Basic Geoscience

Unit 1 Lecture

3 Fields of Science

• 1. Earth Science- oceanography, meteorology, geology, and astronomy

• 2. Life Science- biology• 3. Physical Science- chemistry and physics

Interactions

• All fields of earth science interact with each other.

• Specialists work in one of the earth science fields.

• Example: a geologist

• Geology is the study of rocks and formations and the forces that create them.

• Astronomy is the the study of outer space and all the celestial objects that exist there.

• Meteorology is the study of the weather and other atmospheric phenomena.

• Oceanography is the study of ocean currents, temperatures, etc.

Earth Science Importance

• Meteorologists can warm us about severe weather.

• Geologists help locate oil and coal.• Oceanographers help during pollution clean

up.• Astronomers use technology to learn about

planets and stars.

Support System For Life

• The environment is what surrounds living things.

• Contains 3 parts:• 1. hydrosphere- water• 2. atmosphere- air• 3. lithosphere- earth

Pollution

• Pollution is anything that harms the environment

• Usually is caused by human activity.

Thermal Pollution

• Thermal pollution raises water temperatures• This is caused when industries use water to

cool down their machines.• The now warmer water is returned back into

the river or lake that it came from.

Pesticides

• Farming uses pesticides to protect crops from pests.

• These chemicals also kill birds and fish.• These chemicals can also leak into our water

supply.

The Carbon Cycle

• All living things contain carbon.• We call them organic.• Plants use carbon dioxide during

photosynthesis to convert into sugar.• Animals breathe out carbon dioxide during

respiration• When organic items die, the carbon is broken

down by decomposers and released back into the air as carbon dioxide.

The Carbon Cycle

• Burning fossil fuels releases a great deal of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

• The ocean absorbs carbon dioxide.

Visual of the Carbon Cycle

Artificial Satellites

• A satellite is any object that follows a curved path around another object.

• This curved path is called an orbit.• Satellites allow us to study space without

atmospheric interference.• Sputnik was the first satellite in 1957.

4 Types of Orbits:

• 1. Circumpolar orbits are about 250 km above the earth’s surface

• 2. Polar orbits are about 800 km above• 3. Eccentric orbits have a varied distance

above the surface• 4. Geostationary orbits are about 36,000 km

above the surface

Uses of Satellites

• They collect information about planets, stars, comets, etc.

• GPS• Global Positioning System• Contains 24 satellites• Uses radio waves• Information positions are given in degrees

latitude and longitude.

• GPS satellites help monitor tectonic activity, atmospheric water content, changes in glacier size, etc.

• Computers are used to translate satellite data into more usable forms for scientists.

Space Probes

• Space probes do not carry people.• They can go farther from Earth and to more

dangerous locations.• Probes are usually sent on one-way missions.• They send back images and data to the

scientists on Earth.