Earth science

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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, the Earth being the only known life-bearing planet. There are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth science.

There are four major disciplines in earth sciences, namely geography, geology, geophysics and geodesy. These major disciplines use physics, chemistry, biology, chronology and mathematics to build a quantitative understanding of the principal areas or spheres of the Earth system.

For more information about Earth science, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

News tagged with earth sciences

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Warmer climate not the cause of oxygen deficiency in the Baltic Sea

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Oct 13, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

Oxygen deficiency in the Baltic Sea has never been greater than it is now. But it is not an effect of climate change but rather of increased inputs of nutrients and fertilisers. This is the finding of researchers at the University ...

Ancient rainforests resilient to climate change

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Oct 01, 2009 | 3.4 / 5 (7) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Climate change wreaked havoc on the Earth’s first rainforests but they quickly bounced back, scientists reveal today. The findings of the research team, led by Dr Howard Falcon-Lang from Royal ...

Scientists propose Antarctic location for 'missing' ice sheet

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Aug 25, 2009 | 3.5 / 5 (2) | 0

New research by scientists at UC Santa Barbara indicates a possible Antarctic location for ice that seemed to be missing at a key point in climate history 34 million years ago. The research, which has important ...

Warming ocean contributes to global warming

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Aug 14, 2009 | 4.4 / 5 (13) | 6

The warming of an Arctic current over the last 30 years has triggered the release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from methane hydrate stored in the sediment beneath the seabed.

Early initiation of Arctic sea-ice formation

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Jul 15, 2009 | 4.2 / 5 (11) | 0

Significant sea ice formation occurred in the Arctic earlier than previously thought is the conclusion of a study published this week in Nature. "The results are also especially exciting because they suggest that sea ice fo ...

How the moon got its stripes

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Jul 15, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (7) | 5

A new study has revealed the origins of tiger stripes and a subsurface ocean on Enceladus- one of Saturn's many moons. These geological features are believed to be the result of the moon's unusual chemical ...

Arctic climate under greenhouse conditions in the Late Cretaceous

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Jul 09, 2009 | 3.5 / 5 (10) | 1

New evidence for ice-free summers with intermittent winter sea ice in the Arctic Ocean during the Late Cretaceous - a period of greenhouse conditions - gives a glimpse of how the Arctic is likely to respond ...

Fledgling mantle plume may be cause of African volcano's unique lava

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Mar 13, 2009 | 5 / 5 (10) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Nyiragongo, an active African volcano, possesses lava unlike any other in the world, which may point toward its source being a new mantle plume says a University of Rochester geochemist. The ...

Mediterranean Sea dried up five million years ago

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Feb 16, 2009 | 4.4 / 5 (9) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Upward movement of the Earth's crust transformed the Straits of Gibraltar into a dam. Approximately five million years ago, the Mediterranean Sea dried up after it was sealed off from the Atlantic Ocean. ...

New Ice Age maps point to climate change patterns

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Jan 19, 2009 | 3.7 / 5 (9) | 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- New climate maps of the Earth’s surface during the height of the last Ice Age support predictions that northern Australia will become wetter and southern Australia drier due to climate change.