Planet Earth is a unique system consisting of a number of complex links that are constantly evolving, interconnected and interdependent. For several centuries now, the internal and external structure of the Earth has been the object of interest and close attention of scientists around the world. The discovery of the ecological shell of the planet, or biosphere, was a real scientific breakthrough in this area of research. The most important contribution to the resolution of controversial issues and problems was the teaching of the Russian academician Vernadsky on living organisms, on the role of living and non-living matter in the evolution of our world.
Biosphere and inert matter
At first glance, the biosphere seemed to Vernadsky as a unity of diametrically opposite substances - living and "nonliving", i.e. inert. Living matter is composed of living organisms that inhabit the Earth at all its levels. And inert substance is that in the formation of which living organisms do not participate. This includes many minerals of inorganic origin, for example, precious stones and metals, deposits of iron and ore, rocks formed by the products of emissions of volcanoes that have been active and are erupting now. Basically, such an inert substance of the biosphere has silicon compounds, and pumice, granite and others belong to them. Tufa was formed from volcanic ash - also a rock formation.
Water, as we know, is the source of life. However, such a definition, according to Vernadsky, can be attributed to natural water sources - oceans, seas, rivers, lakes. But meltwater or rainwater is an important inert substance.
In addition to living and inert matter, biocosy is also distinguished in the biosphere, a kind of product of the impact of living organisms on inanimate nature. These are the upper layers of soils, the composition and properties of which change as a result of the life of people and animals, the air and water basins of the planet, constantly polluted by humans.
Biosphere structure
Thus, the Earth’s biosphere is called the shell of the planet, containing all the diversity of living matter and that part of planetary matter that constantly interacts with this matter. The biosphere consists of the lower part of the atmosphere, captures the entire hydrosphere, as well as the upper part of the lithosphere. Its boundaries depend on environmental factors, and above all on those that form a favorable environment for the existence of living organisms. The upper bar is located at an altitude of about 20 kilometers from the earth's surface. Its border is the ozone layer. Its main function is not to let in the ultraviolet rays of the sun, which do not affect the inert substance, but are deadly to the living. It follows that for living things or organisms, the troposphere, as well as the lower layers of the stratosphere, can be harmless. The hydrosphere is available for habitat at a sufficiently large depth - 10-11 kilometers, i.e. almost the entire oceans are a huge source of life. In the lithosphere, various life forms are found from the surface of the earth to a depth of about three and a half to seven and a half kilometers. It is with these parameters that the necessary ratio of the temperature regime and the presence of soil water in the liquid state of aggregation is observed . At greater depths, only inert substance is already present. And although the mass of living matter in the biosphere as a percentage is much less than inert, it is it that is the main driving force of geochemical processes on Earth. The source of energy necessary for metabolism, as well as the substances themselves involved in the life of organisms, became the environment. At the same time, some types of living matter are endowed with a reproductive function, a transformative function of decay (decomposition, splitting). As a result of this, according to scientists, about 10% of biomass in nature is restored, reproduced.
The functional purpose of the biosphere
According to Vernadsky and his followers, the functions of the biosphere are, firstly, to ensure a constant circulation of chemical elements that circulate between living organisms, the hydrosphere and soil, and the atmosphere. Secondly, the evolution of the biosphere is a clear example of the close interaction of important factors: the development of the Earth as a cosmic body, chemical and geological processes inside the planet, the biological evolution of living matter and the development of human society.