Feedbacks in the Earth System
Investigating Earth system feedbacks that have resulted in the repeated reconfiguring of continents, climate alternating between hot and cold extremes, and the evolution of vastly different plants and animals at different periods provides insight into our planet’s processes and responses over time.
This section provides a conceptual framework to the interrelatedness of all investigations into Earth and its environments. The list below includes activities that are primarily classified within other Strategic Objectives, but when explored as a set, give insight into how one changes in Earth’s environment are not isolated, but reverberate through all Earth systems. This curated set of activities will help students make broad connections among Earth Science concepts so that they come to understand that Earth is a dynamic planet.
Key Words: feedback (positive and negative), tectonics, evolution, climate, interrelatedness, dynamics, atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, biosphere.
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