Earth science

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Earth science (also known as geoscience, the geosciences or the Earth Sciences), is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. It is arguably a special case in planetary science, being the only known life-bearing planet. There are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth science. The major historic disciplines use physics, mathematics, chemistry, and biology to build a quantitative understanding of the principal areas or spheres of the Earth system:

Earth's spheres

Geology covers the rocky parts of the Earth (or lithosphere) including the planet's core, mantle, and crust. Major subdisciplines are geophysics, geochemistry, paleontology, mineralogy, petrology, stratigraphy and sedimentology.

Oceanography, limnology, and hydrology describe the marine and freshwater domains of the watery parts of the Earth (or hydrosphere). Major subdisciplines include hydrogeology and physical, chemical, and biological oceanography.

Atmospheric sciences cover the gaseous parts of the Earth (or atmosphere).

Glaciology covers the icy parts of the Earth (or cryosphere)

However, given the numerous interactions between the spheres many modern fields take an interdisciplinary approach and thus do not sit comfortably in this scheme:

Interdisciplinary fields

Biogeochemistry follows the cycling of elements through the spheres mediated by biological and geological processes, and especially their distribution and fluxes between reservoirs.

Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology use the properties of sediments, ice cores, or biological material to infer past states of the ocean, atmosphere or climate.

Furthermore, other modern disciplines known collectively as Earth system science approach the entire Earth as a system in its own right, which evolves as a result of positive and negative feedback between constituent systems:

Meteorology describes, explains and predicts the weather based on the interaction of principally the ocean and atmosphere.

Climatology describes and explains the climate in terms of the interaction of the litho-, hydro-, atmo-, cryo-, and bio- spheres.

Gaia theories explain the behaviour of the Earth system in terms of the influence of the biosphere.

Like all other scientists, earth scientists apply the scientific method: formulate hypotheses after observation of and gathering data about natural phenomena and then test those hypotheses. In earth science, data usually plays a critical role in testing and formulating hypotheses. The systems approach, enabled by the combined use of computer models as hypotheses tested by global satellite and ship-board data, is increasingly giving scientists the ability to explain the past and possible future behaviour of the Earth system.

Partial list of the major Earth Science topics

Geology

Cataclysmic Geology
Economic geology
Engineering geology
Environmental geology
Gemology
Geochemistry
Geochronology
Geohydrology
Geomagnetics
Geomicrobiology
Geomorphology
Geophysics
Geostatistics
Historical geology
Mantle plumes
Micropaleontology
Mineralogy
Mining
Paleontology
Palynology
Pedology
Petroleum geology
Petrology
Physical geodesy
Planetary geology
Plate tectonics
Quaternary geology
Sedimentology
Seismology
Stratigraphy
Structural geology
Tectonics
Volcanology

Oceanography

Physical oceanography
Chemical oceanography
Biological oceanography
Paleoceanography
Marine Geology
Marine Geophysics

Geography

Human geography
Geography
Paleogeography
Physical Geography

Limnology

Limnology

Glaciology

Glaciology

Atmospheric Science

Atmospheric sciences

Systems or multidisciplinary

Climatology
Earth system science
Gaia theories
Meteorology
Paleoclimatology