Earth Science
Hydrosphere
– Earth’s water
Oceans
Seas
Lakes
Rivers
Glaciers
– Earth’s water can be saline or fresh! It can be
liquid or solidified (ice)
Earth Science
Hydrosphere
– Water is necessary for ALL LIFE!
– Water MUST be usable, not polluted!
– What we do in our lives influences
EVERYTHING around us!
– Think of it this way: We can live without fossil
fuels, we CANNOT live without water!
Earth Science
Biosphere
– Includes ALL life on the planet
– Organisms, including humans, are changing
other systems
Living organisms help balance these
‘Systems’.
Human influences lead to dramatic changes
to other systems.
– Atmosphere, Oceans, and Land
Earth Science
Biosphere
– Interactions of living ‘organisms’
– Found in atmosphere, on land, AND in bodies of water,
but really in a very narrow realm!
– LIFE influences all domains of the planet!
Earth Science
Geology: The Lithosphere
– Rigid outer shell of earth
Includes crust and solid upper mantle
Consists of 3 types of rocks in the Rock Cycle
– Igneous
– Sedimentary
– Metamorphic
Earth Science
Lithosphere
– Upper layers of Rock that separate the HOT
inner Earth from the cooler atmosphere
– A VERY NEW SCIENCE!!!
Earth Science
Atmosphere
– The blanket of gases surrounding the planet
78% Nitrogen
21% Oxygen
1% water vapor, argon, carbon dioxide and trace
gases
Water Vapor and Heat Energy = Weather
– Affect our lives every day!
Atmosphere and Storms
Atmospheric conditions are constantly being
influenced by energy in the Atmosphere
– Ocean currents
– Air masses
– Seasons
Amount of direct light
Oceanography is a multi-discipline science studying the World ocean.
It includes:
- Physical oceanography
- Marine geology
- Marine chemistry
- Marine biology
- Marine technology
- etc.
In Earth Science, we restrict our study to the topics that include instruments,
measuring ocean properties and mounted on earth-orbiting satellites.
As such, we do not touch the problems of marine geology and chemistry,
because satellite sensors cannot help much in these studies, they merely
take measurements. Most satellite observations of the ocean are related to
physical oceanography. Another topic of satellite oceanography is the
measurements of ocean color, which can be used as assessments of
phytoplankton biomass, sediment transported from terrestrial domains, and
coral reef systems which are of great interest to marine biologists.
IoE 184 - The Basics of Satellite Oceanography. 1. The Basic Concepts of Oceanography
Oceanography
Salinity – stratified layers
Pressure – increases with depth
Density – based on freshwater input
Temperature – latitude based
Acoustics – a noisy arena!
Optics – wide range of clarity
http://www.onr.navy.mil/focus/ocean/water/default.htm
Walking on AIR!!!
Learn about the planet you live on!
Travel the world and see it for yourself!