1. Earth Science, 13e Tarbuck & Lutgens

2. Introduction to Earth Science Earth Science, 13e Chapter 1 Stanley C. Hatfield Southwestern Illinois College

3. Warm up:  List your 4 vocabulary words with definitions.

4. Earth Science  Encompasses all sciences that seek to understand  Earth  Earth’s neighbors in space  Earth Science includes  Geology – literally the “study of Earth”  Oceanography – a study of the ocean

5. Earth Science  Earth Science includes  Meteorology – the study of the atmosphere and the processes that produce weather  Astronomy – the study of the universe

6. People and the environment  Environment  Surrounds and influences organisms  Physical environment encompasses water, air, soil, and rock  Term “environmental” is usually reserved for those aspects that focus on the relationships between people and the natural environment

7. People and the environment  Resources  An important focus of the Earth sciences  Includes water, soil, minerals, and energy  Two broad categories  Renewable – can be replenished (examples include plants and energy from water and wind)  Nonrenewable – metals (examples include metals and fuels)

8. People and the environment  Population  Population of the planet is growing rapidly  Rate of mineral and energy usage has climbed more rapidly than the overall growth of population  Environmental problems  Local, regional, and global

9. People and the environment  Environmental problems  Human-induced and accentuated  Urban air pollution  Acid rain  Ozone depletion  Global warming  Natural hazards  Earthquakes  Landslides

10. People and the environment  Environmental problems  Natural hazards continued  Floods  Hurricanes  World population pressures

11. Scientific inquiry  Science assumes the natural world is  Consistent  Predictable  Goal of science  To discover patterns in nature  To use the knowledge to predict

12. Scientific inquiry  An idea can become a  Hypothesis (tentative or untested explanation)  Theory (tested and confirmed hypothesis)  Paradigm (a theory that explains a large number of interrelated aspects of the natural world)  Scientific method  Gather facts through observation  Formulate hypotheses and theories

13. Scientific inquiry  Scientific knowledge is gained through  Following systematic steps  Collecting facts  Developing a hypothesis  Conduct experiments  Re-examine the hypothesis and accept, modify, or reject  Theories that withstand examination  Totally unexpected occurrences

14. Early evolution of Earth  Origin of Earth  Most researchers believe that Earth and the other planets formed at essentially the same time  Nebular hypothesis  Solar system evolved from an enormous rotating cloud called the solar nebula  Nebula was composed mostly of hydrogen and helium

15. Early evolution of Earth  Origin of Earth  Nebular hypothesis continued  About 5 billion years ago the nebula began to contract  Assumes a flat, disk shape with the protosun (pre-Sun) at the center  Inner planets begin to form from metallic and rocky clumps  Larger outer planets began forming from fragments with a high percentage of ices

16. The Nebular hypothesis

17. Early evolution of Earth  Formation of Earth’s layered structure  As Earth formed, the decay of radioactive elements and heat from high-velocity impacts caused the temperature to increase  Iron and nickel began to melt and sink toward the center  Lighter rocky components floated outward, toward the surface  Gaseous material escaped from Earth’s interior to produce the primitive atmosphere

18. Earth’s “Spheres”  Hydrosphere  Ocean – the most prominent feature of the hydrosphere  Nearly 71 percent of Earth’s surface  About 97 percent of Earth’s water  Also includes fresh water found in streams, lakes, and glaciers, as well as that found underground

19. Earth’s “Spheres”  Atmosphere  Thin, tenuous blanket of air  One half lies below 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles)  Biosphere  Includes all life  Concentrated near the surface in a zone that extends from the ocean floor upward for several kilometers into the atmosphere

20. Earth’s “Spheres”  Solid Earth  Based on compositional differences, it consists of the crust, mantle, and core  Divisions of the outer portion are based on how materials behave  Lithosphere – rigid outer layer  Divisions of Earth’s surface – continents and ocean basins

21. Earth’s layered structure

22. Earth system science  Earth is a dynamic body with many separate but highly interacting parts or spheres  Earth system science studies Earth as a system composed of numerous parts, or subsystems  System – any size group of interacting parts that form a complex whole

23. Earth system science  System  Closed systems are self-contained (e.g., an automobile cooling system)  Open systems – both energy and matter flow into and out of the system (e.g., a river system)

24. Earth system science  Feedback mechanisms  Negative-feedback mechanisms resist change and stabilize the system  Positive-feedback mechanisms enhance the system  Earth as a system  Consists of a nearly endless array of subsystems (e.g., hydrologic cycle, rock cycle)

25. Earth system science  Earth as a system  Sources of energy  Sun – drives external processes such as weather, ocean circulation and erosional processes  Earth’s interior – drives internal processes including volcanoes, earthquakes and mountain building  Humans are part of the Earth system

26. Create a visual that includes and incorporates: the nebular hypothesis and the Earth’s Spheres Describe the steps of the Nebular Hypothesis Describe each sphere

27. Warm up 8/28/13  Finish your poster!  Name the four spheres  Explain each sphere

28. Warm up  Name the four spheres  Explain each sphere  Get out your scavenger hunt