[dramatic percussion music]
- HEY, WELCOME TO "NASA LAUNCHPAD."
I'M YOUR HOST, JUSTIN TULLY.
YOU KNOW, NASA HAS COME
THAT THE ONLY WAY TO REALLY COMPREHEND
THE
IS AS A WHOLE SYSTEM.
EARTH SYSTEM IS AN INTEGRATION
OF MANY SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES,
INCLUDING GEOLOGY,
BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY,
PHYSICS, OCEANOGRAPHY,
METEOROLOGY, COMPUTER SCIENCE,
AND ALL OTHER SCIENCES THAT
HERE'S DR. MELODY AVERY OF NASA LANGLEY RESEARCH CENTER.
- NASA SCIENTISTS USE
TO MEASURE KEY FEATURES OF OUR
SUCH AS CONCENTRATIONS IN THE ATMOSPHERE
AND THE TEMPERATURE OF THE OCEAN IN MANY LOCATIONS.
SATELLITES ORBITING OUR PLANET
PROVIDE ENORMOUS AMOUNTS OF DATA
THAT SCIENTISTS USE TO TRY TO
HOW OUR PLANET WORKS
AND THE CHANGES THAT ARE HAPPENING.
- AIDED BY THE EXPANDED OF THE INTERNET
AND VISUALIZATION TECHNOLOGY,
WE ARE BETTER ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT
OF HUMAN ACTIVITY ON EARTH SYSTEMS
AND THE IMPACT OF EARTH SYSTEMS ON HUMAN ACTIVITIES.
EVERYTHING IN EARTH'S SYSTEM CAN BE PLACED
INTO ONE MAJOR SUBSYSTEMS:
LAND, AIR, WATER, AND LIFE.
WE CALL THESE FOUR SPHERES.
SPECIFICALLY, THEY ARE THE GEOSPHERE, OR LAND;
ATMOSPHERE, OR AIR;
HYDROSPHERE, OR
AND BIOSPHERE, OR LIFE.
LET'S LEARN A LITTLE ABOUT EACH ONE.
SUPPOSE YOU WERE TO THE EARTH IN HALF
AND VIEW ITS DIFFERENT LAYERS.
WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE?
THE LITHOSPHERE CONTAINS THE HARD SOLID LAND
OF THE PLANET'S SURFACE, CALLED THE CRUST.
THE SEMISOLID LAYER THE CRUST IS CALLED THE
THE LIQUID NEAR THE CENTER OF THE PLANET
IS
AND A SOLID DENSE CENTER MAKES UP THE INNER CORE.
THE CRUST IS VERY UNEVEN.
THERE ARE HIGH MOUNTAIN RANGES LIKE THE ROCKIES AND ANDES,
SHOWN IN RED;
HUGE PLAINS OR FLAT
LIKE THOSE IN TEXAS, IOWA,
SHOWN IN GREEN;
AND DEEP VALLEYS ALONG THE
SHOWN IN BLUE.
THE ATMOSPHERE CONTAINS ALL THE AIR IN OUR SYSTEM.
IT EXTENDS FROM THE PLANET'S
TO ONLY 100 KILOMETERS
THE ATMOSPHERE ITSELF
IS OF A NUMBER OF LAYERS.
THE MIDDLE PORTION OF THE
THE STRATOSPHERE,
PROTECTS THE ORGANISMS OF THE BIOSPHERE
FROM THE SUN'S ULTRAVIOLET
WHEN AIR TEMPERATURE
IN THE OF THE ATMOSPHERE,
THE TROPOSPHERE, CHANGES, WEATHER OCCURS.
AS AIR IN THE LOWER IS HEATED OR COOLED,
IT MOVES AROUND THE PLANET.
THE RESULT CAN BE AS SIMPLE AS A BREEZE
OR AS COMPLEX AS A TORNADO OR HURRICANE.
THE HYDROSPHERE CONTAINS ALL THE SOLID, LIQUID,
AND GASEOUS WATER OF THE PLANET.
THE HYDROSPHERE EXTENDS FROM THE
DOWNWARD SEVERAL INTO THE LITHOSPHERE
AND UPWARD ABOUT 12 KILOMETERS INTO THE ATMOSPHERE.
SOLID OR FROZEN WATER CAN BE
IN THE FORM OF GLACIERS, ICE CAPS, AND ICEBERGS.
THIS IS ALSO CALLED THE CRYOSPHERE.
LIQUID WATER CAN BE FOUND IN THE
RIVERS, LAKES,
AND GROUNDWATER BENEATH THE EARTH'S SURFACE.
GASEOUS WATER, WATER VAPOR,
CAN BE FOUND IN THE ATMOSPHERE
THE FINAL SPHERE, THE BIOSPHERE,
CONTAINS ALL THE PLANET'S LIVING THINGS.
THIS SPHERE INCLUDES ALL
PLANTS, AND ANIMALS OF EARTH.
WITHIN THE BIOSPHERE,
LIVING THINGS FORM ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES
BASED SURROUNDINGS
THESE COMMUNITIES ARE
DESERTS, GRASSLANDS, AND
ARE THREE
THAT WITHIN THE BIOSPHERE.
CAN YOU DETERMINE WHAT
SO WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE EARTH AND ITS SYSTEMS?
THE INDIVIDUAL SPHERES OF EARTH'S SYSTEM
HAVE COMPLEX INTERACTIONS WITH EACH OTHER,
CREATING CHANGES IN THE SYSTEM AS A WHOLE.
OCEANS AFFECT CLIMATE ON LAND, FOR EXAMPLE,
AND BOTH NATURAL AND MAN-MADE ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS
IN ONE PART OF THE WORLD AFFECT OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD.
JUST THINK HOW RECENT VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
GROUNDED AIR TRAVELERS ALL OVER THE WORLD.
THERE ARE SO MANY LIVING ON THE PLANET,
AND EACH PERSON NEEDS
LIKE FOOD, WATER, HEATING, AND TRANSPORTATION.
ALL OF THIS ENERGY, IF USED CARELESSLY,
CAN CHANGE THE EARTH'S
DEPLETE ITS OZONE SHIELD,
AND DRAMATICALLY ALTER THE NUMBER
OF ORGANISMS THAT SHARE OUR PLANET AND THE EARTH SYSTEM.
BUT WHY DOES NASA STUDY EARTH SYSTEMS?
FROM THE UNIQUE VANTAGE POINT OF SPACE,
SCIENTISTS CAN SEE AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY,
UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT THESE COMPLEX INTERACTIONS
BETWEEN EARTH SYSTEMS.
WE CAN PREDICT HOW DUST STORMS IN THE SAHARA
MIGHT AFFECT CROPS IN THE AMERICAN MIDWEST
OR HOW MOSQUITO-BORNE DISEASES WILL SPREAD.
OVER THE PAST 50 YEARS, EARTH'S POPULATION HAS DOUBLED,
GRAIN YIELDS HAVE TRIPLED,
AND ECONOMIC OUTPUT HAS GROWN SEVENFOLD.
OVER 1/3 OF THE U.S. ECONOMY-- OVER $3 TRILLION ANNUALLY--
IS INFLUENCED BY CLIMATE, WEATHER, SPACE WEATHER,
AND NATURAL HAZARDS,
ALL OF WHICH GIVE US A POWERFUL ECONOMIC INCENTIVE
TO STUDY EARTH.
- UNDERSTANDING AIR, WATER,
AND LIFE OF OUR PLANET
GIVES US THE KNOWLEDGE TO BEST MANAGE
THE WORLD AROUND US.
- SO REMEMBER, YOU'RE PART OF THE SYSTEM TOO.
IT'S UP TO YOU TO MAKE SURE IT WORKS PROPERLY.
AND THE BEST WAY TO DO THAT IS TO UNDERSTAND
HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS AND WHAT ROLE YOU CAN PLAY
TO MEET THE CHALLENGES OF TOMORROW.
THAT'S IT FOR NOW.
UNTIL NEXT TIME, I'M JUSTIN TULLY.
THANKS FOR WATCHING "NASA LAUNCHPAD."