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Our climate depends on the whole Earth system. The Sun, land (geosphere), ocean (hydrosphere), ice (cryosphere), and living organisms (biosphere) interact with the atmosphere in the climate system.
A climate feedback is an important part of the Earth system and can set up a loop that influences the type of change. Negative feedback loops help maintain a fairly constant level within the system. Positive feedback loops accelerate or amplify a change.
The great circulation systems of Earth — the water cycle, carbon cycle, and nutrients — replenish what life needs and help regulate the climate system. Earth is a dynamic planet; the continents, atmosphere, oceans, ice, and life are ever changing, and ever interacting in myriad ways.
How has our knowledge about Earth's climate grown over time? Use our interactive timeline to explore important and interesting scientific milestones, including when carbon dioxide was first discovered and when we learned about the heat-trapping ability of gases.
Scientists have identified a number of tipping points within the climate system. These tipping points occur, in part, because of the interactions within the Earth system, particularly as the planet warms.
The Sun is the source of energy that drives Earth’s climate system. Solar radiation warms the atmosphere and produces global wind patterns due to the uneven distribution of solar energy across the planet’s surface (because of Earth’s spherical shape and the tilt of its axis).
Some of the Sun’s energy reaches Earth in the form ultraviolet (or UV) radiation. Fortunately, the ozone layer high in Earth’s atmosphere absorbs a lot of this UV radiation and blocks it from reaching Earth’s surface. But some UV still makes it through.
Today, interdisciplinary research combining biochemistry, geochemistry, biology, hydrology, and atmospheric science helps us to better understand the biosphere’s role in the Earth system and, in particular, how biogeochemical cycles affect the Earth system.
Our climate depends on the whole Earth system. The Sun, land (geosphere), ocean (hydrosphere), ice (cryosphere), and living organisms (biosphere) interact with the atmosphere in the climate system.
The surface of the Earth is a patchwork of many colors. Find out how the colors of our planet impact climate.