The composition of the Earth is most widely divided into four spheres. These spheres are the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere. The atmosphere is made up of five separate layers and pertains with the air that surrounds the earth and what gases it is made of. Most widely used to protect living organisms from the ultraviolet radiation, the atmosphere is controls global climate. The hydrosphere is responsible for progression of water and this includes all bodies of water on the Earth’s surfaces, as well as water vapor in the air, frozen ice crystals, snow, and water that plants store provisionally for moisture. Over time, water moves through and around what is called the hydrological cycle, which refers to water being stored and transferred. The lithosphere is a series of Earth organizations that is made up of solid, inorganic material that includes the crust of the Earth, the upper mantle, and the soil and mineral compounds that lay on top of it. The landforms we see all over the globe are created by the lithosphere and are affected by tectonic plates. The biosphere is the layer of the Earth that contains living organisms. It is an ecosystem that establishes life and the growth of human population. These four layers coincide to create a global environment that works to affect our everyday lives in all aspects that include rain, farming, climate, and all living things (Hess, 2016). In this paper, the effects of these four spheres will specifically include the countries Japan and Uruguay and how their physical geography is related to each other and differ from each other.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere is the layer of the Earth the is most widely tied to the air and gases that surround the planet (Hess, 2016). In Japan, lying off the east coast of Asia, has a climate that consists of four distinctive seasons and plentiful rain. Because of the intensely high population and vast industrialization, there is major environmental pollution there (Latz, 2017). Similarly, the country of Uruguay also has coastlines but is settled along the Atlantic Ocean. It also has year-round rain like Japan and has a temperate climate. Uruguay also has a much smaller population of only three million, whereas Japan houses over 127 million, which can be concluded to pronounce that the severe pollution is not as prevalent in Uruguay as compared to Japan. (Canavero, 2008). The average day in both of these countries is generally a mild temperature and frequent, but light, rainfall. The heavy, yearly rainfall of both Japan and Uruguay supports the process that interact with the movement of water that include the hydrosphere in its actions.
Hydrosphere
The hydrosphere in Japan is made up of mostly short, quick-running rivers that are accompanied by rather smaller drainage basins. Japan also has many large lakes and is surrounded by coastlines. However, with the large population and high demand for fresh, purified water, Japan struggles with providing enough potable water for its inhabitants. The rough mountains and swift reservoirs cause difficulties in the construction of dams that will increase supply of fresh water (Latz, 2017). Whereas, Uruguay has relatively no large rivers, similar to Japan, it only contains smaller rivers in its lower half. The fall of rain is dispersed consistently over the entire country throughout each year, which makes the land well-watered (Weinstein, 2017). With that, both countries include gently rolling land suitable for agriculture with their given rainfall, that then affects their lithospheres.
Lithosphere
While both countries are filled with the rolling hills, only Japan has volcanoes and frequent earthquakes, caused by its specific lithography and tectonic plates. Japan has very common volcanoes sprouted up mostly in the northeast, where island arcs and the volcanic front are affected by the fault lines and systems. Japan is mostly covered with semitropical rainforests, and its agricultural soil was vastly reworked by rice farmers to make it more suitable for other types of crops like soybeans, grains, and fruit (Muto, 2011). Unlike Japan, Uruguay has no volcanoes and earthquakes are extremely rare. The mild temperature allows for over almost 90% of its land to be suitable for farming. This makes crops in Uruguay grow extremely well, producing mostly meat and wheat (Canavero, 2008). The living organisms in these countries survive off of the agriculture produced in the lithospheres, and they all make up the biosphere.
Biosphere
The biosphere of Japan has mostly been replaced with agriculture that includes plants and animals. Most plants like mulberries and tree ferns are found in the lower landscapes, whereas deciduous forests take up most of the higher and more northern land. The wildlife includes bears, deer, antelopes, and wild monkeys in the rainforests. They also house a variety of reptiles like turtles, snakes, and lizards (Latz, 2017). In Uruguay, they replaced all of their tall-grass prairies with pastures for agriculture. Their plant life consists of trees, ombu and alder, and many indigenous palms. Native animals of Uruguay have mainly vanished, and are now largely made up of wild cats and rodents, accompanied by a vast, exotic birdlife including flamingos, parakeets, cranes, and white herons (Weinstein, 2017). All of the living organisms rely on the four spheres of the Earth, and wouldn’t survive without everything it provides.
Conclusion
Overall, Japan and Uruguay are different, but share many similarities. This can mainly be acclaimed because the both have the same latitude, which makes their climates and agriculture to be extremely comparable. Both of their highly grown crops are rice, and many of their wildlife is the same, like deer and foxes. They contrast from being in different hemispheres, which flips their seasons to be opposite, depending on the time of the year. Their similarities cause everyday live to be related when comparing them in a geological frame.