The biosphere is the part of Earth where life exists, including all living things and the places they live. It’s like a giant bubble that wraps around our planet, containing every organism from the deepest sea creatures to the highest-flying birds.
bi·o·sphere
/BYE-oh-sfeer/
noun
The biosphere includes all of Earth’s ecosystems, both on land and in water. It stretches from the bottom of the oceans to several miles up into the atmosphere. Within the biosphere, living things interact with each other and with non-living parts of the environment like air, water, and rocks.
During the time of the dinosaurs, the biosphere was very different from what we see today. It was filled with prehistoric plants and animals, including the mighty dinosaurs that roamed the land, flew in the skies, and swam in the seas.
Picture a snow globe that contains the whole Earth. Now, instead of snow, fill it with all the plants, animals, and microscopic life on our planet. That’s a bit like the biosphere – it’s the sphere of life that surrounds Earth.
Did you know that scientists have found life in some of the most extreme parts of Earth’s biosphere? There are microbes living in boiling hot springs and in the ice of Antarctica. This gives us clues about how life might have survived during major changes in Earth’s past, like when the dinosaurs went extinct.
How has the biosphere changed since the time of dinosaurs? The biosphere has changed a lot since the dinosaur era. Many plants and animals from that time went extinct, including most dinosaurs. New species evolved to fill their places. The climate has also changed, altering habitats and the distribution of life around the planet.
Is the biosphere the same as the ecosystem? No, but they’re related. The biosphere contains all of Earth’s ecosystems. An ecosystem is a smaller unit within the biosphere, like a forest or a coral reef, where living things interact with each other and their environment.
How do scientists study the ancient biosphere? Scientists study the ancient biosphere by examining fossils and the rocks they’re found in. They look at what kinds of plants and animals lived at different times and how they were distributed around the world. They also study things like ancient climate patterns to understand what the environment was like.
