Earth sciences

Earth science or geoscience is an all-embracing term for the fields of science related to the planet Earth. It can be considered to be a branch of planetary science, but with a much older history. There are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth sciences. The Earth sciences can include the study of geology, the lithosphere, and the large-scale structure of the Earth's interior, as well as the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. Typically, Earth scientists use tools from geography, physics, chemistry, biology, chronology, and mathematics to build a quantitative understanding of how the Earth system works and evolves.

The following fields of science are generally categorized within the Earth sciences:

Plate tectonics, mountain ranges, volcanoes, and earthquakes are geological phenomena that can be explained in terms of energy transformations in Earth's crust.

Beneath Earth's crust lies the mantle which is heated by the radioactive decay of heavy elements. The mantle is not quite solid and consists of magma which is in a state of semi-perpetual . This convection process causes the lithospheric plates to move, albeit slowly. The resulting process is known as plate tectonics.

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