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© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
Introduction to Earth Science
Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupting on April 17, 2010. Ash spread over much of
Europe and disrupted air traffic.
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
Earth Science
Encompasses all sciences that seek to
understand:
• Earth
• Earth’s neighbors in space
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
Earth Science
Earth Science includes
• Geology – the “study of Earth,” specifically its
surface and interior
• Oceanography – a study of the ocean
• Meteorology – the study of the atmosphere
and the processes that produce weather and
climate
• Astronomy – the study of the universe
visibleearth.nasa.gov
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
People and the Environment
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
People and the environment
Environment:
• Everything that surrounds and influences an
organism
• Ex. Water, air, soil, rock, other organisms, etc.
• Term “environmental” is usually reserved for
those aspects that focus on the relationships
between people and the natural environment
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
People and the environment
Population
• Population of the planet is growing rapidly
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
People and the environment
Population
• Population of the planet is growing rapidly
• It took Earth until about year 1800 to reach 1
billion people, and Earth is 4.6 billion years
old!
• How big is the number 4.6 billion?
• If you were to begin counting at the rate of one
number per second, never stopping, it would take
you 150 years to reach 4.6 billion!
• There are now over 7.3 billion people on
Earth (http://www.census.gov).
• All those people need resources to live
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
People and the environment
Resources
• Includes water, soil, minerals, and energy
• Rate of mineral and energy usage has
climbed
Bingham Canyon copper
mine, Salt Lake City, UT
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
People and the environment
Resources
• Two broad categories:
• Renewable – can be replenished (examples
include plants and energy from water and wind)
• Nonrenewable – cannot be replenished (examples
include metals and fossil fuels like coal and
gasoline)
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
People and the environment
Environmental problems
• Local, regional, and global
• Human-induced and accentuated
• Urban air pollution
• Acid rain
• Ozone depletion
• Global warming
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
People and the environment
Environmental problems
• Natural hazards
• Earthquakes
• Landslides
• Floods
• Hurricanes
• World population pressures
Top: debris flow in Caraballeda, Venezuela, 1999
Bottom: Hurricane Ike, Crystal Beach, Texas, 2008
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
Scientific Inquiry
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
Scientific inquiry
Science assumes the natural world is:
• Consistent
• Predictable
Goal of science
• To discover patterns in nature
• To use the patterns to make predictions
• Example: oil exploration
• Discovering how oil forms helps predict where to
find oil deposits
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
Scientific inquiry
An idea can become a
• Hypothesis (tentative or untested explanation)
• Theory (tested and confirmed hypothesis. It is
a tested and confirmed explanation that is
accepted by the scientific community)
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
Scientific inquiry
Scientific methods/ Methods of Science
• Gather facts through observation
• Formulate working hypotheses (often more
than one!)
• Examples: squeaky door
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
Scientific inquiry Scientific knowledge is gained through
• Following steps with insight and creativity
• Collecting facts
• Developing a hypothesis
• Conduct experiments/make observations
• Re-examine the hypothesis and accept, modify, or
reject
• Critique and testing by peers
• Models that withstand examination
• Models used for natural processes over long time
scales, or in remote locations
• Totally unexpected occurrences
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
Scientific Inquiry
Theory vs. law
• A theory does not “turn into” a law!
• Theory: an explanation of a natural event
• Law: a description of a natural event
• Example: color
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
Earth’s Spheres
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The Four Spheres of the Earth
Hydrosphere
Biosphere
Atmosphere
Geosphere
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
The Four Spheres
1. Hydrosphere
2. Atmosphere
3. Biosphere
4. Geosphere
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
The Four Spheres
1. Hydrosphere
2. Atmosphere
3. Biosphere
4. Geosphere
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
Hydrosphere: all the water on Earth
solid
liquid
gas
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
Earth’s “Spheres”
Hydrosphere
• The hydrosphere includes all the water on
earth (water vapor, rivers, lakes, oceans,
glaciers, groundwater, etc.)
• The ocean is the most prominent feature of
the hydrosphere
• Ocean covers about 71% of Earth’s surface
• Ocean contains about 97% of Earth’s water
• Only about 3% of Earth’s water is freshwater
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Hydrosphere
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Functions of the hydrosphere
Furnish water for life
Act as a geological transport agent (rain,
streams, glaciers, etc. erode sediment).
Act as a thermostat to moderate our
climate
• Keeps Earth from getting too hot or too cold
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
The Four Spheres
1. Hydrosphere
2. Atmosphere
3. Biosphere
4. Geosphere
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Atmosphere: the gases
surrounding a planet
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Functions of the atmosphere
Sustains life
Transfers moisture
Insulation
Weathers the crustal rocks to make soils
Protects against radiation from the sun
Protects against objects from space
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Atmosphere
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Atmosphere
Meteorology is the study of the
atmosphere
Composed of:
• Nitrogen 78%
• Oxygen 21%
• Argon 0.9%
• Other gases (CO2, H2Ov, etc.) 0.1%
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
The Four Spheres
1. Hydrosphere
2. Atmosphere
3. Biosphere
4. Geosphere
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Biosphere: all the life on Earth
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Biosphere: all the life on Earth
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Biosphere
This includes all life on Earth
• Concentrated near the surface in a zone that
extends from the ocean floor upward for a few
kilometers into the atmosphere
Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen
in the hydrosphere first formed life ~ 3.5
billion years ago.
• This first life evolved from nonliving matter
Diverse environmental conditions over the
globe enabled life to evolve and diversify
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
The Four Spheres
1. Hydrosphere
2. Atmosphere
3. Biosphere
4. Geosphere
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
Geosphere
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Geosphere
The solid Earth
Extends from the surface to the center of
the planet.
Includes the crust, mantle, and core.
Surface features represent the outward
expressions of the dynamic behavior of
Earth’s interior.
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Earth’s layered structure
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Each sphere is linked…
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
Earth System Science
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Earth system science
System – any group of interacting parts
that form a complex whole
• Example: city’s transportation system
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
Earth system science
Earth is a dynamic body with many
separate but highly interacting parts or
spheres
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
Review Questions