Earth science

Atmospheric science initially developed in the late-19th century as a means to forecast the weather through meteorology, the study of weather. Atmospheric chemistry was developed in the 20th century to measure air pollution and expanded in the 1970s in response to acid rain. Climatology studies the climate and climate change.^[14]

The

This section is an excerpt from Earth's magnetic field.[edit]

geodynamo

.

The magnitude of Earth's magnetic field at its surface ranges from 25 to 65 μT (0.25 to 0.65 G).

South geomagnetic pole corresponds to the north pole of Earth's magnetic field (because opposite magnetic poles attract and the north end of a magnet, like a compass needle, points toward Earth's South magnetic field, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut

, Canada).

While the North and South

cosmic rays that would otherwise strip away the upper atmosphere, including the ozone layer that protects Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation

.

Hydrology is the study of the hydrosphere and the movement of water on Earth. It emphasizes the study of how humans use and interact with freshwater supplies. Study of water's movement is closely related to geomorphology and other branches of Earth science. Applied hydrology involves engineering to maintain aquatic environments and distribute water supplies. Subdisciplines of hydrology include oceanography, hydrogeology, ecohydrology, and glaciology. Oceanography is the study of oceans.^[24] Hydrogeology is the study of groundwater. It includes the mapping of groundwater supplies and the analysis of groundwater contaminants. Applied hydrogeology seeks to prevent contamination of groundwater and mineral springs and make it available as drinking water. The earliest exploitation of groundwater resources dates back to 3000 BC, and hydrogeology as a science was developed by hydrologists beginning in the 17th century.^[25] Ecohydrology is the study of ecological systems in the hydrosphere. It can be divided into the physical study of aquatic ecosystems and the biological study of aquatic organisms. Ecohydrology includes the effects that organisms and aquatic ecosystems have on one another as well as how these ecoystems are affected by humans.^[26] Glaciology is the study of the cryosphere, including glaciers and coverage of the Earth by ice and snow. Concerns of glaciology include access to glacial freshwater, mitigation of glacial hazards, obtaining resources that exist beneath frozen land, and addressing the effects of climate change on the cryosphere.^[27]

Ecology

Ecology is the study of the biosphere. This includes the study of nature and of how living things interact with the Earth and one another and the consequences of that. It considers how living things use resources such as oxygen, water, and nutrients from the Earth to sustain themselves. It also considers how humans and other living creatures cause changes to nature.^[28]

Physical geography

Physical geography is the study of Earth's systems and how they interact with one another as part of a single self-contained system. It incorporates astronomy, mathematical geography, meteorology, climatology, geology, geomorphology, biology, biogeography, pedology, and soils geography. Physical geography is distinct from human geography, which studies the human populations on Earth, though it does include human effects on the environment.^[29]

Methodology

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Methodologies vary depending on the nature of the subjects being studied. Studies typically fall into one of three categories: observational, experimental, or theoretical. Earth scientists often conduct sophisticated computer analysis or visit an interesting location to study earth phenomena (e.g. Antarctica or hot spot island chains).

A foundational idea in Earth science is the notion of

Earth's spheres

In Earth Science, it is common to conceptualize the Earth's surface as consisting of several distinct layers, often referred to as spheres: the

• Geology describes the rocky parts of the Earth's crust (or lithosphere) and its historic development. Major subdisciplines are mineralogy and petrology, geomorphology, paleontology, stratigraphy, structural geology, engineering geology, and sedimentology.^[31][32]
• environmental geography, palaeogeography, climatology, meteorology, coastal geography, hydrology, ecology, glaciology.^{[citation needed}
  ]
• Seismologists use geophysics
  to understand plate tectonic movement, as well as predict seismic activity.
• Geochemistry is defined as the study of the processes that control the abundance, composition, and distribution of chemical compounds and isotopes in geologic environments. Geochemists use the tools and principles of chemistry to study the composition, structure, processes, and other physical aspects of the Earth. Major subdisciplines are aqueous geochemistry, cosmochemistry, isotope geochemistry and biogeochemistry.
• pedology.^[36]
• Ecology covers the interactions between organisms and their environment. This field of study differentiates the study of Earth from the study of other planets in the Solar System, Earth being its only planet teeming with life.
• Hydrology, oceanography and limnology are studies which focus on the movement, distribution, and quality of the water and involves all the components of the hydrologic cycle on the Earth and its atmosphere (or hydrosphere). "Sub-disciplines of hydrology include hydrometeorology, surface water hydrology, hydrogeology, watershed science, forest hydrology, and water chemistry."^[37]
• Glaciology covers the icy parts of the Earth (or cryosphere).
• atmosphere) between the surface and the exosphere (about 1000 km). Major subdisciplines include meteorology, climatology, atmospheric chemistry, and atmospheric physics
  .

See also

References

Sources

• Adams, Simon; Lambert, David (2006). Earth Science: An illustrated guide to science. New York: Chelsea House.
  ISBN 978-0-8160-6164-8
  .
• Haldar, S. K. (2020). Introduction to Mineralogy and Petrology (2nd ed.). Elsevier Science.
  ISBN 9780323851367
  .
• American Heritage dictionary of the English language (4th ed.). Boston:
  ISBN 978-0-395-82517-4
  .
• Simison, W. Brian (2007-02-05). "The mechanism behind plate tectonics". Archived from the original on 2007-11-12. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
• Smith, Gary A.; Pun, Aurora (2006). How Does the Earth Work? Physical Geology and the Process of Science. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
  ISBN 978-0-13-034129-7
  .
• Oldroyd, David (2006). Earth Cycles: A historical perspective. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
  ISBN 978-0-313-33229-6
  .

Further reading

• Allaby M., 2008. Dictionary of Earth Sciences, Oxford University Press,
  ISBN 978-0-19-921194-4
• Korvin G., 1998. Fractal Models in the Earth Sciences, Elsvier,
  ISBN 978-0-444-88907-2
• "Earth's Energy Budget". Oklahoma Climatological Survey. 1996–2004. Archived from the original on 2007-11-17. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
• Miller, George A.; Christiane Fellbaum; and Randee Tengi; and Pamela Wakefield; and Rajesh Poddar; and Helen Langone; Benjamin Haskell (2006). "WordNet Search 3.0". WordNet a lexical database for the English language. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University/Cognitive Science Laboratory. Archived from the original on 2011-01-01. Retrieved 2007-11-10.
• "NOAA National Ocean Service Education: Geodesy". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2005-03-08. Archived from the original on 2005-05-08. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
• Reed, Christina (2008). Earth Science: Decade by Decade. New York: Facts on File.
  ISBN 978-0-8160-5533-3
  .
• Tarbuck E. J., Lutgens F. K., and Tasa D., 2002. Earth Science, Prentice Hall,
  ISBN 978-0-13-035390-0

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Earth sciences.

• Earth Science Picture of the Day, a service of Universities Space Research Association, sponsored by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
• Geoethics in Planetary and Space Exploration.
• Geology Buzz: Earth Science

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