The Oxygen Cycle d. Other Biotic Minerals 12. There is no peace on Earth. Layers of Earth's atmosphere have temperatures so extreme that meteors are incinerated many miles above this spinning orb. Closer to Earth, rivers of air called jet streams race through the stratosphere.
Weather processes at the surface regularly produce hurricanes, tornadoes, and cyclonic storms.
And in the world ocean, tides, waves, and currents churn the seas. Nor is Earth itself at rest. What we call solid earth is really large slabs of crust that float atop molten rock. Where slabs meet, earthquakes shake, mountain ranges rise, and volcanoes explode. Over 4.5 billion years of geologic history, time has transformed the Earth profoundly.