CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO
EARTH SCIENCE
Earth Science
• The investigation of interactions
among the four components of
the Earth system . . .
– atmosphere (air, weather)
– hydrosphere (water, ice)
– biosphere (plants, animals)
– geosphere (land, rocks)
• . . . and their interaction with the
exosphere (sun, space).
Science is . . .
• . . . a process of discovery that
increases our body of knowledge.
• . . . information that can be
learned; much of it is waiting to
be discovered.
• . . . the curiosity and creativity of
scientists in the search for
answers to critical questions.
Science is not . . .
• . . . a list of facts to be
memorized.
How do Earth Scientists Collect Their
Data?
• Direct measurements
– Samples or data are
collected at field locations
(i.e. rock samples are
collected from an outcrop)
• Indirect information
– Data is collected and then
used for interpretation of
something else (i.e.
measurements of
magnetic susceptibility are
used to determine rock
type present on the ocean
floor)
• Modeling
– Physical of computer
models that simulate earth
processes (i.e. wave
tanks)
To “do science” we need observations,
a testable hypothesis, and one or more
predictions based on the hypothesis.
• Hypothesis – a testable
explanation that can be verified or
falsified
• Observations – facts,
measurements, information, data
collected using the senses
• Prediction – a statement of what
will happen in a given situation or
set of circumstances
Hypotheses can be tested using either
inductive or deductive reasoning.
1. Inductive reasoning - drawing
general conclusions from specific
observations.
• Involves recognizing
patterns in data
2. Deductive reasoning - drawing
specific conclusions based upon
general principles.
• Involves applying laws,
principles
Science follows some basic rules – that
loosely define the scientific method
1. A scientific hypothesis is
tentative and can change
2. A scientific hypothesis should be
predictable and testable – test
results should either support or
falsify the hypothesis
3. A scientific hypothesis is based
on data from empirical (based on
experience) observations or
experiments
4. A scientific hypothesis offers a
well-defined natural cause to
explain a natural event
Not all science is “good” science:
This can be of particular concern
when reading about science reported
in the popular media.
Common pitfalls:
1) Attacking scientists rather than
the science
 Not uncommon when religious • Ensure the future of humanity
views conflict with science from global threats such as
1) Misuse of authority climate change or an asteroid
Can happen when politics impact
conflicts science
1) Confusing cause and effect
If this happened, then that must
have been the reason
1) Poor statistics
Using empirical data
incorrectly
Earth Scientist’s role in Society:
• Alert people to earth processes
(hazards) that may cause
damage or loss of life
• Prevention – Which
hazards are we most likely
(or least likely) to be able
to prevent?
• Example:
Prevention of
flooding as a result
of construction of
floodwalls and
levees
• Adjustment – strategies
for minimizing the impact
of hazards
• Example: Building
code regulations in
areas of frequent
earthquakes
• Provide for material needs of
society by managing natural
resources
• Renewable resources –
water, soil
• Non-renewable resources
– oil, coal, metals
➢ Sustainable society – a society that
satisfies its need for resources
without jeopardizing the needs of
future generations
• Protect us from activities that may
endanger the natural environment
CHAPTER 2 EARTH IN SPACE
From a Geocentric to Heliocentric
System
• Geocentric orbit hypothesis -
Ancient civilizations interpreted
rising of sun in east and setting in
west to indicate the sun (and
other planets) revolved around
Earth
– Remained dominant idea
for more than 2,000 years
From a Geocentric to Heliocentric
System
• Heliocentric orbit hypothesis –
16th century idea suggested by
Copernicus
• Confirmed by Galileo’s early 17th
century observations of the
phases of Venus
– Changes in the size and
shape of Venus as
observed from Earth
• Galileo used early telescopes to
observe changes in the size and
shape of Venus as it revolved
around the sun
Earth, a small, rocky planet, orbits the
. . . the sun, a medium sized star,
. . one of billions of stars in the Milky
Way galaxy, . . . one of billions of
galaxies in the universe.
Size of the Universe: Luminosity
Brightness of pulsating stars – cepheid
variables – was used to determine
distance from Earth
– Brighter stars = closer to
Earth
– Dimmer stars = farther
from Earth
Repeated measurements determined
cepheid variables were moving away
from Earth
– Interpretation → the
universe is expanding
Size of the Universe: Doppler Effect
Doppler Effect: The apparent change in
the frequency of sound waves or light
waves due to the motion of a source
relative to an observer
– Example: change in frequency
(pitch) of a siren from passing
police car
➢ Sound/light waves are compressed
for objects moving toward an
observer
➢ Sound/light waves are stretched out
for objects moving away from an
observer
• The change in frequency of a
passing siren can be used to
determine the speed of the police car
• Light on Earth is a form of solar
radiation and occurs at specific
wavelengths from 380-750
nanometers
➢ The color of light from
distant stars is stretched
(“shifted”) toward
wavelengths at the red end
of the spectrum
• Astronomers use the degree of “red
shift” to determine the distance to far
away galaxies more than 13 billion
light years (distance) from Earth
Size and Age of the Universe
• If the color of light from other stars is
“shifted” toward the red end of the
spectrum
• Other objects in the universe are
moving away from Earth and from
each other
• The farther away the star, the greater
the red shift and the faster the star is
moving away from us
• The universe must be expanding
Light from the most distant stars has
traveled more than 13 billion light
years (distance) in 13 billion years
(time)
The Big Bang Theory
• Reversing the expansion of the
universe suggests the universe
began with an episode of rapid
expansion from a much more
compact form
• The almost instantaneous period of
rapid expansion is known as the Big
Bang
• Within hours of the Big Bang, simple
elements (hydrogen, helium) formed
as subatomic particles combined
− Hydrogen – 1 proton + 1
electron
− Helium – 2 protons + 2
neutrons + 2 electrons
Stars and Planets
• Just 3 elements – hydrogen, oxygen,
carbon - make up 90% of the human
body (by weight)
• Five more – nitrogen, calcium,
phosphorus, potassium, sulfur –
make up 9% more
• Small amounts of many other
elements needed for life
• Hydrogen formed soon after the Big
Bang
• Other elements and complex
compounds formed during the life
cycle of stars
• Gravity pulled together irregular
clouds of gas and dust generated
from the Big Bang to form galaxies
(systems of stars)
• Gas and dust material clumped
together to form millions of stars
(ongoing process)
− Very high temperatures
and pressures in the
interiors of stars fuses
hydrogen atoms together –
nuclear fusion – to form
helium
− Stars burn out when
hydrogen is used up
Stars vary in size, age
− Giant stars are 100-1,000
times brighter than the sun
but burn out faster
− Giant stars burn out in 10-
20 million years
− Intermediate-sized stars
such as the sun will last
approximately 10 billion
years
The sun will collapse when hydrogen is
used up
− resulting in a temporary
temperature rise and
expansion (to form a red
giant star)
− higher temperatures would
fuel more fusion converting
helium → carbon
Fusion would end when helium is used
up
• The loss of the heat of
fusion would form a
smaller white dwarf star
that will cool to a black
dwarf star
Giant stars collapse over multiple
stages, initially forming red supergiant
stars
− Collapse forms
increasingly complex
elements (e.g., carbon →
oxygen)
Final stage is a massive explosion –
supernova – that fuses heavier
elements together and blasts them
through the universe
When stars form, they are surrounded
by a rotating disk of cosmic debris
Gravity pulls debris together to form
planets that revolve in a consistent
direction around star
− Heavier, rocky planets
closer to star
− Lighter, gas-rich planets
farther from star
Potentially thousands or millions of
extra-solar planets revolve around other
stars
Solar system - sun and surrounding
planets
Sun = 99.8% of total mass of the solar
system
− Sun 150,000,000 km from
Earth
Sun undergoes differential rotation
− Sun’s equatorial region
rotates faster (25 days)
than polar regions (36
days)
− Results in disruption of
sun’s magnetic field to
produce sunspots and
solar flares
Sunspot cycle
− Variation in the number of
sunspots over an 11-year
cycle
− Few sunspots visible
during solar minimum
− More than 100 sunspots
during solar maximum
• The solar wind is a stream of
charged particles emitted from sun’s
magnetic field (1,600,000 km/hr)
• The solar wind affects a volume of
space known as the heliosphere
• Earth’s magnetic field deflects the
solar wind
o Interactions of solar wind with
Earth’s magnetic field
generates aurora in the upper
atmosphere of polar regions
o Occasional solar eruptions
can disrupt Earth’s magnetic
field to produce electrical
blackouts
▪ Satellites in greater
danger from solar
flares than features on
surface
What about Pluto?
• Improved technology
resulted in recent
discoveries of several
distant objects that were
similar size or larger than
Pluto
 • International Astronomical
Union (IAU) could either
1. Consider the new
objects as new
planets
2. Classify the new
objects – and Pluto
– as a new group of
objects
• IAU chose option #2
• IAU adopted a new
definition of the term
planet:
A planet is an object that orbits a
star and is massive enough (~400 km
radius) for gravity to pull its material into
an approximately spherical shape. A
planet would have cleared the
neighborhood around its orbit.
• Pluto does not meet the
last part of the definition
and was considered a
founding member of a new
class of objects - dwarf
planets
Terrestrial Planets
• Composed of rocks
• Divided into compositional
layers
− Crust – composed
of lighter elements
(e.g., silicon,
oxygen)
− Mantle
− Core – composed of
heavier elements
(e.g., iron, nickel)
found in metallic
meteorites
Jovian Planets
• Large, gas giants
• Much of the volume of the
planets is a thick
atmosphere overlying
oceans of liquid gases
• Characterized by many
moons and ring systems
Why is it colder in winter and
warmer in summer?
• Common misconception
that Earth is closer to the
sun during summer and
farther away in winter
• But Earth is actually closer
to sun in winter (in the
northern hemisphere) and
farther away in summer.
• Seasonal temperature
contrasts are due to the tilt
of Earth’s axis and angle
of Sun’s rays
Tilt = 23.5 degrees
• Amount of solar energy
(insolation) reaching Earth’s
surface depends on the angle the
Sun’s rays strike Earth
• More heat delivered by insolation
where the Sun is directly
overhead
– As sunlight is distributed
over a smaller area
– Total annual insolation is
least at Poles, greatest at
the Equator
• Sun is directly overhead at different − Crust – composed of
places (tropics, equator) during lighter elements (e.g.,
different seasons silicon, oxygen)
− During summer in − Mantle – composed of
the northern rocks made up of 3 key
hemisphere, the elements (oxygen, silicon,
sun is directly magnesium)
overhead at the
− Core – iron and nickel
Tropic of Cancer
− solid inner core
− During winter in the
northern − partially melted outer
hemisphere, the core is source of
Sun is directly Earth’s magnetic
overhead at the field
Tropic of Capricorn
• Scientists recognize two layers with
in the southern
different properties near the surface
hemisphere
− Lithosphere – rigid outer
• Sun is directly overhead at different
layer composed of crust
places (tropics, equator) during
and upper mantle
different seasons
− Asthenosphere – plastic,
− During spring and
slowly flowing layer in
fall in the northern
uppermost part of mantle
hemisphere, the
sun is directly • Lithosphere divided into large slabs
overhead at the known as tectonic plates
Equator
− Plates move over Earth’s
Why day length changes? surface to produce
earthquakes, volcanoes,
• Hours of daylight change
mountain belts, and
With latitude – higher latitudes have various features on the
more daylight than low latitudes in seafloor
summer, less in winter
Geothermal gradient
With time of year – all locations have
• Earth’s temperature
more daylight in summer and less in
increases with depth
winter
Average temperature rise is
• Earth’s interior can be divided into
25oC/kilometer
three major compositional layers
• Heat generated by the:
 − Formation of the planet – all
terrestrial planets cooled
following formation
▪ Only large planets still
retain heat
− Radioactive decay of
elements in Earth’s interior
Earth shares many features with
other planets, so what makes it so
special?
• Liquid water
• Gravity and a protective atmosphere
• Life-sustaining gases
• A strong magnetic field
Liquid water is essential for life on
Earth and is maintained by appropriate
temperature range (0-100oC)
Venus
− Too close to Sun, original water
evaporated to atmosphere
− Water vapor molecules (H2O)
split by ultraviolet radiation and
hydrogen lost to space
Mars
− Too cold today to have liquid
water, some frozen
Earth’s size is sufficient to produce
enough gravity to hold a thick
atmosphere of gases in place
Atmosphere protects us from:
• Incoming asteroids/comets
• Harmful solar radiation (x-rays,
UV)
Earth’s biosphere has altered the
composition of the atmosphere to add
oxygen and extract toxic carbon dioxide
Atmosphere composition affects
temperature:
− Higher carbon dioxide content on
Venus produces temperatures of
464oC
− Composition of Earth’s
atmosphere just right to absorb
enough heat to keep average
temperature of 15oC
Greenhouse effect:
− Water vapor, carbon dioxide
(0.038%) gases absorb heat
− Without greenhouse effect,
temperatures would be -18oC
• Earth’s magnetic field protects Earth
from harmful solar wind that would
strip away atmosphere
• Magnetic field due to molten rocks in
the outer core and relatively rapid
planetary rotation:
− Smaller planets or slowly rotating
planets have lost heat and have
weak magnetic fields