The lithosphere includes the brittle upper portion of the mantle and the crust, the outermost layers of Earth’s structure. It is bounded by the atmosphere above and the asthenosphere (another part of the upper mantle) below.

The atmosphere, therefore, consists of gases that envelop the Earth. The hydrosphere defines the water that covers 71% of the Earth’s surface. The lithosphere refers to the rocks of the Earth’s surface and upper mantle, or the depth of the plates. As you go higher in the atmosphere, the mixture of the gases changes.

The lithosphere can influence atmospheric processes by reducing solar radiation during volcanic eruptions. The hydrosphere is the part of the earth-ocean-atmosphere system that is covered by liquid water. Soil is an excellent example of how the earth’s “spheres” are connected.

The compositions of each type of crust change at plate boundaries, where new rocks are formed from common minerals in both crusts or one is metamorphosed into other rocks. Oceanic lithosphere becomes very dense due to eclogite near subduction zones and so it plunges below the light continental crust into the mantle.

Lithosphere provide us forests, grasslands for grazing land for agriculture and human settlements and also rich source of minerals. The lithosphere contains different types of rocks such as the igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, it helps to provide the necessary nutrients required to plants.

How do organisms depend on the lithosphere?

1. Animals live in parts of the lithosphere, such as earthworms which live in the soil, ants which make their nests out of sand.
2. Some birds make their nests on rocks and also use sand to make the nests.
3. Most plants and trees need soil to grow in.

Negative impacts on the lithosphere are the following: Fracking, Deforestation, Overgrazing and Desertification. Desertification causes the environment to have loss of nutritive matter, loss of soil surface due to wind, landslides by water and soil pollution.

Some of the highly impacts on the Lithosphere are deforestation, use of land, and mining. These impacts damage the Lithosphere by cutting into the Earth’s surface and impacting the Lithosphere. Pollution can also be a bad output to the Lithosphere.It causes chemical substances to eat away at the Lithosphere.

Deforestation :- Deforestation can impact the lithosphere by damaging the quality of the land, as it makes the soil loose and thus increases erosion. Overgrazing :- Overgrazing reduces the usefulness, productivity and biodiversity of the land and one of the cause of desertification and erosion.

How Does Oil Drilling impact the lithosphere? Health Effect- The chemicals in the air, water, & land can cause various skin infection. the pipe used to transform and extract oil. it is made of medals which can collide, which can cause pipes to rupture contamination into land & water.