Disciplines
Earth Science
Also Known As Geoscience
Citation Formats
General Reference
APA Style
BibTeX
Earth science, also called geoscience, is the umbrella field for the natural sciences of the planet: the study of its solid geosphere, its water in the hydrosphere and cryosphere, its atmosphere, and the living biosphere as these interact. Its constituent branches, geology, geophysics, oceanography, meteorology and atmospheric science, and paleontology among them, each grew up on their own timeline rather than under one founding moment; atmospheric science, for instance, only took shape in the late nineteenth century once weather forecasting demanded it, while hydrology traces working knowledge back to ancient water engineering long before it became a science. This entity is the parent this atlas's own separately-founded earth-science disciplines belong to; no single founding year is recorded here for that reason.
Facts
Central QuestionSourced to the subject's own accountHow do the solid Earth, oceans, atmosphere and living things interact as one coupled system, and how has that system changed across the planet's 4.5 billion year history? 1 ScopeSourced to the subject's own accountEarth science is the umbrella term for the sciences of the planet Earth, including geology, oceanography, meteorology, glaciology and soil science, studied both as separate spheres and as one interacting Earth system. 1 SignificanceSourced to the subject's own accountAlexander von Humboldt's early nineteenth century expeditions across the Americas, recording climate, geology, magnetism and vegetation together rather than in isolation, are widely credited with establishing the holistic, comparative approach that later Earth system science formalized. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Encompasses
Founded By
Credited with establishing the field's holistic comparative method rather than with founding any one of its constituent sciences.
Sources
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.