Portal:Earth sciences

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Introduction

Earth sciences (also known as geoscience, the geosciences or Earth Science) is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. It is a special type of planetary science which deals with the structure and composition of the Earth, its origins, physical features, changing aspects, and all of its natural phenomena. Earth is the only planet known to have life, and hence the only planet with biological processes and a biosphere.

The major disciplines of Earth sciences use physics, mathematics, and chemistry to build a quantitative understanding of the principal areas or spheres of the Earth system. As in many sciences, the Earth can be studied both experimentally and theoretically. Also, there are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth Science.

Although mining and precious stones have been human interests throughout the history of civilization, their development into the sciences of economic geology and mineralogy did not occur until the 18th century. The study of the earth, particularly palaeontology, blossomed in the 19th century and the growth of other disciplines like geophysics in the 20th century led to the development of the theory of plate tectonics in the 1960s, which has had a similar impact on the Earth sciences as the theory of evolution had on biology. Earth sciences today are closely linked to climate research and the petroleum and mineral exploration industries.

Applications of Earth sciences include the exploration and exploitation of mineral and hydrocarbon resources, cartography, weather forecasting patterns, and warning of volcanic eruptions. Earth sciences are related to the environmental sciences as well as the other subfields of planetary astronomy.

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Selected article

Plate tectonics is a theory of geology that has been developed to explain the observed evidence for large scale motions of the Earth's lithosphere. The theory encompassed and superseded the older theory of continental drift from the first half of the 20th century and the concept of seafloor spreading developed during the 1960s. The outermost part of the Earth's interior is made up of two layers: above is the lithosphere, comprising the crust and the rigid uppermost part of the mantle. Below the lithosphere lies the asthenosphere. Although solid, the asthenosphere has relatively low viscosity and shear strength and can flow like a liquid on geological time scales. The deeper mantle below the asthenosphere is more rigid again. This is, however, not due to cooler temperatures but due to high pressure. The lithosphere is broken up into what are called tectonic plates—in the case of Earth, there are seven major and many minor plates (see list below). The lithospheric plates ride on the asthenosphere. These plates move in relation to one another at one of three types of plate boundaries: convergent or collision boundaries, divergent or spreading boundaries, and transform boundaries. Earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain-building, and oceanic trench formation occur along plate boundaries. The lateral movement of the plates is typically at speeds of 0.65 to 8.50 centimeters per year (the speed at which human nails grow).

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Selected picture

Astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery recorded this rarely seen phenomenon of the full Moon partially obscured by the atmosphere of Earth. The image was recorded with an electronic still camera at 15:15:15 GMT, Dec. 21, 1999

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Did you know?

Tuya in Iceland

• ...that a tuya (as pictured) is a type of flat-topped, steep-sided volcano formed when lava erupts through a thick glacier or ice sheet?
• ...that in the United States, on average tornadoes are around 500 feet (150 m) across, and stay on the ground for 5 miles (8 km)?
• ...that dust storms can carry large amounts of dust, so much so that the leading edge of one can appear as a solid wall of dust as much as 1.6 km (1 mile) high?
• ...that the area of the world Ocean is 361 million square kilometers, its volume is approximately 1.3 billion cubic kilometers, and its average depth is 3,790 meters?
• ...that three quarters of the earth's atmosphere lies within the troposphere, and the depth of this layer varies between 17 km at the equator and 7 km at the poles?
• ...that the marina trench is the largest trench in the whole world?

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Things you can do

• Feel free to add anything that you feel needs improvement. Be sure to check out the list of geology pages needing attention.
• There are currently many geoscience stubs in need of work, which you may find listed at: Geology stubs - Mineral stubs - Oceanography stubs - Atmospheric science stubs - Hurricane stubs - Geography stubs - Geophysics stubs
• There are also a bunch of related WikiProjects underway, listed in the box below. You can participate actively in these projects and be bold in updating content.

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WikiProjects

Quick links to WikiProjects

• Rocks and Minerals
• Soil
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• Volcanoes
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See also

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• Geography
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Quality content

Featured articles

Featured articles related to Earth sciences-
• 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens • 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake • Chicxulub crater • Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event • Earth • Ediacara biota • Geology of the Bryce Canyon area • Geology of the Capitol Reef area • Geology of the Lassen volcanic area • Global warming • Oil shale • Silverpit crater • Yellowstone National Park (More...)

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• Amchitka • Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve • Eldfell • Enceladus (moon) • Io (moon) • Mauna Loa • Metacomet Ridge • Mount Pinatubo • Mount St. Helens • Mount Tambora • Surtsey • Triton (moon) (More...)

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Ann Arbor, Michigan · Antarctica · Australia · Bangalore · Bangladesh · Bath, Somerset · Belgium · Bhutan · Boston, Massachusetts · Buckingham Palace · Bryce Canyon National Park · Cambodia · Canberra · Cape Horn · Carlsbad Caverns National Park · The Catlins · Cathedral of Magdeburg · Chennai · Chetwynd, British Columbia · Chew Valley Lake · City status in the United Kingdom · Cleveland, Ohio · Colditz Castle · Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve · Dawson Creek, British Columbia · Death Valley National Park · Dogpatch USA · Dorset · Eldfell · Gangtok · Geography of India · Geography of Ireland · Goa · Great Mosque of Djenné · Gyeongju · Hong Kong · India · Isan · Johannesburg · Kalimpong · Kerala · Lake Burley Griffin · Louisville, Kentucky · Malwa · Marshall, Texas · Moorgate · Mount Pinatubo · Mount Rushmore · Mount St. Helens · Mumbai · National parks of England and Wales · Nepal · Niagara Falls · Oakland Cemetery · Pakistan · Palace of Westminster · Palazzo Pitti · People's Republic of China · Piccadilly Circus · Rondane National Park · San Jose, California · Sarajevo · Sealand · Seattle, Washington · Sheffield · Shoshone National Forest · Shrine of Remembrance · Sikkim · St Kilda · South Africa · Suburbs of Johannesburg · Surtsey · Waterfall Gully, South Australia · Yellowstone National Park · Yarralumla, Australian Capital Territory · Yosemite National Park · Zambezi · Zion National Park (More...)

Featured topics

| discuss | book 19 articles 2003 Atlantic hurricane season
List of storms Timeline Tropical Storm Ana Tropical Storm Bill Hurricane Claudette Hurricane Danny Tropical Depression Seven Hurricane Erika Tropical Depression Nine Hurricane Fabian Tropical Storm Grace Tropical Storm Henri Hurricane Isabel (subtopic) Hurricane Juan Hurricane Kate Tropical Storm Larry Tropical Storm Nicholas Tropical Storm Odette

| discuss | book 6 articles Florida hurricanes, Lists of
Pre-1900 1900–1949 1950–1974 1975–1999 2000–present

| discuss | book 9 articles Hurricane Isabel
Effects in Canada Effects in Delaware Effects in Maryland and Washington, D.C. Effects in New Jersey Effects in New York and New England Effects in North Carolina Effects in Pennsylvania Effects in Virginia

| discuss | book 9 articles Retired Pacific hurricanes
Tropical Storm Alma Hurricane Iniki Hurricane Ioke Hurricane Ismael Hurricane Iwa Hurricane Kenna Typhoon Paka Hurricane Pauline

Featured pictures

Views of Earth from space and satellites

Featured lists

Featured lists related to Earth science-
· Storms in the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season · Baja California Peninsula hurricanes · California hurricanes · Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes · Category 5 Pacific hurricanes · Delaware hurricanes · Florida hurricanes · Florida hurricanes (pre-1900) · Florida hurricanes (1900–1949) · Florida hurricanes (1950–1974) · Florida hurricanes (1975–1999) · Florida hurricanes (2000–present) · New Jersey hurricanes · New York hurricanes · North Carolina hurricanes · North Carolina hurricanes (pre-1900) · North Carolina hurricanes (1900–1949) · North Carolina hurricanes (1950–1979) · North Carolina hurricanes (1980–present) · Retired Pacific hurricane names · Retired Pacific typhoon names (JMA) · Snow events in Florida · South America tropical cyclones · Storms in the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season · United States hurricanes · Wettest tropical cyclones in the United States · Volcanoes in Indonesia · Canadian provinces and territories by area · Canadian provinces and territories by population · Counties of Lithuania · Indian districts · Indian state and union territory capitals · Islands of Scotland · Municipalities of Lithuania · Orkney islands · Provinces of the Philippines · Shetland islands · Provinces of Thailand · U.S. states by date of statehood · U.S. states by elevation · Municipalities of Portugal · Ohio county name etymologies · List of areas in the National Park System of the United States

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Related topics

Atmosphere	Hydrosphere	Lithosphere
Atmospheric chemistry Climatology Meteorology Hydrometeorology Paleoclimatology	Hydrology Glaciology Limnology Hydrogeology Oceanography Chemical oceanography Marine biology Marine geology Paleoceanography Physical oceanography	Geology Geochemistry Geography Geomorphology Hydrogeology Mineralogy Petrology Volcanology Speleology
Biosphere	Systems	Others
Biogeography Paleontology Palynology Micropaleontology Geomicrobiology	Environmental science Geography Human geography Physical geography Gaia hypothesis	Cartography Geoinformatics (GIS) Geophysics Geostatistics Geodesy and Surveying Soil Science Edaphology Pedology

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Atmospheric sciences	Weather	Tropical cyclones	Earthquakes

Sustainable development	Volcanoes	Geography	Global warming

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