SmallWorlds

“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”

—Albert Einstein

Biosphere. Plants on land and in the ocean (phytoplankton) contain chlorophyll, a green pigment they use during photosynthesis. Chlorophyll concentrations on land as well as in oceans, lakes and seas indicate the distribution and abundance of vegetation. Since most animal life relies on vegetation for nutrition, directly or indirectly, these images are a snapshot of Earth's biosphere.

Sea surface temperature data are used to help us predict weather patterns, to track ocean currents, and to monitor El Nino and La Nina. Sea surface temperature influences the growth of phytoplankton, as well as precipitation patterns across continents, thus indirectly influencing land vegetation as well.

Microwave radar measurement of speed and direction of winds near the ocean surface.

UV radiation reaching the Earth's surface. These wavelengths cause sunburn and cancer in human skin. Yellow pixels show the highest levels of radiation at the surface, red and pink hues are intermediate values.

Reflected shortwave radiation (in Watts per square meter) reflected by the Earth system. A portion of the sunlight that enters the Earth system is reflected back into space by a combination of the clouds, aerosols, and gases in the atmosphere, as well as from the surface. Brighter, whiter regions show where more sunlight is reflected, while green regions show intermediate values, and blue regions are lower values.

Radiant energy emitted from Earth's surface. Surface temperature influences the rate at which water evaporates, as well as wind and precipitation patterns and the formation of clouds.

Land surface temperature is a good indicator of the energy balance at the Earth’s surface, and serves as an important indicator of the greenhouse effect. Land surface temperature is the sum of all the comings and goings of energy between the ground and the atmosphere.

Precipitation across the entire globe.

 

 

BigNumbers

The following maps and data are intended as a brief overview of the world. They are not intended to be definitive or all-inclusive but rather to provide a "BigPicture" perspective.

Each dot = 70 million people = 1% of humanity (in 2012)

World Population: 7.0 billion
   23% in China/Earth Asia
   22% in Indian Subcontinent
   13% in Africa
   10% in Europe
   9% in Southeast Asia
   8% in Latin America
   5% in North America
   5% in Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States
   3% in Middle East
   2% in Japan
Yearly increase in population: 74 million

Global Population Density. Where people live on Earth:

City lights at night time. Where people use energy:

Total languages and dialects in world: 5,800

Hydrosphere

Ocean Volume: 317,000,000 cubic miles of water (97.2% of total world water)
Total world water supply: 326,071,300 (cubic mile of water = 1,101,117,143,000
Deepest part of ocean, Mariana Trench, Pacific Ocean: 35,810 ft. (6.78 miles)
Ice Caps and Glaciers: 7,000,000 cubic miles of water (90% is located on Antarctic)
Mean Depth of Ocean: 4,000 meters
Annual variation in leve of the world oceans: about 4 in.

Water content of Biosphere:

Fresh water lakes, saline lakes & inland & inland seas = 30,000 cmw*
Saline lakes & inland seas = 25,000 cmw
Rivers & streams = 3,100 cmw
Surface Water = 553,000 cmw
Atmosphere = 3,100 cmw
* cmw = cubic miles water
At any given moment, 2,200 thunderstorms occur on Earth's surface; audible to 18 miles

Lithosphere

Mean thickness of lithosphere: 4.6 kilometers (2.86 miles)
Age of most ancient terrestrial rocks: 4 billion years (South Africa, Greenland)
Mass of Earth: 6.575 X 10*21 tons
Density: 3.6 ounce per square inch
Volume: 121,251,907,673 cubic miles (121.25 billion cubic miles)
Active volcanoes in world: 850
Common elements in Earth:
Iron: 35% of Earth
Oxygen 30%
Silicon: 15%
Magnesium: 13%
Nickel: 2.4%
Sulfur: 1.9%
Calcium: 1.1%
Aluminum: 1.1%
Sodium: 0.57%
Chromium: 0.26%
Manganese: 0.22%
Cobalt: 0.13%
Phosphorus: 0.10
Potassium: 0.08%
Titanium: 0.05%

Atmosphere

Atmosphere height from sea level: 18,000 miles; 99% compressed in lowest 50 miles; weather limited to bottom 5 to 10 miles
Atmosphere weight: 5,000 trillion metric tons
Weight/force on human being at sea level: 15 pounds per square inch

Composition of dry air at sea level:

Nitrogen: 78.08 % by volume
Oxygen: 20.95%
Argon: 0.93%
Carbon decade: 0.031
Neon: 0.001 8%
Helium: 0.000 52
Krypton: 0.000 11
Xenon: 0.000 008 7
Hydrogen: 0.000 05
Ammonia: 0.000 2
Nitrous Oxide: 0.000 05
Ozone: 0.000 ooh (summer); 0.000.002 (winter)
Lightening hits Earth about 100 times per second; 3.15 billion times per year

Flora and Fauna: World population of creatures & plants—in billions

Humans, 7.0
Food & work animals, 4.4
Water animal life, 580,000
Wild animal life, 1,667,000
Worms & termites, 94,428,683,600,000,000,000
Insects, 3,416,341,600,000,000,000,000
Protozoa & algae, 70,781,761,494,767,278,000,000
Land Plants, 721,368,396,106,333,000,000,000
Bacteria, 2,165,105,198,325,000,000,000,000
Mass of biosphere: 11,480 billion tons
Mass of living matter in biosphere: 360 billion metric tons
Number of known or catalogued species: 1.7 million
Number of unknown species: 5 to 50 million

Temperature

Temperature at Earth’s core: 4000°C
Temperature at Sun’s core: 15 million°C
Average temperatures of Earth— night: 32 degrees F; day: 72 degrees F.
Lowest recorded temperature: -127 degrees F (-88 degrees C), Vostok, Antarctica, 8-24-60
Highest recorded temperature: 136 degrees F (58 degrees C), El Azizia, Libya, 9-13-22
Temperature increases below Earth's surface: 1 degree C per 100 feet; 30 degrees per kilometer; 96 F degrees per mile

Speed

Mean rotational velocity at equator: 1,040 mph
Mean orbital velocity: 66,597 miles per hour

Distance

Distance from Earth to Moon: 238,866 miles
Distance from Earth to Sun: 92.9 million miles

Size

Sun Diameter: 864,000 miles (as wide as 109 Earths)
(Each second, the Sun turns about 700 million tons of Hydrogen into 695 million tons of Helium; matter lost
converted into energy that makes Sun shine)
Earth diameter: 7,918 miles
Earth Circumference at equator: 24,875 miles

Weight

Mass of Earth: 6.575 X 10*21 tons
Core: 1.9 X 10*21 tons
Mantle: 4.1 X 10*21 tons
Continental crust: 7.0 X 10*19
Biomass: 1.0 X 10*12
Hydrosphere: 1.4 X 10*17
Atmosphere: 5,000 trillion metric tons
Sun's mass: 2.19 X 10*27 tons (332,998 times greater than the Earth)

Age

Estimated age of Solar system: 4.5 billion years
Age of most ancient terrestrial rocks: 4 billion years (South Africa, Greenland)
Age of living systems on Earth: 3.5 billion years
Oldest living species on Earth: Bristlecone pines (some live as long as 5000 years)

Benchmarks

World’s most thundery location: Bogor, Java, Indonesia (322 thunder days per year)
Greatest rainfall over a period of 12 months: 1,042 in Cherrapunji, India
Greatest snowfall in a season: 1,122 in. (93 ft.) in Paradise Ranger Station, Washington, US
Highest waterfall: 807m Angel Falls, Churn River, Venezuela
Largest body of fresh water: Lake Superior, Great Lakes, US
Longest river in the world: 4,160 miles long: Nile
Lowest recorded temperature: -127 degrees F (-88 degrees C), Vostok, Antarctica, 8-24-60
Highest recorded temperature: 136 degrees F (58 degrees C), El Azizia, Libya, 9-13-22

The most amazing fact about the world is how many of us there are.