ESS Analysis
An Earth System Science Analysis:
Earth System Science: Earth like the human body is a system. All organs in a human body work together so that humans can
live. Earth also is made up of four major parts called “spheres”.
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Lithosphere (land)
Hydrosphere (water in all forms)
Atmosphere (air)
Biosphere (all living things, including humans
The earth’s spheres are closely connected. If a change occurs in a sphere it often causes an impact or change in one of more of
the other spheres. An interaction is what we refer to as a two-way, cause and effect relationship between an event and another
sphere. An example would be a change in the atmosphere, which in turn causes a change or impact in the hydrosphere.
Earth System Science Analysis (ESS): This analysis is done in three steps:
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How the event affects each of the spheres (E>S)
How the spheres affect the event (S>E)
How the spheres affect each other (S>S)