Earth Science System Lecture Notes PDF

Lec 1: Earth System Geol 100: Principles of Geology  Earth science Seeks to understand Earth and its neighbors in space Includes geology, oceanography, meteorology, astronomy Lec 1: Earth System  Earth science Branch Definit...

Lec 1: Earth System Geol 100: Principles of Geology  Earth science Seeks to understand Earth and its neighbors in space Includes geology, oceanography, meteorology, astronomy Lec 1: Earth System  Earth science Branch Definition Geology Study of the Earth Oceanography Study of oceans in all its aspects and relationships Study of the atmosphere and the processes that Meteorology produce weather and climate Astronomy Study of the universe Lec 1: Earth System  Geology Physical geology: Processes that operate on and below the Earth’s surface Historical geology: Origin of the Earth and its evolution Lec 1: Earth System  Evolution of geology 2300 years ago: Aristotle and other Greek philosophers wrote about fossils, gems, earthquakes, and volcanoes Mid- 1600s: James Ussher constructed a chronology of human and Earth history Earth created in 4004 BC 17th- 18th century: Catastrophism Earth’s landscapes had been shaped primarily by great sudden and often worldwide catastrophes Birth of Modern Geology (1795): Uniformitarianism proposed by James Hutton, popularized by Charles Lyell “The present is the key to the past.” Lec 1: Earth System  Popular writer John McPhee’s view on geologists: “They look at mud and see mountains, in mountains oceans, in oceans mountains to be. They go up to some rock and figure out a story, another rock, another story, and as the stories compile through time they connect—and long case histories are constructed and written from interpreted patterns of clues. This is detective work on a scale unimaginable to most detectives, with the notable exception of Sherlock Holmes.” Lec 1: Earth System  Natural events Geology in Economics and politics our lives Decision making Sustainable development Lec 1: Earth System Lec 1: Earth System  Scientific inquiry and method Scientific inquiry Scientific method Diverse ways to study the natural General procedure using world and propose explanations systematic observations and based on the evidence derived experiments for discovering how from studies the universe works Lec 1: Earth System  Scientific inquiry Description Example Collected through observations The sea is blue Fact and measurements to answer a Your average body temperature question is 37C Earth- centered model of the universe Tentative or untested explanation Hypothesis The Earth is billions of years old from facts and principles Burning of fossil fuels is causing global warming Well- tested and widely accepted Big Bang Theory Theory view that best explains certain Theory of Evolution observable facts General principle about how the Law of Gravitation Law universe works Law of Motion Lec 1: Earth System  Ask a question Collect data Iteration Propose new hypothesis Propose hypothesis Refine hypothesis Do more tests Test hypothesis Analyze results Results align with Results does not align with hypothesis hypothesis Report results Lec 1: Earth System Earth’s spheres Lec 1: Earth System Atmosphere Sphere of air surrounding the Earth Lec 1: Earth System Hydrosphere Sphere of water that covers ~70% of the Earth Lec 1: Earth System Biosphere Sphere of living things on Earth Lec 1: Earth System Geosphere Sphere of rock that is the Earth Lec 1: Earth System Earth’s spheres Lec 1: Earth System Earth’s spheres Lec 1: Earth System  Earth Science System Interdisciplinary approach that aims to study the Earth as a system composed of numerous interacting parts or subsystems Lec 1: Earth System  System Any size group of interacting parts that form a complex whole Lec 1: Earth System  Geosystem Lec 1: Earth System  Climate system Weather Climate Describes temperature, precipitation, Measures of how variable the cloud cover, and winds at a particular weather has been over many years location and time of observation Lec 1: Earth System  Driven by the earth’s internal heat Plate tectonic system occurs is a result from the interactions within the Earth’s interior Lec 1: Earth System  Geodynamo Involves interactions that produce a magnetic field deep inside the Earth in its liquid outer core. Lec 1: Earth System Earth System Powered by energy from external and internal processes Lec 1: Earth System  Questions? Lec 1: Earth System