Difference between revisions of "Earth science" - New World Encyclopedia
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Revision as of 02:53, 23 September 2005
History of science | ||
Overview | ||
Historiography of science | ||
Theories and sociology of the history of science | ||
Pre-experimental science | ||
Science in early cultures | ||
History of Medieval science | ||
Scientific revolution | ||
Natural sciences
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Social sciences
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Interdisciplinary
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History of pseudoscience | ||
Timelines for scientific
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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
Glaciology
Atmospheric Science
- Atmospheric sciences
Systems or multidisciplinary
- Climatology
- Earth system science
- Gaia theories
- Meteorology
- Paleoclimatology
See also
- List of geoscience organizations
General subfields within the Natural sciences |
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Astronomy | Biology | Chemistry | Earth science | Ecology | Physics |
bg:Науки за Земята
br:Skiantoù an Douar
ca:Ciències de la Terra
co:Scienze di a Terra
cy:Gwyddoniaeth Daear
de:Geowissenschaften
et:Maateadus
es:Ciencias de la Tierra
eo:Terscienco
fr:Sciences de la Terre
fy:Ierdwittenskip
gl:Ciencias Da Terra
ko:지구과학
hi:पृथ्वी शास्त्र
ia:Scientias del terra
it:Scienze della Terra
he:מדעי כדור הארץ
ka:დედამიწის მეცნიერებები
lb:Geowëssenschaften
li:Aardweitesjappe
ms:Sains bumi
nl:Aardwetenschappen
ja:地球科学
pl:Nauki o Ziemi
pt:Ciências da Terra
ro:Ştiinţele pământului
scn:Scienzi dâ terra
simple:Earth science
sl:Znanosti o Zemlji
fi:Geotieteet
tl:Agham pandaigdig
th:วิทยาศาสตร์โลก
vi:Khoa học Trái Đất
zh:地球科学
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