What is Earth Science? A. EARTH SCIENCE: the study of Earth and its natural history B. Earth science is divided into 4 main branches:

1. GEOLOGY: study of the Earth’s geosphere 2. OCEANOGRAPHY: study of oceans 3. METEOROLOGY: study of weather and climate 4. ASTRONOMY: study of space

What is Earth Science? C. Earth scientists focus on the four

spheres of Earth:

2. HYDROSPHERE: all parts of the Earth that are water; solid, liquid, and gas

1. GEOSPHERE: the solid and inner parts of Earth; including the crust, mantle, & core

3. ATMOSPHERE: the envelope of gases surrounding the Earth

4. BIOSPHERE: all areas of Earth where life exists

D. Earth’s geography and regions are important in its study:

What is Geology? A.  GEOLOGY: the study of Earth’s geosphere B.  Geology is a science that can be broken into a number of

specialties: 1.  PETROLOGY: the study of rocks and the rock cycle 2.  PEDOLOGY: the study of soil 3.  SEISMOLOGY: the study of faults, earthquakes, and

seismic waves 4.  VULCANOLOGY: the study of form and function of

volcanoes

What is the Geosphere? A. GEOSPHERE: the solid and inner parts of Earth;

including the crust, mantle, & core

a.  It is 5 to 70 km thick and is the coolest b.  There are 2 types of crust

i.  Oceanic Crust ii.  Continental Crust

1. CRUST: the thin, solid outer layer of the Earth’s surface

2. MANTLE: a layer of liquid rock beneath the crust a.  It is 2,900 km and is the second hottest b.  There are 2 parts of the mantle

i.  Upper Mantle: thicker ii.  Lower Mantle: thinner

What is the Geosphere?

a. hottest layer b. There are 2 parts

i.  Outer Core: a liquid that is 2,250 km thick

ii.  Inner Core: a solid that is 1,300 km thick

3. CORE: the inner most layer of the Earth

What is the focus of petrology and pedology? A.  Much of earth’s changing crust is

made from rock, sediment, dirt, humus, and soil. 1.  ROCK: the solid mineral material

that makes up the earth’s crust 2.  SEDIMENT: smaller particles of

rock that have been removed by weathering or erosion

3.  DIRT: crushed rock sediment made of very small particles

4.  HUMUS: decomposed plant and animal material

5.  SOIL: a mixture of dirt and humus

What is the focus of petrology and pedology? B.  Geologists that study these materials are called petrologists

and/or pedologists: 1.  PETROLOGY: the study of rocks and the rock cycle 2.  PEDOLOGY: the study of dirt, humus, and soil formation

What is the Rock Cycle? A. ROCK CYCLE: the process where

rocks are slowly changed from one type of rock to another.

1.  Three major types of rocks: a.  IGNEOUS ROCK: rock formed

from the cooling of molten rock b.  SEDIMENTARY ROCK: rock

formed from sediment (smaller pieces of rock) being pressed together

c.  METAMORPHIC ROCK: rock formed when other rock is changed by heat and pressure

What is the Rock Cycle? B. The rock cycle is a series of stages that could begin and end

with magma.

Magma

MetamorphicRock

SedimentaryRockSediment

IgneousRock

VolcanicErup:onsandCoolingLava

WeatheringofRock

Erosion,Deposi:on,Compac:on,andCementa:on

Heatandpressurechange

therock

Subduc:onofEarth’scrustdownintothe

mantle