The biosphere is the global sum of all ecosystems and can be defined as the narrow layer around Earth's surface in which life exists. It extends approximately 11 km into the oceans and 9 km into the atmosphere. The biosphere receives energy from the sun which is used by plants through photosynthesis and transferred through food chains, though some energy is lost as heat at each transfer between organisms. It forms a thin living crust on the planet within which the complex interactions between different environmental components sustain life.