IB ESS HL 1.2.6 Earth as an Integrated System Question Bank
Connect the biosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, geosphere, atmosphere and anthroposphere as an integrated Earth system.
- Syllabus
- First assessment 2026
- Course
- ESS HL
- Level
- HL
Connect the biosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, geosphere, atmosphere and anthroposphere as an integrated Earth system.
Outline the Gaia hypothesis as a model of the global ecosystem.
Gaia hypothesis views Earth as a self-regulating system/homeostatic system/living organism;
...maintaining life-supporting conditions/equilibrium;
...through negative feedback mechanisms;
...eg where any changes in global temperature/ocean salinity/ O2 concentration stimulate mechanisms to inhibit/reverse that change;
living organisms interact with non-living elements to form habitable conditions on Earth / it proposes that the evolution of life on earth stabilised global temperatures/atmospheric composition/ocean salinity making the planet more habitable;
eg "Daisy World" where high temperatures promote growth of more reflective daisies;
humans are part of the living system, do not dominate it or have any intrinsic right of exploitation / but may contribute to positive feedback mechanisms destabilising equilibrium in the short term;