Introduction to Earth Science

Overview of Earth Science

 Earth science is the name of the group
of sciences that deals with Earth and its
neighbors in space.

Earth science is divided into four broad

categories:

 Geology—the study of the solid Earth

 Oceanography—the study of the Earth’s
oceans
 Meteorology—the study of the Earth’s Geosphere Divisions
atmosphere  The dense core has two parts; a solid
 Astronomy—the study of the Earth’s inner core and a liquid outer core.
place in the universe  The rocky mantle is divided into an lower
mantle and upper mantle.
Differentiation  The rock in the upper part of the upper
 As the newly formed Earth cooled layers mantle is somewhat flexible and
formed through a process called pliable—it’s called the asthenosphere
differentiation. (weak sphere).
 Denser elements (iron and nickel) sink to  The outer crust is divided into continental
the Earth’s core. crust and oceanic crust.
 Lighter rocks and materials migrate  This rigid outermost layer is called the
outward forming the mantle and crust. lithosphere (rock sphere).

A View of the Earth

Earth consists of 4 major spheres:

 Hydrosphere
 Atmosphere
 Geosphere
 Biosphere

 The hydrosphere includes all liquid water

on Earth—both saltwater and fresh water. LIST OF PLATE
1. North American plate
 The atmosphere consists of the gaseous 2. Pacific plate
envelope surrounding the Earth. 3. Philippine plate
 Although the atmosphere extends more 4. Australian plate
than 100km up, 90% is within 16km of the 5. Eurasian plate
surface. 6. Arabian plate
7. African plate
 The biosphere includes all life on Earth. 8. South American plate
 The biosphere is concentrated in a zone 9. Nazca plate
that extends from the ocean floor 10. Caribbean plate
upward several kilometers in the 11. Cocos plate
atmosphere. 12. Juan de Fuca plate
13. Antartic plate
 The geosphere consists of the solid parts
of the planet and is not uniform. 3 TYPES OF PLATE TECTONIC BOUNDARIES
(KUHA SA INTERNET)
 Based on differences in composition it is The Earth’s lithosphere, which includes the
divided into three main regions, the core, crust and upper mantle, is made up of a
the mantle, and the crust. series of pieces, or tectonic plates, that
move slowly over time.

A divergent boundary occurs when two

tectonic plates move away from each other.
Along these boundaries, earthquakes are
common and magma (molten rock) rises
from the Earth’s mantle to the surface,
solidifying to create new oceanic crust. The
Mid-Atlantic Ridge is an example of
divergent plate boundaries.

When two plates come together, it is known

as a convergent boundary. The impact of
the colliding plates can cause the edges of
one or both plates to buckle up into a
mountain ranges or one of the plates may
bend down into a deep seafloor trench. A
chain of volcanoes often forms parallel to
convergent plate boundaries and powerful
earthquakes are common along these
boundaries. The Pacific Ring of Fire is an
example of a convergent plate boundary.

At convergent plate boundaries, oceanic

crust is often forced down into the mantle
where it begins to melt. Magma rises into
and through the other plate, solidifying into
granite, the rock that makes up the
continents. Thus, at convergent boundaries,
continental crust is created and oceanic
crust is destroyed.

Two plates sliding past each other forms a

transform plate boundary. One of the most
famous transform plate boundaries occurs
at the San Andreas fault zone, which
extends underwater. Natural or human-
made structures that cross a transform
boundary are offset — split into pieces and
carried in opposite directions. Rocks that line
the boundary are pulverized as the plates
grind along, creating a linear fault valley or
undersea canyon. Earthquakes are
common along these faults. In contrast to
convergent and divergent boundaries, crust
is cracked and broken at transform margins, Maps and Mapping
but is not created or destroyed.  No matter what type of map is made,
some portion of the surface will always
(BALIK SA PPT) appear too small, big, or out of place.
Plate Tectonics  Cartographers (mapmakers) have found
 The lithosphere is broken into several ways to limit the distortion of shape, size,
sections called plates. distance, and direction.
 The Theory of Plate Tectonics states that
earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain The Mercator Projection
building, and the movement of  Made by taking slices of a globe’s
continents are the result of the surface and stretching the ends to meet.
movement of lithospheric plates.  Directions accurate
 Size and distance distorted.
Representing Earth’s Surface
 Specifying a location on Earth’s surface Robinson Projection
is done using a grid system of latitude  Shows most distances, sizes, and shapes
and longitude. accurately.
 Latitude is the distance north or south of  Distortions present along edges.
the equator (measured in degrees).
 Longitude is the distance east or west of Other map projections:
the prime meridian (also in degrees). A conic projection is made by wrapping a
cone around the Earth at a particular line of
latitude. (almost no distortion at that line)
A gnomonic projection is made by placing Hippos --- > Hypothesis- Educated guess of
a sheet of paper on a globe so that it is outcome
touching only one spot. Play ----- > Procedure-Steps/Experiment
See page 13 in text. Dominoes --> Data-Info collected/recorded
And ------ > Analysis-Analyze data for results
Topographic Maps Checkers - > Conclusion-Is hypothesis
 Topographic maps show Earth’s correct or not and possibly why
elevation using contour lines.
 All spots along a particular contour line Hypothesis
have the same elevation.  Once observations have been made
 The contour interval on a topo map and data gathered, scientists try to
gives the user the difference in elevation explain how or why things happen in the
between each contour line. manner observed.
 They state a possible explanation called
a scientific hypothesis.
 Geologic Maps are those that also
contain information about the type and Theory vs. Law
age of rock formations in the area.  Once further observations have been
made and/or tests performed, scientists
More on maps either accept, modify, or reject their
 All maps represent a certain area so a hypothesis.
scale is included to compare actual  A Theory is based on many observations.
distances. A Law is accepted as the best
 Satellites have made accurate explanation of observable facts and
cartography much simpler than in the proven by experiments.
past.
NOTES AFTER QUIZ
Earth System Science
 Earth system science aims to study the Earth shape - oblate spheroid
Earth as a system made up of numerous
interacting parts, or subsystems. Global Grid or Geographic Grid
 A system can be any size group of - intersecting lines
interacting parts that form a complex North to South - > parallel
whole. East to West - > parallel

The Earth system is powered by 2 sources of Equator

energy: -> Great Circle
 The Sun– which drives external processes -> pass through the center of Earth
in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and at -> divide the Earth into halves
the surface. -> does not pass through the pole
 The Earth’s interior heat—which drives
plate tectonics. Meridians
-> connects the poles and indicates the
 Each system affects the other. longitudes
 The actions of nature and people -> half of great circle
produce changes in all of the other parts -> East and West of Prime Meridian
of the Earth system.
 Resources (some renewable, some not), Prime Meridian
population, pollution, global warming, -> Divide the Earth into Eastern and Western
species extinction, etc. are some halves
examples. -> 0 degrees
- > North to South
Scientific Inquiry
 All science is based on two big East -> 90 degrees
assumptions:
 The universe behaves in a consistent and Latitude -> all lines are parallel to each other
predictable manner.
 Through study, we can understand this 1 degrees = 60 minutes
behavior. = 69 miles

Scientific Method (Phrase) Trophic of Cancer

Purple --- > Purpose-Reason for experiment -> 23 degrees and 26 minutes
-> Northern part of the globe
Anti-Meridians
-> 180 degrees
-> 1st and 4th

Trophic of Capricorn
-> same degrees as cancer
-> southern part of the globe

Relative Location
-> Comparing location to other

Absolute Location
-> referencing a specific part of the Earth

Prime Meridian
-> reference line in measuring longitude

Equator
-> reference line in measuring latitude