Sciences

Although in most places science is taught as different disciplines, actually, it's all connected! In order to do research in the Earth and space sciences - also sometimes called the "geosciences", you need to have a strong background in all the sciences, as well as in mathematics, too. In this section, we have brought together information related to the Earth and space sciences from across our website on the different scientific disciplines. Explore these links to find out more about geology, physics, chemistry, and biology.
A view of the Earth as seen by the <a href="/space_missions/apollo17.html&edu=elem&dev=">Apollo
17</a> crew
while traveling to the
<a href="/earth/moons_and_rings.html&edu=elem&dev=">Moon</a> on
December 7, 1972.  Africa, Madagascar, and the Arabian Peninsula are
visible, and you can barely make out the
<a href="/earth/polar/antarctica.html&edu=elem&dev=">Antarctic</a>,
shrouded in the heavy
<a href="/earth/Atmosphere/cloud.html&edu=elem&dev=">cloud</a> cover
in the southern hemisphere.
Arching cloud patterns show the presence of <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/front.html&edu=elem&dev=">weather
fronts</a>.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of NASA/Apollo 17.</em></small></p>Although we humans have never experienced fast <a href="/earth/climate/climate.html&edu=elem&dev=">global
warming</a>, our
planet has. And our planet keeps records of what happened. The oldest
records that the
<a href="/earth/earth.html&edu=elem&dev=">Earth</a> keeps
are in its
<a href="/earth/geology/sed_intro.html&edu=elem&dev=">rocks</a>.
In this image, <a href="/headline_universe/olpa/methane_28may08.html&edu=elem&dev=">geologists Chris von der Borch and Dave
Mrofka</a> collect
sediment samples in South Australia. These rocks hold clues to help
explain why climate changed abruptly 635 million years ago.<p><small><em>                    Courtesy of Martin Kennedy, UCR</em></small></p>Everything you see around you is made of tiny particles called <a href="/physical_science/physics/atom_particle/atom.html&edu=elem&dev=">atoms</a>. There are many different types of atoms, each with a special combination of <a href="/physical_science/physics/atom_particle/proton.html&edu=elem&dev=">protons</a>, <a href="/physical_science/physics/atom_particle/neutron.html&edu=elem&dev=">neutrons</a> and <a href="/physical_science/physics/atom_particle/electron.html&edu=elem&dev=">electrons</a>. These different types of atoms are called <a href="/physical_science/element.html&edu=elem&dev=">elements</a>.<p><small><em>              L.Gardiner/Windows to the Universe</em></small></p>The Pompeii worm, the most heat-tolerant animal on Earth, lives in the deep ocean at <a href="/earth/Water/life_deep.html&edu=elem&dev=">hydrothermal vents</a>. The worm's back is covered in bacteria adapted for living in <a href="/earth/extreme_environments.html&edu=elem&dev=">extreme environments</a>. The bacteria also grows on the surfaces of the chimneys where hot liquids spew from below the sea floor.<p><small><em>Courtesy of the University of Delaware</em></small></p>A <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/8/2/024035/article">study</a> of over 40,000 written entries in Irish Annals and ice core measurements shows a strong correlation between <a href="http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/interior/eruptions.html">volcanic eruptions</a> and extreme cold weather in Ireland over a 1200 year period, from 431 to 1649.  During this time up to 48 volcanic eruptions were identified in Greenland ice core records through deposition of volcanic sulfate in annual layers of ice. Find out more about <a href="http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/climate/geosphere_volcanoes_influence_on_climate.html">volcanoes and climate</a>.<p><small><em>Image Courtesy of Marco Fulle</em></small></p>Scientists at the University of Michigan have found that <a href="/earth/polar/cryosphere_permafrost1.html&edu=elem&dev=">permafrost</a> in the <a href="/earth/polar/polar_north.html&edu=elem&dev=">Arctic</a> is extremely sensitive to sunlight.  Exposure to sunlight releases carbon gases trapped in the permafrost, including <a href="/earth/climate/earth_greenhouse.html&edu=elem&dev=">climate-warming</a> <a href="/physical_science/chemistry/carbon_dioxide.html&edu=elem&dev=">carbon dioxide</a>, to the <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/overview.html&edu=elem&dev=">atmosphere</a> much faster than previously thought.<p><small><em>George Kling, The University of Michigan</em></small></p>

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA