What is Earth Sciences and the History of It

Earth Sciencesfractured and deformed by the internal forces of the
The name earth sciences refers in general to allEarth.
scientific fields that study the earth and its atmosphere.Modern geology of the 18th century noted a definite
They include geography, geology, geophysics, as wellseparation between the bible's notion of creation and
as scientific branches of mineralogy, oceanography,earth's actual history. The first geological map of a
and meteorology. All of them are closely linked not onlyspecific region was made (by Füchsel, in 1761). A
to each other but also to related sciences. The mostdiscussion ensued with regard to whether all rocks
important related sciences are chemistry, physics,were the result of the action of water or of volcanic
biology, and history.activity. In 1875, thanks to the efforts of Eberhard
Süß, the first comprehensive theory
Geophysics utilises in its study of the Earth theconcerning the origins of mountains was proposed. At
knowledge acquired by physics. It includes, amongthat time, it was still assumed that the Earth is
other things, a study of the earth's magnetic field, thecontinually contracting, thus causing the "folding" of the
earth's temperatures, the effects of the moon on themountain ranges (contraction theory).
tides (high tide and low tide), and the study of theThe discovery of radioactivity in the 20th century
earth's gravity. Predicting earthquakes (seismology)provided a new method of dating of the rocks. Alfred
and volcanic activity is also of the of tasks ofWerner, with his idea about continental shift, introduced
geophysics. Meteorology, another area of geophysics,a new line of thought concerning the origins of great
deals with the study of the Earth's atmosphere. Here,mountain ranges. This approach was later incorporated
the study of the climate and weather forecasting playin the lithospheric plate tectonics, which today is
an important role.generally accepted.
Geography deals with the study and description of theIn the field of geography (branch area) dealing with the
Earth's surface. It is divided into two parts: one is thedescription and interpretation of the surface of the
general geography dealing with the Earth's phenomenaearth, Egyptians, Chinese, and the Phoenicians already
on a global basis, the other is the regional geographyexplored unknown regions during their far-reaching
which concentrates on the specifics of a given region.trips. In the 4th century B.C., Aristotle determined that
Earth sciences also includes oceanography.the Earth is round. Eratosthenes (276-196 B.C.) was
Oceanography studies oceans, that is to say, it studiesthe first person to calculate the earth's circumference.
their chemical and physical properties and theirIn the 2nd century A.D., Greek astronomer Ptolemy
currents. It also deals with the relationship betweencompiled a wealth of geographical information
oceans and the climate, raw material depositsgathered by Greeks and Romans during their
underneath the ocean bed, pollution in the oceans, andconquering wars and travels.
other issues.No major advancement of science was registered in
In addition, there are numerous branches, such as soilthe early Middle Ages because there was only a small
science, geodesy, cartography (map-making),number of exploratory travel. New and important
geography of plants, geoinformatics, aerial survey ofdiscoveries, however, came about in the 13th century
the Earth, and many others. A great and diversewith Marco Polo, and the in the 15th and 16th centuries
number of institutes and research centres arewith the explorations of the Spanish and Portuguese
dedicated to acquiring continuously new informationseafarers along the African coast. At that time, it was
which is in part important also for the future of therecognised beyond any doubt that the earth is a
human race, in particular when it concerns climatesphere and not a cylinder, as it was previously
changes, environmental damage, and other areas ofassumed.
vital importance.For a long time, the work of the German geographer
History of Earth SciencesVarenius, who categorised geography into three parts,
Ancient geology, which mainly studied the structure ofwas considered to be the cornerstone of science. The
the earth with its composition, formed part of naturalfirst part concerns the study of the earth's shape and
philosophy. The question of the Earth's origins wassize; the second one deals with the seasons, climate,
always in the foreground.and the tide in relation to the position of the earth in the
Natural phenomena such as earthquakes and volcanicuniverse; and the third part concentrates on comparing
eruptions were being linked to gods and goddesses.the various regions of the Earth.
As early as in the 6th century before Christ, GreekIn the 18th century, Immanuel Kant ,and in the 19th
philosopher and astronomer Anaximander of Milletcentury Alexander von Humbolt, were among those
developed a theory that the universe, and thereforewhose work in various branches of the science of
the earth as well, consists of concentrically arrangedgeography resulted in an important progress of this
cylinders. Greek poet and philosopher Xenophanesscience. At that time there was a proliferation of
discovered that, ages ago, fossilised seashells weregeographic societies and magazines which supported
made from the imprint of animals. Around 100 B.C.,the science by publishing and disseminating new
people began to realise the link between the tide andgeographical knowledge. At the start of the 20th
the moon.century, the old methods were still used. Later on, new
Fossils played an important role when acquiring newgeographical knowledge started to be evaluated using
information in medieval times as well. In linkage to themathematics and statistics.
work of N. Stensen, a Danish naturalist, the year 1669Beginning in the 1960s, the development of modern
marks the beginnings of modern geology in that hecomputers facilitated the compilation, analysis, and,
determined that the upper layers of the earth aremost importantly, the storage of geographical data.
younger than the lower layers. He also ascertainedToday, computer simulations play a very important role.
that earth layers originally deposited horizontally were