Earth science
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The rocky side of a mountain creek in Costa Rica
Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the
planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and
biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres,
namely biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and geosphere. Earth science can be
considered to be a branch of planetary science, but with a much older history.
Earth science encompasses four main branches of study, the lithosphere, the
hydrosphere, the atmosphere, and the biosphere, each of which is further broken
down into more specialized fields.
There are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth sciences. It is also
the study of Earth and its neighbors in space. Some Earth scientists use their
knowledge of the planet to locate and develop energy and mineral resources. Others
study the impact of human activity on Earth's environment, and design methods to
protect the planet. Some use their knowledge about Earth processes such as
volcanoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes to plan communities that will not expose
people to these dangerous events.
Earth sciences can include the study of geology, the lithosphere, and the large-
scale structure of Earth's interior, as well as the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and
biosphere. Typically, Earth scientists use tools from geology, chronology, physics,
chemistry, geography, biology, and mathematics to build a quantitative
understanding of how Earth works and evolves. For example, meteorologists study the
weather and watch for dangerous storms. Hydrologists examine water and warn of
floods. Seismologists study earthquakes and try to understand where they will
strike. Geologists study rocks and help to locate useful minerals. Earth scientists
often work in the field—perhaps climbing mountains, exploring the seabed, crawling
through caves, or wading in swamps. They measure and collect samples (such as rocks
or river water), then record their findings on charts and maps.
Contents
1 Fields of study
2 Earth's interior
3 Earth's atmosphere
4 Earth's magnetic field
4.1 The Lorentz Force Law
5 Methodology
6 Earth's spheres
6.1 Earth science breakup
7 See also
8 References
8.1 Sources
9 Further reading
10 External links
Fields of study
The following fields of science are generally categorized within the Earth
sciences:
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.[1][2]
Physical geography focuses on geography as an Earth science. Physical geography is
the study of Earth's seasons, climate, atmosphere, soil, streams, landforms, and
oceans. Physical geography can be divided into several branches or related fields,
as follows: geomorphology, biogeography, environmental geography, palaeogeography,
climatology, meteorology, coastal geography, hydrology, ecology, glaciology.
[citation needed]
Geophysics and geodesy investigate the shape of the Earth, its reaction to forces
and its magnetic and gravity fields. Geophysicists explore the Earth's core and
mantle as well as the tectonic and seismic activity of the lithosphere.[2][3][4]
Geophysics is commonly used to supplement the work of geologists in developing a
comprehensive understanding of crustal geology, particularly in mineral and
petroleum exploration. Seismologists use geophysics to understand plate tectonic
shifting, 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.
Soil science covers the outermost layer of the Earth's crust that is subject to
soil formation processes (or pedosphere).[5] Major subdivisions in this field of
study include edaphology and pedology.[6]
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."[7]
Glaciology covers the icy parts of the Earth (or cryosphere).
Atmospheric sciences cover the gaseous parts of the Earth (or atmosphere) between
the surface and the exosphere (about 1000 km). Major subdisciplines include
meteorology, climatology, atmospheric chemistry, and atmospheric physics.
Earth's interior
A volcanic eruption is the release of stored energy from below Earth's surface.[8]
Main article: Structure of Earth
Plate tectonics, mountain ranges, volcanoes, and earthquakes are geological
phenomena that can be explained in terms of physical and chemical processes in the
Earth's crust.[9]
Beneath the Earth's crust lies the mantle which is heated by the radioactive decay
of heavy elements. The mantle is not quite solid and consists of magma which is in
a state of semi-perpetual convection. This convection process causes the
lithospheric plates to move, albeit slowly. The resulting process is known as plate
tectonics.[10][11][12][13]
Plate tectonics might be thought of as the process by which the Earth is
resurfaced. As the result of seafloor spreading, new crust and lithosphere is
created by the flow of magma from the mantle to the near surface, through fissures,
where it cools and solidifies. Through subduction, oceanic crust and lithosphere
returns to the convecting mantle.[11][13][14]
Areas of the crust where new crust is created are called divergent boundaries,
those where it is brought back into the Earth are convergent boundaries and those
where plates slide past each other, but no new lithospheric material is created or
destroyed, are referred to as transform (or conservative) boundaries[11][13][15]
Earthquakes result from the movement of the lithospheric plates, and they often
occur near convergent boundaries where parts of the crust are forced into the earth
as part of subduction.[16]
Volcanoes result primarily from the melting of subducted crust material. Crust
material that is forced into the asthenosphere melts, and some portion of the
melted material becomes light enough to rise to the surface—giving birth to
volcanoes.[11][16]
Earth's atmosphere
Main article: Atmosphere of Earth
The magnetosphere shields the surface of Earth from the charged particles of the
solar wind.
(image not to scale.)
The troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere are the five
layers which make up Earth's atmosphere. 75% of the gases in the atmosphere are
located within the troposphere, the lowest layer. In all, the atmosphere is made up
of about 78.0% nitrogen, 20.9% oxygen, and 0.92% argon, and small amounts of other
gases including CO2 and water vapor.[17] Water vapor and CO2 allow the Earth's
atmosphere to catch and hold the Sun's energy through the greenhouse effect.[18]
This allows Earth's surface to be warm enough to have liquid water and support
life. In addition to storing heat, the atmosphere also protects living organisms by
shielding the Earth's surface from cosmic rays—which are often incorrectly thought
to be deflected by the magnetic field.[19] The magnetic field—created by the
internal motions of the core—produces the magnetosphere which protects Earth's
atmosphere from the solar wind.[20] As the Earth is 4.5 billion years old,[21] it
would have lost its atmosphere by now if there were no protective magnetosphere.
Earth's magnetic field
An electromagnet is a magnet that is created by an electric current.[22] The Earth
has a solid iron inner core surrounded by a fluid outer core that convects;[23]
therefore, Earth is an electromagnet. The motion of fluid convection sustains the
Earth's magnetic field.[23][24]
The magnetic field is also very important because some birds and insects use it to
navigate over long distances, using the magnetized iron crystals found in their
skin. The most important function of Earth's magnetic field is protecting its
organisms. High energy protons are deflected along with electrons in the solar
wind. If organisms were directly exposed to these particles it would be lethal.[25]
For the consistency[clarification needed] of a magnetic field to remain constant
there must be an attractive magnetic field.[clarification needed] If the motion of
a magnetic field changes then every aspect of it does as well.[clarification
needed] It indicates a force that is proportional to the velocity of a moving
charge.[26]
Magnetic flux density is generally measured in teslas. Another unit sometimes used
is the gauss (G). 1 G is equivalent to 10-4 T (or 1 mG = 0.1µT).
In the image above the first example their anti-parallel currents with cause them
to repel. In the second example they are parallel currents which cause attraction.
The Lorentz Force Law
The force exerted by a magnetic field on an object can be defined by the Lorentz
Law.
{\displaystyle {\ce {\mathbf {F} =q(\mathbf {E} +\mathbf {v} \times \mathbf
{B} )}}}{\displaystyle {\ce {\mathbf {F} =q(\mathbf {E} +\mathbf {v} \times \mathbf
{B} )}}}
where
F is the force
q is the object's electric charge
E is the electric field
v is the object's velocity
B is the magnetic field strength.
The electromagnetic force holds atoms and molecules together. In fact, at this
scale the forces of electric attraction and repulsion of electric charges are so
dominant over the other three fundamental forces that they can be considered to be
negligible as determiners of atomic and molecular structure.[27]
The Lorentz Force Law was named after Dutch physicist Hendrik Antoon Lorentz. He
was the first to formulate this equation. Lorentz theorized that atoms might
consist of charged particles and suggested that the oscillations of these charged
particles were the source of light.[28]
Changing magnetic field through a coil of wire therefore must induce an EMF the
coil which in turn causes current to flow.[29]
Methodology
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 uniformitarianism, which
states that "ancient geologic features are interpreted by understanding active
processes that are readily observed."[citation needed] In other words, any geologic
processes at work in the present have operated in the same ways throughout geologic
time. This enables those who study Earth's history to apply knowledge of how Earth
processes operate in the present to gain insight into how the planet has evolved
and changed throughout long history.
Earth's spheres
Nature timeline
This box: viewtalkedit
−13 —–−12 —–−11 —–−10 —–−9 —–−8 —–−7 —–−6 —–−5 —–−4 —–−3 —–−2 —–−1 —–0 —
Dark Ages
Reionization
Matter-dominated
era
Accelerated expansion
Water
Single-celled life
Photosynthesis
Multicellular
life
Vertebrates
←
Earliest Universe
←
Earliest stars
←
Earliest galaxy
←
Quasar / black hole
←
Omega Centauri
←
Andromeda Galaxy
←
Milky Way spirals
←
NGC 188 star cluster
←
Alpha Centauri
←
Earth / Solar System
←
Earliest known life
←
Earliest oxygen
←
Atmospheric oxygen
←
Sexual reproduction
←
Earliest fungi
←
Earliest animals / plants
←
Cambrian explosion
←
Earliest mammals
←
Earliest apes / humans
L
i
f
e
(billion years ago)
Earth science generally recognizes four spheres, the lithosphere, the hydrosphere,
the atmosphere, and the biosphere;[30] these correspond to rocks, water, air and
life. Also included by some are the cryosphere (corresponding to ice) as a distinct
portion of the hydrosphere and the pedosphere (corresponding to soil) as an active
and intermixed sphere.
Earth science breakup
Main article: Outline of Earth sciences
Atmosphere
Atmospheric chemistry
Geography
Climatology
Meteorology
Hydrometeorology
Paleoclimatology
Biosphere
Biogeochemistry
Biogeography
Ecology
Landscape ecology
Geoarchaeology
Geomicrobiology
Paleontology
Palynology
Micropaleontology
Hydrosphere
Hydrology
Hydrogeology
Limnology (freshwater science)
Oceanography (marine science)
Chemical oceanography
Physical oceanography
Biological oceanography (marine biology)
Geological oceanography (marine geology)
Paleoceanography
Lithosphere (geosphere)
Geology
Economic geology
Engineering geology
Environmental geology
Historical geology
Quaternary geology
Planetary geology and planetary geography
Sedimentology
Stratigraphy
Structural geology
Geography
Human geography
Physical geography
Geochemistry
Geomorphology
Geophysics
Geochronology
Geodynamics (see also Tectonics)
Geomagnetism
Gravimetry (also part of Geodesy)
Seismology
Glaciology
Hydrogeology
Mineralogy
Crystallography
Gemology
Petrology
Petrophysics
Speleology
Volcanology
Pedosphere
Geography
Soil science
Edaphology
Pedology
Systems
Earth system science
Environmental science
Geography
Human geography
Physical geography
Gaia hypothesis
Systems ecology
Systems geology
Others
Geography
Cartography
Geoinformatics (GIScience)
Geostatistics
Geodesy and Surveying
Remote Sensing
Nanogeoscience
See also
Earth sciences portal
icon Environment portal
icon Ecology portal
World portal
American Geosciences Institute
Earth sciences graphics software
Glossary of geology terms
List of Earth scientists
List of geoscience organizations
List of unsolved problems in geoscience
Making North America (2015 PBS film)
National Association of Geoscience Teachers
Science tourism
Structure of the Earth
References
Adams & Lambert 2006, p. 20
Smith & Pun 2006, p. 5
"WordNet Search – 3.1". [Link].
"NOAA National Ocean Service Education: Global Positioning Tutorial". [Link].
Elissa Levine, 2001, The Pedosphere As A Hub broken link?
Gardiner, Duane T. "Lecture 1 Chapter 1 Why Study Soils?". ENV320: Soil Science
Lecture Notes. Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Archived from the original on 2018-
02-09. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
Craig, Kendall. "Hydrology of the Watershed".
Encyclopedia of Volcanoes, Academic Press, London, 2000
"Earth's Energy Budget". [Link].
Simison 2007, paragraph 7
Adams & Lambert 2006, pp. 94–95, 100, 102
Smith & Pun 2006, pp. 13–17, 218, G-6
Oldroyd 2006, pp. 101, 103, 104
Smith & Pun 2006, p. 327
Smith & Pun 2006, p. 331
Smith & Pun 2006, pp. 325–26, 329
Adams & Lambert 2006, pp. 107–08
American Heritage, p. 770
Parker, Eugene (March 2006), Shielding Space (PDF), Scientific American
Adams & Lambert 2006, pp. 21–22
Smith & Pun 2006, p. 183
American Heritage, p. 576
Oldroyd 2006, p. 160
Demorest, Paul (2001-05-21). "Dynamo Theory and Earth's Magnetic Field" (PDF).
Archived from the original (PDF) on February 21, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
Christensen, Norman L. (2019). The Environment and you. Lissa Leege, Justin St.
Juliana (Third ed.). NY, NY. ISBN 978-0-13-464605-3. OCLC 1007498917.
Hughes, Scott (10 March 2005). "Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department
of Physics 8.022 Spring 2004 Lecture 10: Magnetic force; Magnetic fields; Ampere's
law" (PDF).
"Fundamental Forces". [Link]. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
"The Nobel Prize in Physics 1902". [Link]. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
"Introduction to Magnetism and Induced Currents". [Link]. Retrieved 2021-05-
18.
Earth's Spheres Archived August 31, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. ©1997–2000.
Wheeling Jesuit University/NASA Classroom of the Future. Retrieved November 11,
2007.
Sources
Adams, Simon; Lambert, David (2006). Earth Science: An illustrated guide to
science. New York, NY: Chelsea House. ISBN 978-0-8160-6164-8.
Joseph P. Pickett (executive editor) (1992). American Heritage dictionary of the
English language (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 978-0-395-
82517-4. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
Simison, W. Brian (2007-02-05). "The mechanism behind plate tectonics". 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. 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. Retrieved 2007-11-10.
"NOAA National Ocean Service Education: Geodesy". National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration. 2005-03-08. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
Reed, Christina (2008). Earth Science: Decade by Decade. New York, NY: 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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