Portal:Earth sciences
Portal:Earth sciences
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Introduction
Earth sciences (also known as geoscience, the geosciences or Earth Science) is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. It is a special type of planetary science
which deals with the structure and composition of the Earth, its
origins, physical features, changing aspects, and all of its natural
phenomena. The earth is the only planet with living things.
The major disciplines of the Earth sciences use physics, mathematics, and chemistry to build a quantitative understanding of the principal areas or spheres of the Earth system. Like in many sciences, the Earth can be studied both experimentally and theoretically. Also, there are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth Science.
Although mining and precious stones have been human interests throughout the history of civilization, their development into the sciences of economic geology and mineralogy did not occur until the 18th century. The study of the earth, particularly palaeontology, blossomed in the 19th century and the growth of other disciplines like geophysics in the 20th century led to the development of the theory of plate tectonics
in the 1960s, which has had a similar impact on the Earth sciences as
the theory of evolution had on biology. Earth sciences today are
closely linked to climate research and the petroleum and mineral exploration industries.
Applications of the Earth sciences include the exploration and exploitation of mineral and hydrocarbon resources, cartography, weather forecasting patterns, and warning of volcanic eruptions. The Earth sciences are related to the environmental sciences as well as the other subfields of planetary astronomy.
Selected article
The April 6-8, 2006 Tornado Outbreak was a major tornado outbreak in the Central and parts of the Southern United States that began on April 6, 2006 in the Great Plains and continued until April 8 in South Carolina, with most of the activity on April 7. The hardest-hit area was Middle Tennessee where several strong tornadoes devastated entire neighborhoods and left nine people dead. The worst damage took place in Gallatin, Tennessee. Other communities north of Nashville
were also hard hit. There were 73 tornadoes confirmed across 13 states,
with the bulk of them coming on the afternoon and evening of April 7 across the South, particularly in Tennessee.
In total, 13 deaths were reported as a result of the severe weather (12
of them in Tennessee) and over $1.5 billion in damage was reported,[1] of which over $630 million was in Middle Tennessee.[2] It was the third major outbreak of 2006, hot on the heels of a major outbreak on April 2. It was also considered to be the worst disaster event in Middle Tennessee since the Nashville tornado outbreak on April 16, 1998.
Selected picture
Antarctica, the continent surrounding the Earth's South Pole, is the coldest place on earth and is almost entirely covered by ice. Antarctica was discovered in late January 1820. Too cold and dry to support virtually any vascular plants, Antarctica's flora presently consists of around 250 lichens, 100 mosses, 25-30 liverworts, and around 700 terrestrial and aquatic algal species.
Did you know?
- ...that nearly 10 years before the 2008 Atlanta Tornado, the Dunwoody Tornado (as pictured) caused significant damage just outside the city limits?
- ...that the Lorain-Sandusky tornado was both the deadliest tornado and part of the deadliest tornado outbreak in Ohio history?
- ...that Cyclone Gamede in February 2007 was among the wettest tropical cyclones on record, dropping more than 5.5 m (18 ft) in a nine day period on Réunion island?
- ...that in Madagascar and Mozambique, Cyclone Jokwe killed 16 people, left at least 55400 homeless, and destroyed nearly 10000 houses?
- ...that following the Cambrian explosion, about 535 mya, there have been five mass extinctions?
Things you can do
- Feel free to add anything that you feel needs improvement. Be sure to check out the list of geology pages needing attention.
- There are currently many geoscience stubs in need of work, which you may find listed at: Geology stubs - Mineral stubs - Oceanography stubs - Atmospheric science stubs - Hurricane stubs - Geography stubs
- There are also a bunch of related WikiProjects underway, listed in
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WikiProjects
Quick links to WikiProjects
- Rocks and Minerals
- Soil
- Tropical Cyclones
- Climate change
- Formation Evaluation
- Paleontology
- Geology
- Geologic timescale
- Volcanoes
- Mining
See also
Quality content
Featured articles related to Earth sciences-
• 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens • 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake • Chicxulub crater • Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event • Earth • Ediacara biota • Geology of the Bryce Canyon area • Geology of the Capitol Reef area • Geology of the Lassen volcanic area • Global warming • Oil shale • Silverpit crater • Yellowstone National Park (More...)
• Amchitka • Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve • Eldfell • Enceladus (moon) • Io (moon) • Mauna Loa • Metacomet Ridge • Mount Pinatubo • Mount St. Helens • Mount Tambora • Surtsey • Triton (moon) (More...)
Ann Arbor, Michigan · Antarctica · 
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Featured lists related to Earth science-
· Storms in the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season · Baja California Peninsula hurricanes · California hurricanes · Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes · Category 5 Pacific hurricanes · Delaware hurricanes · Florida hurricanes · Florida hurricanes (pre-1900) · Florida hurricanes (1900–1949) · Florida hurricanes (1950–1974) · Florida hurricanes (1975–1999) · Florida hurricanes (2000–present) · New Jersey hurricanes · New York hurricanes · North Carolina hurricanes · North Carolina hurricanes (pre-1900) · North Carolina hurricanes (1900–1949) · North Carolina hurricanes (1950–1979) · North Carolina hurricanes (1980–present) · Retired Pacific hurricane names · Retired Pacific typhoon names (JMA) · Snow events in Florida · South America tropical cyclones · Storms in the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season · United States hurricanes · Wettest tropical cyclones in the United States · Volcanoes in Indonesia · Canadian provinces and territories by area · Canadian provinces and territories by population · Counties of Lithuania · Indian districts · Indian state and union territory capitals · Islands of Scotland · Municipalities of Lithuania · Orkney islands · Provinces of the Philippines · Shetland islands · Provinces of Thailand · U.S. states by date of statehood · U.S. states by elevation · Municipalities of Portugal · Ohio county name etymologies · List of areas in the National Park System of the United States
Related topics
| Atmosphere | Hydrosphere | Lithosphere |
|---|---|---|
| Biosphere | Systems | Others |
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