The biophysical environment consists of living things such as plants & animals and non-living things such as rocks, soils and water. It is the symbiosis between the physical environment and the biological life forms within the environment. The biophysical environment is made up of four overlapping spheres:
Atmosphere,
lithosphere, hydrosphere biosphere.
As shown in figure (1). These four spheres are dependent upon each other. Each sphere plays a vital role in sustaining life on earth. (Figure 1)
For many years thousands of groups of indigenous people behaved in many ways that often transformed ecosystems and led to the extinction of many species. Recently, contemporary industrial societies have exploited the biophysical environment with little regard for its ecological limits.
Atmosphere is only the thing that keeps you from being burned to death every day, helps bring the rain that our plants need to survive and it holds the oxygen that you need to breath. It is the transparent, odorless mass of air surrounding the earth. It is a combination of gases and particles enveloping the globe.
The earth’s atmosphere has a layered structure:
• The troposphere: All weather and related process take place in the troposphere. It consists of all weather systems that produce precipitation and surface winds. The troposphere extends from ground level to about 15-17 km above the equator.
• The Stratosphere:
The stratosphere extends from 10-50km above the earths surface.
• The mesosphere:
The mesosphere extends about 80km above the earths surface. Temperatures fall rapidly due to no water vapour, cloud or dust. The winds in this area can reach 3000km/h.
• The thermosphere:
In the thermosphere, temperatures rise rapidly reaching up to 1500. This Is due to increasing concentrations of atomic oxygen.
Oxygen and Nitrogen make up