Geophysics

Geophysics (/dʒiːoʊfɪzɪks/) is the physics of the Earth and its environment in space. It is also the study of the Earth by measuring things and collecting data. Sometimes geophysics means studying the geology of the earth such as its shape, gravitational and magnetic field, internal structure and composition. It may also mean how they create plate tectonics, magma, volcanism and rock formations.

Map of the age of the sea floor made from data about changes in the magnetic field.

Some geophysicists now also study the hydrological cycle including snow and ice. They study how the oceans and the atmosphere move. They study electricity and magnetism in the atmosphere, ionosphere, and magnetosphere. How the earth and sun affect each other is also part of geophysics.

Geophysics was only recognized as a special area of study in the 19th century. But, there were geophysicists in ancient history. The first magnetic compasses were made in the fourth century BC and the first seismoscope was built in 132 BC. Isaac Newton applied his theory of mechanics to the tides and the precession of the equinox. Instruments were developed to measure the Earth's shape, density and gravity field, as well as parts of the water cycle. In the 20th century, geophysical methods were developed for remote exploration of the solid Earth and the ocean.

Studying geophysics may help with problems such as mineral resources, reducing natural hazards, and protecting the environment. Geophysical survey data help find petroleum reservoirs, mineral deposits, groundwater, and archaeological relics. Such data can also tell the thickness of glaciers and soils, and tell which areas have environmental damage that should be fixed and avoided to visit.

References

• American Geophysical Union (2011). "Our Science". About AGU. Archived from the original on 2012-01-25. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
• "About IUGG". 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
• "AGUs Cryosphere Focus Group". 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-11-16. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
• Bozorgnia, Yousef; Bertero, Vitelmo V. (2004). Earthquake Engineering: From Engineering Seismology to Performance-Based Engineering. CRC Press. ISBN 978-0849314391.
• Chemin, Jean-Yves; Desjardins, Benoit; Gallagher, Isabelle; Grenier, Emmanuel (2006). Mathematical geophysics: an introduction to rotating fluids and the Navier-Stokes equations. Oxford lecture series in mathematics and its applications. Oxford University Press. ISBN 019857133X.
• Davies, Geoffrey F. (2001). Dynamic Earth: Plates, Plumes and Mantle Convection. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-59067-1.
• Dewey, James; Byerly, Perry (1969). "The Early History of Seismometry (to 1900)". Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 59 (1): 183–227. Archived from the original on 2011-11-23. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
• Defense Mapping Agency (1984) [1959]. "Geodesy for the Layman". National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. (Technical report TR 80-003). Retrieved 1 September 2011.
• Erastothenes (2010). Eratosthenes' "Geography". Fragments collected and translated, with commentary and additional material by Duane W. Roller. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691142678.
• Fowler, C.M.R. (2005). The Solid Earth: An Introduction to Global Geophysics (2 ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521893070.
• "GRACE: Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment". University of Texas at Austin Center for Space Research. 2011. Archived from the original on 1 December 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
• Hardy, Shaun J.; Goodman, Roy E. (2005). "Web resources in the history of geophysics". American Geophysical Union. Archived from the original on 2013-04-27. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
• Harrison, R. G.; Carslaw, K. S. (2003). "Ion-aerosol-cloud processes in the lower atmosphere". Reviews of Geophysics. 41 (3): 1012. Bibcode:2003RvGeo..41.1012H. doi:10.1029/2002RG000114. S2CID 123305218.
• Kivelson, Margaret G.; Russell, Christopher T. (1995). Introduction to Space Physics. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521457149.
• Lanzerotti, Louis J.; Gregori, Giovanni P. (1986). "Telluric currents: the natural environment and interactions with man-made systems". In Geophysics Study Committee; Geophysics Research Forum; Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics and Resources; National Research Council (eds.). The Earth's Electrical Environment. National Academy Press. pp. 232–258. ISBN 0-309-03680-1.
• Lowrie, William (2004). Fundamentals of Geophysics. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521461642.
• Merrill, Ronald T.; McElhinny, Michael W.; McFadden, Phillip L. (1996). The Magnetic Field of the Earth: Paleomagnetism, the Core, and the Deep Mantle. International Geophysics Series. Vol. 63. Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-491245-1.
• Muller, Paul; Sjogren, William (1968). "Mascons: lunar mass concentrations". Science. 161 (3842): 680–684. Bibcode:1968Sci...161..680M. doi:10.1126/science.161.3842.680. PMID 17801458. S2CID 40110502.
• National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Geodesy (1985). Geodesy: a look to the future (book). National Academies.
• Newton, Isaac (1999). The Principia, Mathematical principles of natural philosophy. A new translation by I Bernard Cohen and Anne Whitman, preceded by "A Guide to Newton's Principia" by I Bernard Cohen. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-08816-0.
• Opdyke, Neil D.; Channell, James T. (1996). Magnetic Stratigraphy. Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-527470-X.
• Pedlosky, Joseph (1987). Geophysical Fluid Dynamics (Second ed.). Springer-Verlag. ISBN 0-387-96387-1.
• Poirier, Jean-Paul (2000). Introduction to the Physics of the Earth's Interior. Cambridge Topics in Mineral Physics & Chemistry. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-66313-X.
• Pollack, Henry N.; Hurter, Suzanne J.; Johnson, Jeffrey R. (1993). "Heat flow from the Earth's interior: Analysis of the global data set" (PDF). Reviews of Geophysics. 31 (3): 267–280. Bibcode:1993RvGeo..31..267P. doi:10.1029/93RG01249. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
• Renne, P.R.; Ludwig, K.R.; Karner, D.B. (2000). "Progress and challenges in geochronology". Science Progress. 83: 107–121. PMID 10800377.
• Richards, M. A.; Duncan, R. A.; Courtillot, V. E. (1989). "Flood Basalts and Hot-Spot Tracks: Plume Heads and Tails". Science. 246 (4926): 103–107. Bibcode:1989Sci...246..103R. doi:10.1126/science.246.4926.103. PMID 17837768. S2CID 9147772.
• Ross, D.A. (1995). Introduction to Oceanography. HarperCollins. ISBN 0134914082.
• Sadava, David; Heller, H. Craig; Hillis, David M.; Berenbaum, May (2009). Life: The Science of Biology. Macmillan. ISBN 9781429219624.
• Sanders, Robert (2003-12-10). "Radioactive potassium may be major heat source in Earth's core". UC Berkeley News. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
• Sirvatka, Paul (2003). "Cloud Physics: Collision/Coalescence; The Bergeron Process". College of DuPage. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
• Sheriff, Robert E. (1991). "Geophysics". Encyclopedic Dictionary of Exploration Geophysics (3rd ed.). Society of Exploration. ISBN 978-1560800187.
• Stein, Seth; Wysession, Michael (2003). An introduction to seismology, earthquakes, and earth structure. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 0-86542-078-5.
• Telford, William Murray; Geldart, L. P.; Sheriff, Robert E. (1990). Applied geophysics. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521339384.
• Temple, Robert (2006). The Genius of China. Andre Deutsch. ISBN 0671620282.
• Torge, W. (2001). Geodesy (3rd ed.). Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 0899256805.
• Turcotte, Donald Lawson; Schubert, Gerald (2002). Geodynamics (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-66624-4.
• Verhoogen, John (1980). Energetics of the Earth. National Academy Press. ISBN 978-0309030762.

Other websites

• A reference manual for near-surface geophysics techniques and applications Archived 2021-02-18 at the Wayback Machine
• Commission on Geophysical Risk and Sustainability (GeoRisk), International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) Archived 2019-02-10 at the Wayback Machine
• Study of the Earth's Deep Interior, a Committee of IUGG
• Union Commissions (IUGG)
• USGS Geomagnetism Program