Earth Science 1.1  What is Earth Science?

Earth Science 1.1  What is Earth Science? ○ Earth Science is the name given to group of sciences that deals with earth and the neighboring bodies in our solar system. ○ Earth Science includes, among others Geology Oceanography Meteorology Astronomy

Geology  Geology means “study of the Earth”  Geology is divided into two areas Physical geology Historical geology

Physical Geology  Physical geology includes the examination of the materials that makeup Earth and the possible explanations for the many processes that shape our planet  Understanding the origins of rocks and minerals is an important part of physical geology

Historical Geology  Historical geology’s aim is to understand the Earth’s long history of these processes.  Historical geology is concerned with establishing timelines of the vast amount of changes, both physical and biological, that have occurred on the Earth over the course of time.

Oceanography  Oceanography integrates the sciences of chemistry, physics geology and biology to study the composition and movements of seawater, as well as coastal processes, seafloor topography, and marine life.

Meteorology  Meteorology is the scientific study of the atmosphere and the processes that produce weather and climate  Like oceanography, meteorology also involves many other branches of science

Astronomy  Astronomy is the study of the Universe which includes earth’s position in relation to the Universe.  The science of astronomy is useful in probing the origins of our environment  All objects in space, including earth, are bound by the laws of physics. Learning about other objects in our solar system and the universe helps us to understand the Earth

Earth Science  Together these sciences interact to provide us with a clearer snapshot of the Earth Geology Oceanography Meteorology Astronomy

Formation of the Earth  Nebular hypothesis The nebular hypothesis suggests that the bodies of our solar system evolved from an enormous rotating cloud called a solar nebula.

 The Nebular Hypothesis claims that 5 billion years ago, for reasons unknown, a huge nebular cloud began to contract under its own gravitational influence. As it contracted it also had some rotational motion.

 The more it contracted the faster the cloud rotated, causing the nebular cloud to take on a disk shape. As the cloud collapsed, the temperature of the central mass continued to increase and most of the material was gravitationally pulled toward the center, producing the Sun.

 However, because of the rotational motion, some dust and gases remained orbiting the Sun. As these fragments began to condense and collide, they joined together into larger objects which eventually became the planets which continued to orbit the Sun.

Nebular Hypothesis  High temperatures and weak gravity characterized the inner planets. As a result, the inner planets were not able to hold on the lighter gases of the nebular cloud.  The lighter gases were whisked away toward the heavier planets by the solar wind  Earth, Mars, and Venus were able to hold onto some of the heavier gases including water vapor and carbon dioxide

Nebular Hypothesis  Because of their large size, the outer planets gravity was strong enough to retain all of these gases.

Layers form on the Earth  Shortly after Earth formed, the decay of radioactive elements, combined with heat released by colliding particles, producing some melting of it’s interior

 This allowed the denser elements, mostly iron and nickel, to sink to Earth’s center because of gravity. The less dense rocky components floated outward toward the surface.

 This sinking and floating is believed to be still be going on, but on a much smaller scale.  As a result, the Earth’s interior is not made up of uniform material. It consists instead of layers of differing materials.