

atmosphere. When these four component spheres are combined into one system, it is known as the ecosphere. This term was coined during the 1960s and encompasses both biological and physical components of the planet.[7]

The Second International Conference on Closed Life Systems defined biospherics as the science and technology of analogs and

models of Earth's biosphere; i.e., artificial Earth-like biospheres.[8] Others may include the creation of artificial non-Earth biospheres—for example, human-centered biospheres or a native Martian biosphere—as part of the topic of biospherics.[citation needed
]

Earth's biosphere

Overview

Currently, the total number of living cells on the Earth is estimated to be 1030; the total number since the beginning of Earth, as 1040, and the total number for the entire time of a habitable planet Earth as 1041.[9][10] This is much larger than the total number of estimated stars (and Earth-like planets) in the observable universe as 1024, a number which is more than all the grains of beach sand on planet Earth;[11][12][13][14] but less than the total number of atoms estimated in the observable universe as 1082;[15] and the estimated total number of stars in an inflationary universe (observed and unobserved), as 10100.[16]

Age

Stromatolite fossil estimated at 3.2–3.6 billion years old

The

formation of the Earth 4.54 billion years ago.[22][23][24][25] According to biologist Stephen Blair Hedges, "If life arose relatively quickly on Earth ... then it could be common in the universe."[20]

Extent

Rüppell's vulture
Xenophyophore, a barophilic organism, from the Galapagos Rift

Every part of the planet, from the

microbial life in so-called "uninhabitable zones" may, in biomass, exceed all animal and plant life on the surface. The actual thickness of the biosphere on earth is difficult to measure. Birds typically fly at altitudes as high as 1,800 m (5,900 ft; 1.1 mi) and fish live as much as 8,372 m (27,467 ft; 5.202 mi) underwater in the Puerto Rico Trench.[3]

There are more extreme examples for life on the planet: Rüppell's vulture has been found at altitudes of 11,300 metres (37,100 feet; 7.0 miles); bar-headed geese migrate at altitudes of at least 8,300 m (27,200 ft; 5.2 mi); yaks live at elevations as high as 5,400 m (17,700 ft; 3.4 mi) above sea level; mountain goats live up to 3,050 m (10,010 ft; 1.90 mi). Herbivorous animals at these elevations depend on lichens, grasses, and herbs.

Life forms live in every part of the Earth's biosphere, including

world ocean while much of the deep sea remains to be explored.[29]

Microorganisms, under certain test conditions, have been observed to

Methanopyrus kandleri Strain 116), and it is likely that the limit of life in the "deep biosphere" is defined by temperature rather than absolute depth.[citation needed] On 20 August 2014, scientists confirmed the existence of microorganisms living 800 m (2,600 ft; 0.50 mi) below the ice of Antarctica.[40][41]

Earth's biosphere is divided into a number of

fauna. On land, biomes are separated primarily by latitude. Terrestrial biomes lying within the Arctic and Antarctic Circles are relatively barren of plant and animal life, while most of the more populous biomes lie near the equator
.

Annual variation

On land, vegetation appears on a scale from brown (low vegetation) to dark green (heavy vegetation); at the ocean surface, phytoplankton are indicated on a scale from purple (low) to yellow (high). This visualization was created with data from satellites including SeaWiFS, and instruments including the NASA/NOAA Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer.
On land, vegetation appears on a scale from brown (low vegetation) to dark green (heavy vegetation); at the ocean surface, phytoplankton are indicated on a scale from purple (low) to yellow (high). This visualization was created with data from satellites including SeaWiFS, and instruments including the NASA/NOAA Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer.

Artificial biospheres

Biosphere 2
Biosphere 2 in Arizona

Experimental biospheres, also called closed ecological systems, have been created to study ecosystems and the potential for supporting life outside the Earth. These include spacecraft and the following terrestrial laboratories:

  • Biosphere 2 in Arizona, United States, 3.15 acres (13,000 m2).
  • BIOS-1, BIOS-2 and BIOS-3 at the Institute of Biophysics in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, in what was then the Soviet Union.[42]
  • Biosphere J (CEEF, Closed Ecology Experiment Facilities), an experiment in Japan.[43][44]
  • Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative (
    Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Extraterrestrial biospheres

No biospheres have been detected beyond the Earth; therefore, the existence of extraterrestrial biospheres remains hypothetical. The

Milky Way galaxy, given the large number of planets.[46] Three of the planets discovered orbiting TRAPPIST-1 could possibly contain biospheres.[47] Given limited understanding of abiogenesis
, it is currently unknown what percentage of these planets actually develop biospheres.

Based on observations by the

Kepler Space Telescope team, it has been calculated that provided the probability of abiogenesis is higher than 1 to 1000, the closest alien biosphere should be within 100 light-years from the Earth.[48]

It is also possible that artificial biospheres will be created in the future, for example with the terraforming of Mars.[49]

See also

References

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Further reading

  • The Biosphere (A
    global warming
    ).

External links

Look up biosphere in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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