Earth System Dynamics

1.An introduction to Earth System2.Solid Earth System

1.Earth Material2.Geology Cycle3.Solid Earth4.Plate tectonics

3.Earth Space Planet Science4.Climatology5.Hydrology and Hydrogeology6.Geo-environment for Education7. Focus on biota 7.1 Structure of biosphere 7.2 Effect of life on earth system8. Case study of applied technology 8.1 Hydrology and Hydrogeology 8.2 Earthquake 8.3 Geology 8.4 Biodiversity

Earth System Dynamics

Earth System Dynamics

System and Structure components Open System Closed System

Earth Cycle Hydrologic Cycle Tectonic Cycle

Earth Circuit Depositional Environmental Subsystems El Nino and La Nina Phenomena Atmospheric and Oceanic Circulation

The river is a system, lake is also a system. Together, they form a larger system the watershed. The small volumes of water and sediment indicated by boxes are examples of smaller systems.

The system concept: Certain boundary with components those relate or interact together

The four parts of the Earth system that most directly concern environmental geology: lithosphere, biosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere.

The interaction between subsystems conduct the Ecological System of Biosphere at the center.

Energy and mass can transfer through the boundary of the considered open system.

Energy but not mass can transfer through the boundary of the closed system.

Two Types of Systems are Open System and Closed system.

Isolated System mass and energy can not transfer. Closed System only energy can transfer. Open System mass and energy can transfer.

The three basic types of systems

Energy from sun : Shortwave radiation transfer through the atmosphere and cloud to the earth surface.

Energy from earth surface and the atmosphere : Longwave radiation transfer through the atmosphere to space.

Open system energy and mass can transfer through.

Energy (sunlight) and water (rainfall) reach an island from external sources. The energy leaves the island as long-wavelength radiation: the water either evaporates or drains into the sea.

Open system through Hydrologic Model.

Depiction of the open system by a box model.

The Earth is essentially a closed system. Energy reaches the Earth form an external source and eventually returns to space as long wavelength radiation. Smaller systems within the Earth, such as the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere, are open systems.

EARTH CYCLE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUBSYSTEMS

Two major types of earth cycles are

Hydrologic cycle

Tectonic cycle

Hydrologic cycle : The cycle that shape the earth’s surface by water’s activities.

Shortwave energy from Sun is needed as well as longwave energy from earth.

To evaporate water into the atmosphere, then condense and coalesce together to form cloud.

Raindrops from cloud to impact soil, then infiltrate and runoff to the sea and ocean.

Tectonic Cycle : The cycle that conduct the mountain orogeny, subduction and diverge of the earth crust.

Thermal energy in the asthenosphere and Upper mantle is needed to drive the cycle.

Diverge plate on the continent create sea. Diverge plate in the sea create sea floor spreading.

Converge plate in the sea conduct land

Tectonic Cycle

Earth Circuit

The relationship between Earth’s internal and external processes and how the three major rock groups are related.

The Rock Cycle

Depositional Environmental Subsystems

High mountain : Glacial Environment

Bottom Slope : Fluvial Environment

Lake Environment

Bottom Slope : Fluvial Environment

Lake Environment

Depositional Environmental Subsystems

Coastal Area :Estuarine Environment (Estuary, delta)

:Shore Environment (Beach, spit, bar, lagoon)

:Shallow marine Environment (Submarine valley, Shelf)

:Deep marine Environment (Submarine canyon)

Estuarine Environment

Shore Environment(Beach, spit, bar, lagoon)

Shore Environment(Beach, spit, bar, lagoon)

Shore Environment(Beach, spit, bar, lagoon)

Deep marine Environment(Submarine canyon)

Environmental System need all components interact together to support all activities for running the system sustainably.

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El Nino and La Nina Phenomena

Water surface velocity• Equatorial drift 8-14 km/days• North Atlantic Drift 19 km/days• Gulf Stream 190 km/days

La Nina

El Nino

Walker Circulation of El Nino and La Nina

El Nino The term El Nino means 'Christ Child' and

was first used by Peruvian fishermen in the late 1800's to describe the warm current appearing off the western coast of Ecuador and Peru around Christmas time.

This was bad news for the fishermen, as they depended on cool water welling up from the deep carrying nutrients for the fish. No food – no fish!

However, that was not all that happened. But more of that later! Let’s look at why?

Warm air rises and cool air sinks; a convection current forms in a room resulting from uneven heating and cooling

The solar heating is uneven and at different latitudes: more sunlight falls in equatorial regions than strikes the poles

The Trade Windsand Westerly Windsblow across theOcean surface.   Friction between these two fluids of different density drags the surface of the ocean along, forming slow-moving ocean currents that flow at approximately 45 to the direction of wind flow.

Atmospheric Circulation

Oceanic Circulation

Oceanic Circulation

Ocean waves1. swell - waves of fairly

equal height, length, and period which form as storm-generated waves  become sorted according to size and period as they move away from the storm's center.   Swell, in the photograph of the Oceanside, California coast, can travel thousands of miles before breaking along a distant shore.

2. local wind waves - generally smaller and less organized than swell, local wind waves can be superimposed onto swell, making the ocean surface chaotic.   Surfers dislike these smaller waves, referring to them as "wind chop", because they mess up the uniform swell waves.

3. wave interference - the interactions of two sets of swell can result in waves much smaller than usual (destructive interference) or much larger than usual (constructive interference).   (The latter possibility can form dangerous rogue waves on the open ocean or so-called "creeper waves" along a beach.)   Wave interference can also occur where an incoming wave reflects off of a jetty.   The reflected wave can then interfere with the next incoming wave to form a peaked wave of great height, such as the Wedge at Newport Beach.

4. wave refraction - occurs as as a portion of an incoming wave begins to interact with the ocean floor, slowing some of the wave and bending it in one direction or another.   This can focus a wave's energy on a submerged reef, forming an excellent surf locale such as Jaws off the coast of Maui, Hawaii.   More typically, the wave's energy is focused on a small rocky island (stack) or a headland that juts out into the ocean.   This photograph shows the refraction of waves as they enter Bluff Cove along the shore of Palos Verdes Peninsula, California.