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Earth system science (ESS) is the application of systems science to the Earth. [1][2][3][4] In particular, it considers interactions and 'feedbacks', through material and energy fluxes, between the Earth's sub-systems' cycles, processes and "spheres"— atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, [5] geosphere, pedosphere, lithosphere, biosphere, [6 ...
Climate change. Changes in surface air temperature over the past 50 years. [1] The Arctic has warmed the most, and temperatures on land have generally increased more than sea surface temperatures. Earth's average surface air temperature has increased almost 1.5 °C (about 2.5 °F) since the Industrial Revolution.
Earth science. The rocky side of a mountain creek in Costa Rica. Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. [1] This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres: the biosphere, hydrosphere ...
539 Ma – present. The Phanerozoic Eon (Greek: period of well-displayed life) marks the appearance in the fossil record of abundant, shell-forming and/or trace-making organisms. It is subdivided into three eras, the Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic, with major mass extinctions at division points.
The history of life on Earth traces the processes by which living and extinct organisms evolved, from the earliest emergence of life to the present day. Earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago (abbreviated as Ga, for gigaannum) and evidence suggests that life emerged prior to 3.7 Ga. [1] [2] [3] The similarities among all known present-day species indicate that they have diverged through the ...
The Earth Sciences Portal. Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres: the biosphere, hydrosphere / cryosphere, atmosphere, and geosphere (or ...
The biological and geological future of Earth can be extrapolated based on the estimated effects of several long-term influences. These include the chemistry at Earth 's surface, the cooling rate of the planet's interior, the gravitational interactions with other objects in the Solar System, and a steady increase in the Sun's luminosity.
Geobiology employs molecular biology, environmental microbiology, organic geochemistry, and the geologic record to investigate the evolutionary interconnectedness of life and Earth. It attempts to understand how the Earth has changed since the origin of life and what it might have been like along the way.