Learn Earth Science
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Atmosphere
From the troposphere to the exosphere, study the atmosphere. Topics include the ozone layer, magnetosphere, and weather.
Geology
Geology is the study and science of Earth’s land forms. This includes how they were created, have changed over time, and how they will evolve.
Biology
Biology works with time, disease, ecosystems, and why we are here today. It also works on different scales like individual atoms to the entire biosphere.
Career
If you are interested in a career in environmental science, there are lots of opportunities available. Find out how diverse the field is.
Space
Space is beyond Earth’s atmosphere. It applies the concepts from physics, biology, and geology to explain our planet’s origin and evolution.
Water Science
Water is all around us. From oceans to freshwater lakes, this field studies everything from deep ocean water life to the flow of currents.
Atmosphere
The exosphere is the upper part of Earth’s atmosphere. It starts at about 500 km and gradually extends into the vacuum of outer space at…
The Coriolis effect is the deflection of air due to Earth’s rotation. Air veers to the right in the northern hemisphere. And vice versa south…
Because greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere, this helps regulate temperature on Earth. Without the greenhouse effect, we’d live in an icebox.
In flesh and blood, 7.6 billion humans live on Earth. The emergence of humans has left a profound impact. The demand for resources is the…
The magnetic field gives us a layer out in space called the magnetosphere. Without it, Earth would be exposed to solar and cosmic radiation.
Climate feedback loops either amplify or reduce climate change. Positive feedback loops like permafrost melt amplifies climate change because it releases methane.
Biology
All living things rely on each other in the food chain. Energy transfers through living organisms from predators, herbivores, producers and decomposers.
The main idea of photosynthesis is it takes carbon dioxide from the air. Then, it uses carbon with water to convert it into a chemical…
In flesh and blood, you have been genetically fine-tuned as a product of natural selection. Without evolution, complex beings like humans wouldn’t exist.
All life contains types of carbon. When an organism dies, carbon dating examines the ratio between carbon-14 (C14) and carbon-12 (C12) to estimate age.
Biodiversity or “biological diversity” refers to the variety or genetic diversity of species in an ecosystem. Ecosystems rely on biodiversity for resiliency.
The Earth breathes. We gauge Earth net primary productivity by how much carbon dioxide plants absorb from the atmosphere minus how much it respires.
Career
Soil scientists study how soils relate as a natural resource. This includes soil formation factors, classification, physical and chemical properties.
Geotechnical Engineers understand the behavior of earth materials. For example, they interpret rock and soil samples to investigate subsurface conditions.
Working in ecology is seeing conservation in action. These 7 questions and answers evaluate ecologists career for salary, job duties and potential employers.
This list of 30 Earth Science careers has everything you need to know to carve your own career path as an Earth scientist. It’s time…
Agronomists focus on crop production and applying new technologies. An agronomist studies plant science to improve efficiency in crop production.
Hydrogeologists are groundwater specialists who focus on how soil and rock relate to groundwater. This includes the transportation of water into the surface.
Geology
The Indo-Australian Plate combines the Australian & Indian Plate. Widely considered two separate plates, it includes Australia, India and the Indian Ocean.
The earliest anatomically modern human fossil found was dated at about 200-300,000 years old in Morocco, Africa. They had modern faces and used stone tools.
“Lahar” is an Indonesian word for mudflow at volcanoes. Lahar flows down volcanoes as a mix of mostly water, mud and rock debris (similar to…
Mechanical weathering is the breakdown of rocks into sediments by physical means.This type of weathering does not alter the chemical composition of rocks.
The Pacific Plate stretches all the way along the west coast of North America and reaches all the way to the east coast of the…
The Cenozoic Era started with the extinction of dinosaurs and moved into the age of mammals.This led to the diversification and increase in size of…
Space
Not only is planet Mercury the closest to the sun, but it has extreme temperatures. Facts about Mercury: Its long comet-like tail, craters and unusual…
All galaxies have supermassive black holes at the center of it. These collapsed stars are a few times the mass of a sun which run…
Carbon dioxide dominates Mars atmosphere. But Earth is rich in nitrogen and oxygen. Mars has a much thinner atmosphere. In fact, Earth is 100x denser.
How many spheres of Earth exist on Earth? If you count them all, you would get about 17 of them. This is the definitive guide…
Imagine sticking a pencil into the Earth’s poles and twisting your wrist 23.5°. This is the Earth tilt essential in seasonal patterns, climate and life…
Planet Venus neighbors the Earth. It’s the second planet closest the sun. Other facts include its counterclockwise rotation and how it rains sulfuric acid.
Water
When it rains, water zig-zags all the way through a tributary system to a river or lake. Like an upside-down umbrella, a watershed catches all…
Eutrophication occurs in water bodies when too many nutrients are introduced. Over-fertilization of water causes algae to grow blocking sunlight for plants.
2 theories exist for the origin of water on Earth: Did comets transport water? Or was there degassing from volcanoes from rocks existing within the…
Streams carrying too much sediment clogs the entrance into the basin. As sediments dump in, water flow decelerates and widens the entrance forming a delta.
Coral reefs are biodiversity hotspots for ocean life. Remarkably, about 1/4 of marine species reside in them. So the spotlight is on coral reefs for…
Tsunamis are long, tall waves that can be disastrous to anything nearby. But what causes tsunamis? 80% start from earthquakes. And how do tsunamis form?
