Outline of Earth sciences See also: Index of Earth science articles Ecosphere[2][3] – there are many subsystems that make up the natural environment (the planetary ecosystem or “ecosphere”) of the Earth. Many of the subsystems are The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Earth science: characterized as “spheres”, coinciding with the shape of the planet. The four spheres (for which most of the other spheres are a subtype of) are the atmosphere, the biosphere, the hydrosphere and the geosphere. Listed roughly from outermost to innermost the named spheres of the Earth are: • Magnetosphere • Atmosphere, the gases that surround the Earth (its air) • By altitude • Exosphere • Exobase Diagram of the structure of the Earth including its atmosphere • Ionosphere • Thermopause Earth science – all-embracing term for the sciences re- • Thermosphere [1] lated to the planet Earth. It is also known as geoscience, • Mesopause the geosciences or the Earth sciences, and is arguably a • special case in planetary science, the Earth being the only Mesosphere known life-bearing planet. • Stratopause • Stratosphere Earth science is a branch of the physical sciences which • is a part of the natural sciences. It in turn has many Ozone layer branches. • Tropopause • Troposphere • Planetary boundary layer 1 Earth’s spheres • By air turbulence • Heterosphere • Turbopause • Homosphere • Biosphere, all life on Earth • Anthroposphere • Noosphere (rare) • Cryosphere – those portions of Earth’s surface where water is in solid form, including sea ice, lake ice, river ice, snow cover, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, and frozen ground (which includes per- mafrost). Thus, there is a wide overlap with the hy- A false-color composite of global oceanic and terrestrial pho- drosphere. toautotroph abundance from September 1997 to August 2000, showing Earth’s biosphere. Provided by the SeaWiFS Project, • Hydrosphere – all water found on, under, and over NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center and ORBIMAGE. the surface of Earth 1 2 2 BRANCHES OF EARTH SCIENCE • Pedosphere • Environmental chemistry – Environmental chem- istry is the scientific study of the chemical and bio- • Geosphere/Solid Earth chemical phenomena that occur in natural places. • Lithosphere • Environmental soil science – Environmental soil sci- • Crust (geology) ence is the study of the interaction of humans with • Asthenosphere the pedosphere as well as critical aspects of the bio- sphere, the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, and the at- • Mesosphere mosphere. • Earth’s mantle • Environmental geology – Environmental geology, • Earth’s core like hydrogeology, is an applied science concerned • Inner core with the practical application of the principles of ge- • Outer core ology in the solving of environmental problems. • Geodesy – scientific discipline that deals with the measurement and representation of the Earth, in- 2 Branches of Earth science cluding its gravitational field, in a three-dimensional time-varying space 2.1 Atmospheric science Atmospheric sciences 2.3 Geology • • Meteorology Geology • • Climatology Economic geology • Engineering geology • Paleoclimatology • Environmental geology • Atmospheric chemistry • Quaternary geology • Atmospheric physics • Planetary geology • Petroleum geology 2.2 Environmental science • Historical geology • Hydrogeology Environmental science – an integrated, quantitative, and • interdisciplinary approach to the study of environmental Structural geology systems. • Geochemistry • Ecology – scientific study of the distribution and • Geochronology abundance of living organisms and how the distri- • bution and abundance are affected by interactions Geomagnetics between the organisms and their environment. • Geomicrobiology • Freshwater biology – scientific biological • Geomorphology study of freshwater ecosystems and is a branch of Limnology • Geophysics • Marine biology – scientific study of organisms • Micropaleontology in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water • Mineralogy • Parasitology – Parasitology is the study of par- • Gemology asites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. • Mineral physics • Population dynamics – Population dynamics is • Mining the branch of life sciences that studies short- • term and long-term changes in the size and age Paleontology composition of populations, and the biological • Palynology and environmental processes influencing those changes. • Petrology 2.8 Soil science 3 • Physical geodesy 2.8 Soil science • Plate tectonics Soil science • Sedimentology • Edaphology • Seismology • • Stratigraphy Pedology • Tectonics • Volcanology 3 History of Earth science History of Earth science – history of the all-embracing 2.4 Geography sciences related to the planet Earth. Earth science, and all of its branches, are branches of physical science. Geography • History of atmospheric sciences – history of the um- • Human geography brella study of the atmosphere, its processes, the ef- • Paleogeography fects other systems have on the atmosphere, and the effects of the atmosphere on these other systems. • Physical Geography • History of climatology • Biogeography • History of meteorology • History of atmospheric chemistry 2.5 Geoinformatics • History of biogeography – history of the study of Geoinformatics the distribution of species (biology), organisms, and ecosystems in geographic space and through geolog- • Geographic information systems ical time. • Spatial decision support systems • History of cartography – history of the study and • Global positioning systems (GPS) or Global Navi- practice of making maps or globes. gation Satellite Systems (GNSS) • History of climatology – history of the study of cli- • Remote sensing and Photogrammetry mate, scientifically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of time • Geodesy • History of coastal geography – history of the study • Geostatistics of the dynamic interface between the ocean and the land, incorporating both the physical geography (i.e. 2.6 Glaciology coastal geomorphology, geology and oceanography) and the human geography (sociology and history) of • Glaciology the coast. • History of environmental science – history of an 2.7 Oceanography integrated, quantitative, and interdisciplinary ap- proach to the study of environmental systems. Oceanography • History of ecology – history of the scien- tific study of the distribution and abundance • Physical oceanography of living organisms and how the distribution • Chemical oceanography and abundance are affected by interactions be- tween the organisms and their environment. • Paleoceanography • History of Freshwater biology – history • Hydrogeology of the scientific biological study of fresh- water ecosystems and is a branch of lim- • Hydrology nology • Limnology • History of marine biology – history of the scientific study of organisms in the ocean • Marine Biology or other marine or brackish bodies of wa- • Marine Geology ter 4 3 HISTORY OF EARTH SCIENCE • History of parasitology – history of the • History of geostatistics – history of the branch Parasitology is the study of parasites, of statistics focusing on spatial or spatiotemporal their hosts, and the relationship between datasets them. • History of geophysics – history of the physics of the • History of population dynamics – history Earth and its environment in space; also the study of of the Population dynamics is the branch the Earth using quantitative physical methods. of life sciences that studies short-term and long-term changes in the size and age • History of glaciology – history of the study of composition of populations, and the bi- glaciers, or more generally ice and natural phenom- ological and environmental processes in- ena that involve ice. fluencing those changes. • History of hydrology – history of the study of the • History of environmental chemistry – history movement, distribution, and quality of water on of the Environmental chemistry is the scien- Earth and other planets, including the hydrologic cy- tific study of the chemical and biochemical cle, water resources and environmental watershed phenomena that occur in natural places. sustainability. • History of environmental soil science – history • of the Environmental soil science is the study History of hydrogeology – history of the area of ge- of the interaction of humans with the pedo- ology that deals with the distribution and movement sphere as well as critical aspects of the bio- of groundwater in the soil and rocks of the Earth’s sphere, the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, and crust (commonly in aquifers). the atmosphere. • History of mineralogy – history of the study of • History of environmental geology – history chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including of the Environmental geology, like hydrogeol- optical) properties of minerals. ogy, is an applied science concerned with the • History of meteorology – history of the interdisci- practical application of the principles of geol- plinary scientific study of the atmosphere which ex- ogy in the solving of environmental problems. plains and forecasts weather events. • History of toxicology – history of the branch of biology, chemistry, and medicine con- • History of oceanography – history of the branch of cerned with the study of the adverse effects of Earth science that studies the ocean chemicals on living organisms. • History of paleoclimatology – history of the study • History of geodesy – history of the scientific disci- of changes in climate taken on the scale of the entire pline that deals with the measurement