Understanding Earth - Earth Science Basics

Flashcards defining key vocabulary terms, disciplines, and concepts from Dr. Tyler Fricker's lecture on Earth Science basics.

Earth Science

The collective name for all the sciences that seek to understand Earth and its neighbors in space, including biology, geology, oceanography, geography, meteorology, and astronomy.

Biology

The study of life or living organisms, dealing with their structure, function, growth, evolution, and distribution.

Geology

The study of Earth, divided into physical geology and historical geology.

Physical Geology

A branch of geology that examines the materials composing Earth and seeks to understand the processes operating beneath and upon its surface.

Historical Geology

A branch of geology that investigates the origin of Earth and the development of the planet through its $4.6\text{-billion-year}$ history.

Oceanography

An interrelated field of study involving the application of all sciences to comprehensive studies of the oceans, including seawater composition, coastal processes, seafloor topography, and marine life.

Geography

The study of Earth across space that evaluates relationships among natural systems, geographic areas, and human cultures.

Meteorology

The study of the atmosphere and the processes that produce weather and climate.

Astronomy

The study of the universe.

Natural Hazards

A threat of a naturally occurring event that will have a negative effect on humans and their property.

Natural Resources

Resources drawn from nature and used with few modifications.

Anthropogenic Activities

Human actions that influence the environment.

Earth System Science

An academic field that studies Earth as a system composed of numerous interacting parts, or subsystems.

System

A group of interacting, or interdependent, parts that form a complex whole.

Atmosphere

The system of gases that envelope and protect the planet from harmful solar radiation, stretching from the surface of Earth to space.

Hydrosphere

The system of water in all its forms on Earth, including oceans, surface water, groundwater, and water vapor in the atmosphere.

Lithosphere

The system of structural rock on Earth, which includes the brittle upper portion of the mantle and the crust.

Biosphere

The system of Earth's living plants and organisms, comprising all parts of Earth where life exists.

Poles

Points on Earth's surface where the axis of rotation exists.

Axis

An imaginary straight line around which Earth rotates.

Continents

Flat, major landmass features of Earth's surface that have the appearance of plateaus protruding above sea level.

Ocean Basins

The areas of Earth's surface that are covered by seawater.

Continental Shields

Extensive, flat, stable areas of continents that have been eroded nearly to sea level.

Ridges

Linear ocean basin features where new crustal material is forced to the surface.

Trenches

Deep ocean basin canyons where old crustal material is pushed under another plate.

Geographic Grid

The network of parallels and meridians used to fix locations on Earth.

Meridian

A north-south line on Earth's surface connecting the poles.

Parallel

An east-west circle on Earth's surface lying on a plane parallel to the equator.

Latitude

An angular distance for a point north or south of the equator, measured from Earth's center.

Equator

The line at $0^\text{o}$ latitude that divides Earth into northern and southern hemispheres.

Longitude

An angular distance for a point east or west of the prime meridian, measured from Earth's center.

Prime Meridian

The line at $0^\text{o}$ longitude that divides Earth into eastern and western hemispheres.

Solar Time

Local time based on Earth's rotation and built on the concept of solar noon, when the sun reaches its highest angle.

Standard Time

Official clock time divided between meridians at equal intervals from the Prime Meridian and linked by Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

International Date Line

A human-created boundary that roughly follows the $180^\text{o}$ meridian, where crossing westward adds a day and crossing eastward subtracts a day.

Map

A graphic, scaled representative view of the Earth, or any portion of the Earth, as viewed from above.

Scale

The relationship between distance on a map and distance on the ground.

Map Projection

The reduction and flattening of the spherical Earth onto a flat surface.