The key difference between hydrosphere and lithosphere is that the hydrosphere is made up of all the water on Earth, whereas the lithosphere is the solid outermost layer of the Earth.
The hydrosphere and lithosphere are important components of the Earth. These components tend to change with time and due to other effects.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Hydrosphere
3. What is Lithosphere
4. Hydrosphere vs Lithosphere in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Hydrosphere vs Lithosphere
What is Hydrosphere?
The hydrosphere can be described as the combined mass of water that is found on, under, and above the surface of a planet or natural satellite. The age of the Earth’s hydrosphere is about 4 billion years. However, it continues to change in shape. This is because of the spreading of the seafloor and the continental drift that tends to rearrange the land and ocean.
The water cycle plays an important role in the hydrosphere. The water cycle transfers water from one state or reservoir to another. These reservoirs include atmospheric moisture, stream, oceans, rivers, lakes, groundwater, subterranean aquifers, polar ice caps, and saturated soil. In this cycle, the solar energy and gravity cause the transfer from one state to another over time periods from hours to thousands of years. Evaporation often comes from the ocean, and it is returned to the Earth as snow or rain. Moreover, evaporation from snow and ice is known as sublimation.
The activity of humans on Earth has a high impact on the hydrosphere. For example, water diversion, human development, and pollution of water can affect the hydrosphere and natural processes on Earth.
What is Lithosphere?
The lithosphere is the rigid, outermost rocky shell of a terrestrial planet or natural satellite. The Earth’s lithosphere contains crust and the portion of the upper mantle that behaves elastically on time scales of thousand years. We can distinguish the crust and the upper mantle on the basis of chemistry and mineralogy.
The lithosphere of the Earth contains a hard and rigid outer vertical layer of the Earth, which includes the crust and the uppermost mantle. It is underlain by the asthenosphere, which is the weaker, hotter, and deeper part of the upper mantle. Usually, the lithosphere remains rigid for a very long period of geologic time and tends to deform viscously, and it also accommodates strain through plastic deformation.
The thickness of the lithosphere is considered to be the depth of the isotherm that is associated with the transition between brittle and viscous behavior. We can subdivide the lithosphere horizontally into tectonic plates, including terranes accreted from other plates.
What is the Difference Between Hydrosphere and Lithosphere?
The hydrosphere and lithosphere are important components of the Earth. These components tend to change with time and also due to other effects. The key difference between hydrosphere and lithosphere is that the hydrosphere is made up of all the water on Earth, whereas the lithosphere is the solid outermost layer of the Earth. Moreover, the hydrosphere includes water and aqueous living organisms, while the lithosphere includes rocky materials, soil, and minerals.
Below is a summary of the difference between hydrosphere and lithosphere in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Hydrosphere vs Lithosphere
The hydrosphere is the combined mass of water that is found on, under, and above the surface of a planet, minor planet, and natural satellite, while the lithosphere is the rigid, outermost rocky shell of a terrestrial planet or natural satellite. Therefore, when considering the Earth, the difference between hydrosphere and lithosphere is that the hydrosphere is made up of all the water on Earth. In contrast, the lithosphere is the solid outermost layer of the Earth.
Reference:
1. “Hydrosphere.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Iss007e10807” By NASA – (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Earth cutaway schematic-en” By derivative work: SrimadhavEarth cutaway schematic-en.png: USGS – Earth cutaway schematic-en.png This file was derived from Earth cutaway schematic-en.png (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia