Earth's Place in the Universe 1. Astronomy and planetary exploration reveal the structure, scale, and change of the solar system over time. Dynamic Earth Processes 3. Plate tectonics operating over geologic time has changed the patterns of land, sea, and mountains on the Earth's surface. Energy in the Earth System 4.
Energy enters the Earth system primarily as solar radiation and eventually escapes as heat.
Heating of Earth's surface and atmosphere by the sun drives convection within the atmosphere and oceans, producing winds and ocean currents. Climate is the long term average of a region's weather and depends on many factors. Biogeochemical cycles 7. Each element on Earth moves among reservoirs in the solid Earth, oceans, atmosphere, and organisms as part of biogeochemical cycles. Structure and Composition of the Atmosphere 8.