The environmental consciousness of humanity is growing. It is a fact. There are few people who do not know what the biosphere is. What are the main components, how it is developing, what are its functions and the future - we will consider all these issues in the article.
Academic knowledge
The concept of “biosphere” was introduced in 1875 by the Austrian biologist Eduard Suess (1831-1914). He developed the theory, revealed the main components of which the biosphere, the Soviet scientist and the first president of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky (1863-1945), consist of. His theories were very revolutionary for the early 20th century. He was arrested twice for them. The world community paid tribute to the theories of the scientist about the unity of all life on the planet, and it was thanks to the support of the world community that Vladimir Vernadsky did not die in the Gulag camps.
"The film of life"
The term itself comes from the two Greek words βιος and σφαῖρα, which mean “life” and “sphere”. V. Vernadsky called this shell of the Earth "a fragile film of life." In a broader sense, the biosphere is the area of life on the cosmic body. But what about other planets? And while we do not know about the existence of life on other bodies of the Universe, the concept can be applied to them. Astrophysicists, for example, are considering the possibility of a biosphere in the ocean of Jupiter’s satellite.
Earth biosphere
What is the biosphere, what components does it consist of on our planet? The answers to these questions are given by modern science. On our planet, the biosphere, its components and boundaries are already defined. This shell of the planet includes a biotic component and an abiotic one and covers all geophysical shells of the earth. This is the sphere of the planet where living organisms live, which is exposed to them, occupied by the products of their vital functions. This is the ecosystem of our Earth, where the natural conditions of existence are closely related to all forms of life.
Live Film Borders
The entire atmosphere up to the ozone layer (15–20 km) is considered the upper boundary of the biosphere. Theoretically, above this level, life should die from the ultraviolet radiation of the Sun. But in 2017, viable bacterial spores were discovered on the casing of the space station. Therefore, apparently, the upper limit of the existence of life can be 400 km, or maybe more. The same situation is with the lower level located in the lithosphere and hydrosphere. Bacteria were found in the soil at a depth of 11 kilometers, and living organisms were found in the aquatic environment at the deepest point of the ocean - the abyss of the Challenger of the Mariinsky Trench - at a depth of almost 11 km. But no one can say for sure that we have reached the very bottom of the ocean. Everything between these boundaries is the place of life of organisms.
Mass of the biosphere
Despite such wide borders, most living creatures occupy a rather thin layer several kilometers in depth and in height up to several tens of meters. In relation to the mass of the entire planet, the mass of the biosphere is only 0.1%, and the mass of living organisms is even less - one billionth of the planet’s mass. If we could distribute all life on the surface of the planet, then this would be a layer of only 2 millimeters. But such quantities have a tremendous impact on the Earth.
So what are the main components of the biosphere?
We briefly list the four main substances of the biosphere:
- Living - all living organisms that inhabit the Earth.
- Biogenic - everything that organisms create or process.
- Inert - all products to which the living organisms are not involved.
- Biocosal - everything that is formed with the leading participation of organisms, but in dynamic equilibrium with inert processes.
And there are also substances in radioactive decay, atoms scattered in space - and all these are components of the structure of the biosphere. Its functions are determined by the composition.
Live Functions
Modern science identifies five main functions of the biosphere:
- Accumulation of solar energy by autotrophs during photosynthesis and its redistribution.
- Migration and conversion of gases of biogenic origin.
- The concentration of nutrients in living organisms.
- Destruction of dead organics and the return of inorganic substances to the cycle.
- Change in the chemical parameters of the environment in conditions favorable to life.
Biosphere evolution
The stages of development of the components of the biosphere are called bioevolution. This process began from the moment life appeared on the planet - with the appearance of the first eukaryotic (having a core) algae and bacteria 3.5 billion years ago. And evolution continues, changing the face of the planet every second.
Biosphere, noosphere, technosphere
Vladimir Vernadsky believed that the evolution of the biosphere is its transition to a new level. And this is the noosphere (the sphere of the mind). This is the biosphere that mankind intelligently controls. Today, many biologists introduce the concept of the technosphere, defining it as the totality of the achievements of scientific and technological progress: from a shovel to spacecraft. It is believed that the technosphere permeates the entire living shell, radically changing it and breaking the natural cycles of the cycle of matter in nature. That is why since the 1990s of the last century, a number of international documents have been adopted that translate the development of our civilization on the rails of sustainable development and the environmental friendliness of progress.
And it doesn’t matter at all what basic components the biosphere consists of, for mankind the only way to survive is to try to save the living film of our planet. Protecting and taking care of it is the mission of humanity as the fastest factor in the evolution of the biosphere.