Erosion has exposed limestone, shale and sandstone geology of the area in the scenic cliffs along the shore of Lewis and Clark Lake SRA, a reservoir on the Missouri River in Knox and Cedar counties.
Environmental science studies the interactions between the physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment, including their effects on all types of organisms. Earth science (also known as geoscience), is an inclusive term for all sciences related to Earth (geology, meteorology, oceanography, etc). Although environmental and earth science cover essentially the same material, environmental science places greater emphasis on the biological realm, while earth science places greater emphasis on the physical realm.
The four spheres are the geosphere (all the rock on Earth), hydrosphere (all the water on Earth), atmosphere (all the gases surrounding Earth), and biosphere (all the living things on Earth).
The spheres interact to effect Earth’s systems and processes, and they are constantly changing each other.
For example, ocean currents (hydrosphere) affect air temperature (atmosphere): The Gulf Stream is a powerful water current in the Atlantic Ocean. It’s warm water moderates the temperatures on the east coast of the USA.
Another example of how the spheres affect each other is through erosion. Erosion happens in the desert when wind (atmosphere) shapes the sand in the geosphere. Water (hydrosphere) can also shape land, such as in the formation of the Grand Canyon.
Explanation:
Lakes and wetlands also have distinctive biogeochemical characteristics with respect to their interaction with ground water. The chemistry of ground water and the direction and magnitude of exchange with surface water significantly affect the input of dissolved chemicals to lakes and wetlands. In general, if lakes and wetlands have little interaction with streams or with ground water, input of dissolved chemicals is mostly from precipitation; therefore, the input of chemicals is minimal. Lakes and wetlands that have a considerable amount of ground-water inflow generally have large inputs of dissolved chemicals. In cases where the input of dissolved nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen exceeds the output, primary production by algae and wetland plants is large. When this large amount of plant material dies, oxygen is used in the process of decomposition. In some cases the loss of oxygen from lake water can be large enough to kill fish and other aquatic organisms.
The magnitude of surface-water inflow and outflow also affects the retention of nutrients in wetlands. If lakes or wetlands have no stream outflow, retention of chemicals is high. The tendency to retain nutrients usually is less in wetlands that are flushed substantially by throughflow of surface water. In general, as surface-water inputs increase, wetlands vary from those that strongly retain nutrients to those that both import and export large amounts of nutrients. Furthermore, wetlands commonly have a significant role in altering the chemical form of dissolved constituents. For example, wetlands that have throughflow of surface water tend to retain the chemically oxidized forms and release the chemically reduced forms of metals and nutrients
