Portal:Earth sciences
Introduction
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.
Selected article
The Ediacara biota are ancient lifeforms of the Ediacaran Period, which represent the earliest known complex multicellular organisms. They appeared soon after the Earth thawed from the Cryogenian period's extensive glaciers, and largely disappeared soon before the rapid appearance of biodiversity known as the Cambrian explosion, which saw the first appearance in the fossil record of the basic patterns and body-plans that would go on to form the basis of modern animals. Little of the diversity of the Ediacara biota would be incorporated in this new scheme, with a distinct Cambrian biota arising and usurping the organisms that dominated the Ediacaran fossil record. The organisms of the Ediacaran Period first appeared around 580 million years ago and flourished until the cusp of the Cambrian 542 million years ago, when the characteristic communities of fossils vanished. While rare fossils that may represent survivors have been found as late as the Middle Cambrian (510 to 500 million years ago), the earlier fossil communities disappear from the record at the end of the Ediacaran, leaving only controversial fragments of once-thriving ecosystems, if anything. Multiple hypotheses exist to explain this disappearance, including preservation bias, a changing environment, the advent of predators, and competition from other lifeforms.
Selected picture
The world's largest compass rose, drawn on the desert floor at Edwards Air Force Base in California, United States. Painted on the playa near Dryden Flight Research Center, it is inclined to magnetic north and is used by pilots for calibrating heading indicators.
Did you know?
- ...that Ojos del Salado (as pictured) is the highest volcano on Earth?
- ...that the Toronto Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory was originally built to study fluctuations in Earth's magnetic field?
- ...that Atlantic hurricane reanalysis is an ongoing project within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which seeks to correct and add new information about past Atlantic tropical cyclones?
- ...that Robert Case, a National Weather Service meteorologist, dubbed the 1991 Halloween Nor'easter "The Perfect Storm"?
- ...that the 1912 Novarupta eruption of Mount Katmai was the largest of the 20th century?
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.
WikiProjects
Quick links to WikiProjects
- Rocks and Minerals
- Soil
- Tropical Cyclones
- Climate change
- Formation Evaluation
- Paleontology
- Geology
- Geologic timescale
- Volcanoes
- Mining
See also
Quality content
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...)
• 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...)
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...)
|
19 articles
 2003 Atlantic hurricane season |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||
 Florida hurricanes, Lists of |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||
|
9 articles
Hurricane Isabel |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||
|
North Carolina hurricanes, Lists of |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||
|
9 articles
Retired Pacific hurricanes |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||
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
Related topics
| Atmosphere | Hydrosphere | Lithosphere |
|---|---|---|
| Biosphere | Systems | Others |
Categories
Related Portals
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Atmospheric sciences | Weather | Tropical cyclones | Earthquakes |
|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Sustainable development | Volcanoes | Geography | Global warming |
|---|
Associated Wikimedia
- What are portals?
- List of portals
- Featured portals
