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 only studying the geology of the earth such as its shape, gravitational and magnetic field, internal structure and composition. It is can also mean how those create plate tectonics, magmas, volcanism and rock formation.[1]
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.[1][2][3]
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.[2] 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.
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
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(help) - "About IUGG". 2011. Retrieved September 2011. Check date values in:
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(help) - "AGUs Cryosphere Focus Group". 2011. Retrieved September 2011. Check date values in:
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(help) - Bozorgnia, Yousef; Bertero, Vitelmo V. (2004). Earthquake Engineering: From Engineering Seismology to Performance-Based Engineering. CRC Press. ISBN 978-0849314391.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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- Davies, Geoffrey F. (2001). Dynamic Earth: Plates, Plumes and Mantle Convection. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-59067-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Dewey, James; Byerly, Perry (1969). "The Early History of Seismometry (to 1900)". Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 59 (1): 183–227.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Defense Mapping Agency (1984) [1959]. "Geodesy for the Layman". National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. (Technical report TR 80-003). Retrieved September 2011. Check date values in:
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(help)CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) - Erastothenes (2010). Eratosthenes' "Geography". Fragments collected and translated, with commentary and additional material by Duane W. Roller. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691142678.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Fowler, C.M.R. (2005). The Solid Earth: An Introduction to Global Geophysics (2 ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521893070.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- "GRACE: Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment". University of Texas at Austin Center for Space Research. 2011. Retrieved September 2011. Check date values in:
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(help) - 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 September 2011. Check date values in:
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(help)CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) - 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Kivelson, Margaret G.; Russell, Christopher T. (1995). Introduction to Space Physics. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521457149.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- 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. Missing or empty
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(help)CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) - Lowrie, William (2004). Fundamentals of Geophysics. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521461642.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- 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. 63. Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-491245-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Geodesy (1985). Geodesy: a look to the future (book)
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(help). National Academies.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) - 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Opdyke, Neil D.; Channell, James T. (1996). Magnetic Stratigraphy. Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-527470-X.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Pedlosky, Joseph (1987). Geophysical Fluid Dynamics (Second ed.). Springer-Verlag. ISBN 0-387-96387-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- 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. doi:10.1029/93RG01249. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2012-02-02.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Renne, P.R.; Ludwig, K.R.; Karner, D.B. (2000). "Progress and challenges in geochronology". Science Progress. 83: 107–121. PMID 10800377.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Ross, D.A. (1995). Introduction to Oceanography. HarperCollins. ISBN 0134914082.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Sadava, David; Heller, H. Craig; Hillis, David M.; Berenbaum, May (2009). Life: The Science of Biology. Macmillan. ISBN 9781429219624.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Sanders, Robert (2003-12-10). "Radioactive potassium may be major heat source in Earth's core". UC Berkeley News. Retrieved 2007-02-28.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Sirvatka, Paul (2003). "Cloud Physics: Collision/Coalescence; The Bergeron Process". College of DuPage. Retrieved August 2011. Check date values in:
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(help)CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) - Sheriff, Robert E. (1991). "Geophysics". Encyclopedic Dictionary of Exploration Geophysics (3rd ed.). Society of Exploration. ISBN 978-1560800187.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Stein, Seth; Wysession, Michael (2003). An introduction to seismology, earthquakes, and earth structure. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 0-86542-078-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Telford, William Murray; Geldart, L. P.; Sheriff, Robert E. (1990). Applied geophysics. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521339384.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Temple, Robert (2006). The Genius of China. Andre Deutsch. ISBN 0671620282.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Torge, W. (2001). Geodesy (3rd ed.). Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 0899256805.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Turcotte, Donald Lawson; Schubert, Gerald (2002). Geodynamics (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-66624-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Verhoogen, John (1980). Energetics of the Earth. National Academy Press. ISBN 978-0309030762.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
Other websitesEdit
- A reference manual for near-surface geophysics techniques and applications
- 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