1.
Pediatrics
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Pediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents, and the age limit usually ranges from birth up to 18-21 years of age. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician, the word pediatrics and its cognates mean healer of children, they derive from two Greek words, παῖς and ἰατρός. Pediatricians work both in hospitals, particularly working in its specialized subfields such as neonatology, and as primary care physicians. Pediatrics is known as a new modern medicine in the society today, hippocrates, Aristotle, Celsus, Soranus, and Galen, understood the differences in growing and maturing organisms that necessitated different treatment, Ex toto non sic pueri ut viri curari debent. Some of the oldest traces of pediatrics can be discovered in Ancient India where childrens doctors were called kumara bhrtya, sushruta Samhita an ayurvedic text, composed during the sixth century BC contains the text about pediatrics. Another ayurvedic text from this period is Kashyapa Samhita, a second century AD manuscript by the Greek physician and gynecologist Soranus of Ephesus dealt with neonatal pediatrics. Byzantine physicians Oribasius, Aëtius of Amida, Alexander Trallianus, islamic writers served as a bridge for Greco-Roman and Byzantine medicine and added ideas of their own, especially Haly Abbas, Serapion, Avicenna, and Averroes. The Persian scholar and doctor al-Razi published a treatise on diseases among children. The first book about pediatrics was Libellus de aegritudinibus et remediis infantium 1472 and he was born in Germany, where he received his medical training, but later practiced in New York City. The first generally accepted pediatric hospital is the Hôpital des Enfants Malades, in 1852 Britains first pediatric hospital, the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Streets. The first Childrens hospital in Scotland opened in 1860 in Edinburgh, in the US, the first similar institutions were the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, which opened in 1855, and then Boston Childrens Hospital. The body size differences are paralleled by maturation changes, the smaller body of an infant or neonate is substantially different physiologically from that of an adult. Congenital defects, genetic variance, and developmental issues are of concern to pediatricians than they often are to adult physicians. A common adage is that children are not simply little adults, the clinician must take into account the immature physiology of the infant or child when considering symptoms, prescribing medications, and diagnosing illnesses. A major difference between the practice of pediatric and adult medicine is that children, in most jurisdictions and with certain exceptions, the issues of guardianship, privacy, legal responsibility and informed consent must always be considered in every pediatric procedure. Pediatricians often have to treat the parents and sometimes, the family, adolescents are in their own legal class, having rights to their own health care decisions in certain circumstances. The training of pediatricians varies considerably across the world, depending on jurisdiction and university, a medical degree course may be either undergraduate-entry or graduate-entry. The former commonly takes five or six years, and has been usual in the Commonwealth, entrants to graduate-entry courses, usually lasting four or five years, have previously completed a three- or four-year university degree, commonly but by no means always in sciences
2.
Podiatry
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Podiatry or podiatric medicine is a branch of medicine devoted to the study, diagnosis, and medical and surgical treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle and lower extremity. The term podiatry came into use in the early 20th century in the United States and is now used worldwide, including such as the United Kingdom. Podiatry is practiced as a specialty in countries, while in many English-speaking countries. In many non-English-speaking countries of Europe, the title used may be podologist or podólogo, the level and scope of the practice of podiatry vary among countries. Corns and calluses were described by Hippocrates who recognized the need to reduce hard skin. He invented skin scrapers for this purpose and these were the original scalpels, until the turn of the 20th century, chiropodists—now known as podiatrists—were separate from organized medicine. They were independently licensed physicians who treated the feet, ankles, lewis Durlacher was one of the first people to call for a protected profession. There are records of the King of France employing a personal podiatrist, the first society of chiropodists, now known as podiatrists, was established in New York in 1895—and still operates there today as NYSPMA. The first school opened in 1911, one year later the British established a society at the London Foot Hospital and a school was added in 1919. In Australia professional associations appeared from 1924 onwards, the first American journal appeared in 1907, followed in 1912 by a UK journal. In 1939, the Australians introduced a training centre as well as a professional journal, Podiatry is a high paying specialty and was listed by Forbes in 2007 as the 15th best paid profession in the United States. The median annual Podiatry salary is $186,758, as of March 24,2016, scope of practice varies from different demographic and geographic areas. In the United States there is varied scope on where reconstructive surgery is done, according to the California Board of Podiatric Medicine, Doctors of Podiatric Medicine are licensed under Section 2472 of the State Medical Practice Act. They diagnose and treat medical conditions affecting the foot, ankle, any procedure and modality is within the DPM scope if utilized to diagnose and treat foot, ankle or other podiatric conditions. In addition to performing foot and ankle surgeries, dPMs are trained and fully licensed to independently perform full-body history and physical examinations in any setting for any patient. While podiatrists may order and administer anesthesia and sedatives, the administration of general anesthesia may only be performed by an anesthesiologist or certified registered nurse anesthetist, Podiatrists are uniquely qualified among medical professionals to treat only diseases of the foot and ankle. Whether it is medicine, pediatrics, dermatology or diabetes. Podiatrists can be the first to identify systemic diseases in patients, such as diabetes, all podiatric physicians and surgeons receive a DPM degree
3.
Chalk
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Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is a salt called calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the accumulation of minute calcite shells shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores. Flint is very common as bands parallel to the bedding or as embedded in chalk. It is probably derived from sponge spicules or other organisms as water is expelled upwards during compaction. Flint is often deposited around larger fossils such as Echinoidea which may be silicified, Chalk as seen in Cretaceous deposits of Western Europe is unusual among sedimentary limestones in the thickness of the beds. Most cliffs of chalk have very few obvious bedding planes unlike most thick sequences of such as the Carboniferous Limestone or the Jurassic oolitic limestones. This presumably indicates very stable conditions over tens of millions of years, Chalk has greater resistance to weathering and slumping than the clays with which it is usually associated, thus forming tall steep cliffs where chalk ridges meet the sea. Chalk hills, known as chalk downland, usually form where bands of chalk reach the surface at an angle, because chalk is well jointed it can hold a large volume of ground water, providing a natural reservoir that releases water slowly through dry seasons. Chalk is mined from chalk deposits both above ground and underground, Chalk mining boomed during the Industrial Revolution, due to the need for chalk products such as quicklime and bricks. Abandoned chalk mines remain a popular tourist attraction due to their massive expanse, the Chalk Group is a European stratigraphic unit deposited during the late Cretaceous Period. It forms the famous White Cliffs of Dover in Kent, England, the Champagne region of France is mostly underlain by chalk deposits, which contain artificial caves used for wine storage. Some of the highest chalk cliffs in the occur at Jasmund National Park in Germany. Ninety million years ago what is now the chalk downland of Northern Europe was ooze accumulating at the bottom of a great sea. Chalk was one of the earliest rocks made up of particles to be studied under the electron microscope. Their shells were made of calcite extracted from the rich sea-water, as they died, a substantial layer gradually built up over millions of years and, through the weight of overlying sediments, eventually became consolidated into rock. Later earth movements related to the formation of the Alps raised these former sea-floor deposits above sea level, the chemical composition of chalk is calcium carbonate, with minor amounts of silt and clay. It is formed in the sea by plankton, which fall to the sea floor and are then consolidated and compressed during diagenesis into chalk rock
4.
Soil
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Soil is a mixture of minerals, organic matter, gases, liquids, and countless organisms that together support life on Earth. Soil is called the Skin of the Earth and interfaces with the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, the term pedolith, used commonly to refer to the soil, literally translates ground stone. Soil consists of a phase of minerals and organic matter, as well as a porous phase that holds gases. Accordingly, soils are often treated as a system of solids, liquids. Soil is a product of the influence of climate, relief, organisms, Soil continually undergoes development by way of numerous physical, chemical and biological processes, which include weathering with associated erosion. Given its complexity and strong internal connectedness soil has been considered as an ecosystem by soil ecologists. Most soils have a dry bulk density between 1.1 and 1.6 g/cm3, while the particle density is much higher. Little of the soil of planet Earth is older than the Pleistocene and none is older than the Cenozoic, Soil science has two basic branches of study, edaphology and pedology. Edaphology is concerned with the influence of soils on living things, pedology is focused on the formation, description, and classification of soils in their natural environment. In engineering terms, soil is referred to as regolith, or loose material that lies above the solid geology. Soil is commonly referred to as earth or dirt, technically, as soil resources serve as a basis for food security, the international community advocates its sustainable and responsible use through different types of soil governance. Soil is a component of the Earths ecosystem. The worlds ecosystems are impacted in far-reaching ways by the carried out in the soil, from ozone depletion and global warming, to rainforest destruction. Following the atmosphere, the soil is the next largest carbon reservoir on Earth, as the planet warms, soils will add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere due to its increased biological activity at higher temperatures. Thus, soil carbon losses likely have a positive feedback response to global warming. Since soil has a range of available niches and habitats. A gram of soil can contain billions of organisms, belonging to thousands of species, mostly microbial, Soil has a mean prokaryotic density of roughly 108 organisms per gram, whereas the ocean has no more than 107 procaryotic organisms per milliliter of seawater. Since plant roots need oxygen, ventilation is an important characteristic of soil and this ventilation can be accomplished via networks of interconnected soil pores, which also absorb and hold rainwater making it readily available for plant uptake
5.
Soil science
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Sometimes terms which refer to branches of soil science, such as pedology and edaphology, are used as if synonymous with soil science. The diversity of names associated with this discipline is related to the various associations concerned, Soil occupies the pedosphere, one of Earths spheres that the geosciences use to organize the Earth conceptually. This is the perspective of pedology and edaphology, the two main branches of soil science. Pedology is the study of soil in its natural setting, edaphology is the study of soil in relation to soil-dependent uses. Both branches apply a combination of physics, soil chemistry. Due to the interactions between the biosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere that are hosted within the pedosphere, more integrated. Many concepts essential to understanding soil come from individuals not identifiable strictly as soil scientists and this highlights the interdisciplinary nature of soil concepts. Dependence on and curiosity about soil, exploring the diversity and dynamics of this continues to yield fresh discoveries. New avenues of research are compelled by a need to understand soil in the context of climate change, greenhouse gases. Interest in maintaining the biodiversity and in exploring past cultures has also stimulated renewed interest in achieving a more refined understanding of soil. Most empirical knowledge of soil in nature comes from soil survey efforts, Soil survey, or soil mapping, is the process of determining the soil types or other properties of the soil cover over a landscape, and mapping them for others to understand and use. It relies heavily on distinguishing the individual influences of the five classic soil forming factors and this effort draws upon geomorphology, physical geography, and analysis of vegetation and land-use patterns. Primary data for the survey are acquired by field sampling. As of 2006, the World Reference Base for Soil Resources and it replaces the previous FAO soil classification. The WRB borrows from modern soil classification concepts, including USDA soil taxonomy, the classification is based mainly on soil morphology as an expression pedogenesis. A major difference with USDA soil taxonomy is that climate is not part of the system. Many other classification schemes exist, including vernacular systems, the structure in vernacular systems are either nominal, giving unique names to soils or landscapes, or descriptive, naming soils by their characteristics such as red, hot, fat, or sandy. Soils are distinguished by obvious characteristics, such as appearance, performance
6.
Edaphology
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Edaphology is one of two main divisions of soil science, the other being pedology. Edaphology is concerned with the influence of soils on living things, the term is also applied to the study of how soil influences humankinds use of land for plant growth as well as mans overall use of the land. General subfields within edaphology are agricultural soil science and environmental soil science, in Russia, edaphology is considered equivalent to pedology, but is recognized to have an applied sense consistent with agrophysics and agrochemistry outside Russia. Xenophon, and Cato, were early edaphologists, xenophon noted the beneficial effect of turning a cover crop into the earth. Cato wrote De Agri Cultura which recommended tillage, crop rotation and he also devised the first soil capability classification for specific crops. Jan Baptist van Helmont performed an experiment, growing a willow tree in a pot of soil. The weight gained by the tree was greater than the loss of the soil. He concluded that the willow was made of water, although only partly correct, his experiment reignited interest in edaphology. Agricultural soil science is the application of chemistry, physics. In terms of chemistry, it places particular emphasis on plant nutrients of importance to farming and horticulture, especially with regard to soil fertility. Physical edaphology is strongly associated with irrigation and drainage. Soil husbandry is a tradition within agricultural soil science. Beyond preventing soil erosion and degradation in cropland, soil husbandry seeks to sustain the agricultural soil resource though the use of soil conditioners, environmental soil science studies our interaction with the pedosphere on beyond crop production. It also studies soil in the context of use planning, global warming. Soil zoology Edaphic Sustainable agriculture European Environment Information and Observation Network Url last accessed 2006-01-10 SSSA Soil Science Glossary Url last accessed 2016-01-10
7.
Soil classification
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Soil classification deals with the systematic categorization of soils based on distinguishing characteristics as well as criteria that dictate choices in use. Soil classification is a subject, from the structure of the system itself, to the definitions of classes. Soil classification can be approached from the perspective of soil as a material, engineers, typically geotechnical engineers, classify soils according to their engineering properties as they relate to use for foundation support or building material. Modern engineering classification systems are designed to allow a transition from field observations to basic predictions of soil engineering properties. The most common engineering classification system for soils in North America is the Unified Soil Classification System, the USCS has three major classification groups, coarse-grained soils, fine-grained soils, and highly organic soils. The USCS further subdivides the three major soil classes for clarification and it distinguishes sands from gravels by grain size, and further classifying some as well-graded and the rest as poorly-graded. Silts and clays are distinguished by the soils Atterberg limits, moderately organic soils are considered subdivisions of silts and clays, and are distinguished from inorganic soils by changes in their plasticity properties on drying. The European soil classification system is similar, differing primarily in coding and in adding an intermediate-plasticity classification for silts and clays. The USCS and additional engineering description is standardized in ASTM D2487, differing concepts of pedogenesis, and differences in the significance of morphological features to various land uses can affect the classification approach. Despite these differences, in a system, classification criteria group similar concepts so that interpretations do not vary widely. This is in contrast to a system approach to soil classification. Natural system approaches to classification, such as the French Soil Reference System are based on presumed soil genesis. Another approach is numerical classification, also called ordination, where individuals are grouped by multivariate statistical methods such as cluster analysis. This produces natural groupings without requiring any inference about soil genesis, in soil survey, as practiced in the United States, soil classification usually means criteria based on soil morphology in addition to characteristics developed during soil formation. Criteria are designed to guide choices in use and soil management. As indicated, this is a system that is a hybrid of both natural and objective criteria. USDA soil taxonomy provides the criteria for differentiating soil map units. This is a revision of the 1938 USDA soil taxonomy which was a strictly natural system
8.
Plant
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Plants are mainly multicellular, predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. The term is generally limited to the green plants, which form an unranked clade Viridiplantae. This includes the plants, conifers and other gymnosperms, ferns, clubmosses, hornworts, liverworts, mosses and the green algae. Green plants have cell walls containing cellulose and obtain most of their energy from sunlight via photosynthesis by primary chloroplasts and their chloroplasts contain chlorophylls a and b, which gives them their green color. Some plants are parasitic and have lost the ability to produce amounts of chlorophyll or to photosynthesize. Plants are characterized by sexual reproduction and alternation of generations, although reproduction is also common. There are about 300–315 thousand species of plants, of which the great majority, green plants provide most of the worlds molecular oxygen and are the basis of most of Earths ecologies, especially on land. Plants that produce grains, fruits and vegetables form humankinds basic foodstuffs, Plants play many roles in culture. They are used as ornaments and, until recently and in variety, they have served as the source of most medicines. The scientific study of plants is known as botany, a branch of biology, Plants are one of the two groups into which all living things were traditionally divided, the other is animals. The division goes back at least as far as Aristotle, who distinguished between plants, which generally do not move, and animals, which often are mobile to catch their food. Much later, when Linnaeus created the basis of the system of scientific classification. Since then, it has become clear that the plant kingdom as originally defined included several unrelated groups, however, these organisms are still often considered plants, particularly in popular contexts. When the name Plantae or plant is applied to a group of organisms or taxon. The evolutionary history of plants is not yet settled. Those which have been called plants are in bold, the way in which the groups of green algae are combined and named varies considerably between authors. Algae comprise several different groups of organisms which produce energy through photosynthesis, most conspicuous among the algae are the seaweeds, multicellular algae that may roughly resemble land plants, but are classified among the brown, red and green algae. Each of these groups also includes various microscopic and single-celled organisms
9.
Fungus
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A fungus is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from the other eukaryotic life kingdoms of plants, a characteristic that places fungi in a different kingdom from plants, bacteria and some protists, is chitin in their cell walls. Similar to animals, fungi are heterotrophs, they acquire their food by absorbing dissolved molecules, growth is their means of mobility, except for spores, which may travel through the air or water. Fungi are the principal decomposers in ecological systems and this fungal group is distinct from the structurally similar myxomycetes and oomycetes. The discipline of biology devoted to the study of fungi is known as mycology, in the past, mycology was regarded as a branch of botany, although it is now known fungi are genetically more closely related to animals than to plants. Abundant worldwide, most fungi are inconspicuous because of the size of their structures. Fungi include symbionts of plants, animals, or other fungi and they may become noticeable when fruiting, either as mushrooms or as molds. Fungi perform a role in the decomposition of organic matter and have fundamental roles in nutrient cycling. Since the 1940s, fungi have been used for the production of antibiotics, Fungi are also used as biological pesticides to control weeds, plant diseases and insect pests. Many species produce bioactive compounds called mycotoxins, such as alkaloids and polyketides, the fruiting structures of a few species contain psychotropic compounds and are consumed recreationally or in traditional spiritual ceremonies. Fungi can break down manufactured materials and buildings, and become significant pathogens of humans, losses of crops due to fungal diseases or food spoilage can have a large impact on human food supplies and local economies. The fungus kingdom encompasses a diversity of taxa with varied ecologies, life cycle strategies. However, little is known of the biodiversity of Kingdom Fungi. Advances in molecular genetics have opened the way for DNA analysis to be incorporated into taxonomy, phylogenetic studies published in the last decade have helped reshape the classification within Kingdom Fungi, which is divided into one subkingdom, seven phyla, and ten subphyla. The English word fungus is directly adopted from the Latin fungus, used in the writings of Horace, a group of all the fungi present in a particular area or geographic region is known as mycobiota, e. g. the mycobiota of Ireland. Like plants, fungi grow in soil and, in the case of mushrooms, form conspicuous fruit bodies. The fungi are now considered a kingdom, distinct from both plants and animals, from which they appear to have diverged around one billion years ago. Fungi have membrane-bound cytoplasmic organelles such as mitochondria, sterol-containing membranes and they have a characteristic range of soluble carbohydrates and storage compounds, including sugar alcohols, disaccharides, and polysaccharides
10.
Climate
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Climate is the statistics of weather, usually over a 30-year interval. Climate differs from weather, in that weather only describes the conditions of these variables in a given region. A regions climate is generated by the system, which has five components, atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere. The climate of a location is affected by its latitude, terrain, climates can be classified according to the average and the typical ranges of different variables, most commonly temperature and precipitation. The most commonly used classification scheme was the Köppen climate classification, the Bergeron and Spatial Synoptic Classification systems focus on the origin of air masses that define the climate of a region. Paleoclimatology is the study of ancient climates, Climate models are mathematical models of past, present and future climates. Climate change may occur long and short timescales from a variety of factors. For example, a 3°C change in mean annual temperature corresponds to a shift in isotherms of approximately 300–400 km in latitude or 500 m in elevation, therefore, species are expected to move upwards in elevation or towards the poles in latitude in response to shifting climate zones. Climate is commonly defined as the weather averaged over a long period, the standard averaging period is 30 years, but other periods may be used depending on the purpose. Climate also includes statistics other than the average, such as the magnitudes of day-to-day or year-to-year variations, the classical period is 30 years, as defined by the World Meteorological Organization. These quantities are most often surface variables such as temperature, precipitation, Climate in a wider sense is the state, including a statistical description, of the climate system. The World Meteorological Organization describes climate normals as reference points used by climatologists to compare current climatological trends to that of the past or what is considered normal, a Normal is defined as the arithmetic average of a climate element over a 30-year period. A30 year period is used, as it is enough to filter out any interannual variation or anomalies. The WMO originated from the International Meteorological Organization which set up a commission for climatology in 1929. At its 1934 Wiesbaden meeting the commission designated the thirty-year period from 1901 to 1930 as the reference time frame for climatological standard normals. In 1982 the WMO agreed to update climate normals, and in these were completed on the basis of climate data from 1 January 1961 to 31 December 1990. The difference between climate and weather is usefully summarized by the popular phrase Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get. Over historical time spans there are a number of nearly constant variables that determine climate, including latitude, altitude, proportion of land to water and these change only over periods of millions of years due to processes such as plate tectonics
11.
Mineral
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A mineral is a naturally occurring chemical compound, usually of crystalline form and abiogenic in origin. A mineral has one specific chemical composition, whereas a rock can be an aggregate of different minerals or mineraloids, the study of minerals is called mineralogy. There are over 5,300 known mineral species, over 5,070 of these have been approved by the International Mineralogical Association, the silicate minerals compose over 90% of the Earths crust. The diversity and abundance of species is controlled by the Earths chemistry. Silicon and oxygen constitute approximately 75% of the Earths crust, which translates directly into the predominance of silicate minerals, minerals are distinguished by various chemical and physical properties. Differences in chemical composition and crystal structure distinguish the various species, changes in the temperature, pressure, or bulk composition of a rock mass cause changes in its minerals. Minerals can be described by their various properties, which are related to their chemical structure. Common distinguishing characteristics include crystal structure and habit, hardness, lustre, diaphaneity, colour, streak, tenacity, cleavage, fracture, parting, more specific tests for describing minerals include magnetism, taste or smell, radioactivity and reaction to acid. Minerals are classified by key chemical constituents, the two dominant systems are the Dana classification and the Strunz classification, the silicate class of minerals is subdivided into six subclasses by the degree of polymerization in the chemical structure. All silicate minerals have a unit of a 4− silica tetrahedron—that is, a silicon cation coordinated by four oxygen anions. These tetrahedra can be polymerized to give the subclasses, orthosilicates, disilicates, cyclosilicates, inosilicates, phyllosilicates, other important mineral groups include the native elements, sulfides, oxides, halides, carbonates, sulfates, and phosphates. The first criterion means that a mineral has to form by a natural process, stability at room temperature, in the simplest sense, is synonymous to the mineral being solid. More specifically, a compound has to be stable or metastable at 25 °C, modern advances have included extensive study of liquid crystals, which also extensively involve mineralogy. Minerals are chemical compounds, and as such they can be described by fixed or a variable formula, many mineral groups and species are composed of a solid solution, pure substances are not usually found because of contamination or chemical substitution. Finally, the requirement of an ordered atomic arrangement is usually synonymous with crystallinity, however, crystals are also periodic, an ordered atomic arrangement gives rise to a variety of macroscopic physical properties, such as crystal form, hardness, and cleavage. There have been recent proposals to amend the definition to consider biogenic or amorphous substances as minerals. The formal definition of an approved by the IMA in 1995, A mineral is an element or chemical compound that is normally crystalline. However, if geological processes were involved in the genesis of the compound, Mineral classification schemes and their definitions are evolving to match recent advances in mineral science
12.
Rock (geology)
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Rock or stone is a natural substance, a solid aggregate of one or more minerals or mineraloids. For example, granite, a rock, is a combination of the minerals quartz, feldspar. The Earths outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock, rock has been used by mankind throughout history. The minerals and metals found in rocks have been essential to human civilization, three major groups of rocks are defined, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. The scientific study of rocks is called petrology, which is a component of geology. At a granular level, rocks are composed of grains of minerals, the aggregate minerals forming the rock are held together by chemical bonds. The types and abundance of minerals in a rock are determined by the manner in which the rock was formed, many rocks contain silica, a compound of silicon and oxygen that forms 74. 3% of the Earths crust. This material forms crystals with other compounds in the rock, the proportion of silica in rocks and minerals is a major factor in determining their name and properties. Rocks are geologically classified according to such as mineral and chemical composition, permeability, the texture of the constituent particles. These physical properties are the end result of the processes that formed the rocks, over the course of time, rocks can transform from one type into another, as described by the geological model called the rock cycle. These events produce three general classes of rock, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic, the three classes of rocks are subdivided into many groups. However, there are no hard and fast boundaries between allied rocks, hence the definitions adopted in establishing rock nomenclature merely correspond to more or less arbitrary selected points in a continuously graduated series. Igneous rock forms through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava and this magma can be derived from partial melts of pre-existing rocks in either a planets mantle or crust. Typically, the melting of rocks is caused by one or more of three processes, an increase in temperature, a decrease in pressure, or a change in composition, igneous rocks are divided into two main categories, plutonic rock and volcanic. Plutonic or intrusive rocks result when magma cools and crystallizes slowly within the Earths crust, a common example of this type is granite. Volcanic or extrusive rocks result from magma reaching the surface either as lava or fragmental ejecta, the chemical abundance and the rate of cooling of magma typically forms a sequence known as Bowens reaction series. Most major igneous rocks are found along this scale, about 64. 7% of the Earths crust by volume consists of igneous rocks, making it the most plentiful category. Of these, 66% are basalts and gabbros, 16% are granite, only 0. 6% are syenites and 0. 3% peridotites and dunites
13.
Soil horizon
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A soil horizon is a layer generally parallel to the soil crust, whose physical characteristics differ from the layers above and beneath. Each soil type usually has three or four horizons, Horizons are defined in most cases by obvious physical features, chiefly colour and texture. These may be described both in terms and in terms relative to the surrounding material. The differentiation of the soil into distinct horizons is largely the result of influences, such as air, water, solar radiation and plant material, the World Reference Base for Soil Resources lists 40 diagnostic horizons. Soil scientists often dig a hole, called a soil pit to expose soil horizons for study. The vertical section exposing a set of horizons, from the surface to the parent rock, is termed a soil profile. Most soils, especially in climates, conform to a similar general pattern of horizons. Each main horizon is denoted by a letter, which may then be followed by several alphanumerical modifiers highlighting particular outstanding features of the horizon. While the general O-A-B-C-R sequence seems fairly universal, some variation exists between the systems in different parts of the world. It should be emphasised that no one system is more correct – as artificial constructs, also, many subtropical and tropical areas have soils such as oxisols or aridisols that have very different horizons from ideal soil, or no horizons at all. Six master soil horizons are commonly recognized and are designated using the capital letters O, A, E, B, C, the following horizons are listed by their position from top to bottom within the soil profile. Not all of these layers are present in every location, for instance, P horizons only form in areas that have been waterlogged for long periods of time. Soils with a history of human interference, for instance through major earthworks or regular deep ploughing, the horizon not listed is the O horizon which is grass and animal/plant life. Several systems of soil horizon classification exist, the most well known and widely used is the A-B-C system, first used in Russia by Dokuchaev in the late 19th century in his description of Chernozem soils. Other systems exist, including the systems of diagnostic horizons employed by USDA Soil Taxonomy, at perhaps the most fundamental level, distinction can be made between mineral soil horizons and organic soil horizons. Dokuchaev was the first to label soil horizons with A, B and C designations, according to Nikiforoff, Dokuchaevs A horizon was the surface humus horizon, his B horizon was the second horizon and graded to the C horizon, which was the relatively unweathered parent material. This layer generally forms above the soil or occurs in an organic soil profile. The O stands for organic matter and it is a surface layer dominated by the presence of large amounts of organic material derived from dead plant and/or animal residues which is in varying stages of decomposition
14.
Agronomy
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Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, fiber, and land reclamation. Agronomy has come to work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology. It is the application of a combination of sciences like biology, chemistry, economics, ecology, earth science, agronomists of today are involved with many issues, including producing food, creating healthier food, managing the environmental impact of agriculture, and extracting energy from plants. Agronomists often specialise in such as crop rotation, irrigation and drainage, plant breeding, plant physiology, soil classification, soil fertility, weed control. This area of agronomy involves selective breeding of plants to produce the best crops under various conditions, plant breeding has increased crop yields and has improved the nutritional value of numerous crops, including corn, soybeans, and wheat. It has also led to the development of new types of plants, for example, a hybrid grain called triticale was produced by crossbreeding rye and wheat. Triticale contains more protein than does either rye or wheat. Agronomy has also been instrumental in fruit and vegetable production research, agronomists use biotechnology to extend and expedite the development of desired characteristic. Biotechnology is often a lab activity requiring field testing of the new varieties that are developed. In addition to increasing crop yields agronomic biotechnology is increasingly being applied for novel uses other than food, for example, oilseed is at present used mainly for margarine and other food oils, but it can be modified to produce fatty acids for detergents, substitute fuels and petrochemicals. Agronomists study sustainable ways to make soils more productive and profitable and they classify soils and analyze them to determine whether they contain nutrients vital to plant growth. Common macronutrients analyzed include compounds of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, soil is also assessed for several micronutrients, like zinc and boron. The percentage of organic matter, soil pH, and nutrient holding capacity are tested in a regional laboratory, agronomists will interpret these lab reports and make recommendations to balance soil nutrients for optimal plant growth. In addition, agronomists develop methods to preserve the soil and to decrease the effects of erosion by wind, for example, a technique called contour plowing may be used to prevent soil erosion and conserve rainfall. Researchers in agronomy also seek ways to use the more effectively in solving other problems. Such problems include the disposal of human and animal manure, water pollution, techniques include no-tilling crops, planting of soil-binding grasses along contours on steep slopes, and contour drains of depths up to 1 metre. Agroecology is the management of systems with an emphasis on ecological and environmental perspectives. This area is associated with work in the areas of sustainable agriculture, organic farming, and alternative food systems
15.
Sustainable development
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The desirable end result is a state of society where living conditions and resource use continue to meet human needs without undermining the integrity and stability of the natural systems. As the concept developed, it has shifted to more on economic development, social development. The concept of development has been — and still is — subject to criticism. What, exactly, is to be sustained in sustainable development, Sustainable development ties together concern for the carrying capacity of natural systems with the social, political, and economic challenges faced by humanity. Sustainability science is the study of the concepts of sustainable development, there is an additional focus on the present generations responsibility to regenerate, maintain and improve planetary resources for use by future generations. Sustainable development has its roots in ideas about sustainable forest management which were developed in Europe during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In 1713 Hans Carl von Carlowitz, a mining administrator in the service of Elector Frederick Augustus I of Saxony published Sylvicultura oeconomica. Building upon the ideas of Evelyn and French minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert and his work influenced others, including Alexander von Humboldt and Georg Ludwig Hartig, eventually leading to the development of a science of forestry. Two years later, the United Nations World Charter for Nature raised five principles of conservation by which human conduct affecting nature is to be guided and judged. In 1987 the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development released the report Our Common Future, the report included what is now one of the most widely recognised definitions of sustainable development. In 1992, the UN Conference on Environment and Development published the Earth Charter, which outlines the building of a just, sustainable and it emphasises that in sustainable development everyone is a user and provider of information. Furthermore, Agenda 21 emphasises that broad public participation in making is a fundamental prerequisite for achieving sustainable development. Broadly defined, sustainable development is an approach to growth and development and to manage natural, produced. A2013 study concluded that sustainability reporting should be reframed through the lens of four interconnected domains, ecology, economics, politics, the goals are to be implemented and achieved in every country from the year 2016 to 2030. Sustainable development, or sustainability, has described in terms of three spheres, dimensions, domains or pillars, i. e. the environment, the economy. The three-sphere framework was proposed by the economist René Passet in 1979. It has also been worded as economic, environmental and social or ecology, economy and this has been expanded by some authors to include a fourth pillar of culture, institutions or governance. The ecological stability of human settlements is part of the relationship between humans and their natural, social and built environments, also termed human ecology, this broadens the focus of sustainable development to include the domain of human health
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Biosphere
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The biosphere also known as the ecosphere, is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. The two joined words are bio and sphere and it can also be termed as the zone of life on Earth, a closed system, and largely self-regulating. The biosphere is postulated to have evolved, beginning with a process of biopoiesis or biogenesis, more recently, in 2015, remains of biotic life were found in 4.1 billion-year-old rocks in Western Australia. According to one of the researchers, If life arose relatively quickly on Earth, then it could be common in the universe. In a general sense, biospheres are any closed, self-regulating systems containing ecosystems and this includes artificial biospheres such as Biosphere 2 and BIOS-3, and potentially ones on other planets or moons. The term biosphere was coined by geologist Eduard Suess in 1875, while the concept has a geological origin, it is an indication of the effect of both Charles Darwin and Matthew F. Maury on the Earth sciences. The biospheres ecological context comes from the 1920s, preceding the 1935 introduction of the ecosystem by Sir Arthur Tansley. Vernadsky defined ecology as the science of the biosphere and it is an interdisciplinary concept for integrating astronomy, geophysics, meteorology, biogeography, evolution, geology, geochemistry, hydrology and, generally speaking, all life and Earth sciences. Geochemists define the biosphere as being the sum of living organisms. In this sense, the biosphere is but one of four components of the geochemical model. When these four component spheres are combined into one system, it is known as the Ecosphere and this term was coined during the 1960s and encompasses both biological and physical components of the planet. The Second International Conference on Closed Life Systems defined biospherics as the science and technology of analogs and models of Earths biosphere, others may include the creation of artificial non-Earth biospheres—for example, human-centered biospheres or a native Martian biosphere—as part of the topic of biospherics. Every part of the planet, from the ice caps to the equator. The actual thickness of the biosphere on earth is difficult to measure, birds typically fly at altitudes as high as 1,800 m and fish live as much as 8,372 m underwater in the Puerto Rico Trench. Herbivorous animals at these elevations depend on lichens, grasses, microorganisms, under certain test conditions, have been observed to thrive in the vacuum of outer space. The total amount of soil and subsurface bacterial carbon is estimated as 5 ×1017 g, the mass of prokaryote microorganisms—which includes bacteria and archaea, but not the nucleated eukaryote microorganisms—may be as much as 0.8 trillion tons of carbon. Barophilic marine microbes have been found at more than a depth of 10,000 m in the Mariana Trench, in fact, single-celled life forms have been found in the deepest part of the Mariana Trench, by the Challenger Deep, at depths of 11,034 m. Culturable thermophilic microbes have been extracted from cores drilled more than 5,000 m into the Earths crust in Sweden, temperature increases with increasing depth into the Earths crust
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Hydrosphere
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The hydrosphere is the combined mass of water found on, under, and above the surface of a planet, minor planet or natural satellite. It has been estimated there are 1386 million cubic kilometers of water on Earth. This includes water in liquid and frozen forms in groundwater, oceans, lakes, saltwater accounts for 97. 5% of this amount. Fresh water accounts for only 2. 5%, of this fresh water,68. 9% is in the form of ice and permanent snow cover in the Arctic, the Antarctic, and mountain glaciers. 30. 8% is in the form of fresh groundwater, only 0. 3% of the fresh water on Earth is in easily accessible lakes, reservoirs and river systems. The total mass of the Earths hydrosphere is about 1.4 ×1018 tonnes, about 20 ×1012 tonnes of this is in Earths atmosphere. Approximately 75% of Earths surface, an area of some 361 million square kilometers, is covered by ocean, the average salinity of Earths oceans is about 35 grams of salt per kilogram of sea water. The hydrological cycle transfers water from one state or reservoir to another, reservoirs include atmospheric moisture, streams, oceans, rivers, lakes, groundwater, subterranean aquifers, polar icecaps and saturated soil. Solar energy, in the form of heat and light, most evaporation comes from the oceans and is returned to the earth as snow or rain. Sublimation refers to evaporation from snow and ice, transpiration refers to the expiration of water through the minute pores or stomata of trees. Evapotranspiration is the used by hydrologists in reference to the three processes together, transpiration, sublimation and evaporation. In his book Water, Marq de Villiers described the hydrosphere as a system in which water exists. The hydrosphere is intricate, complex, interdependent, all-pervading and stable, de Villiers claimed that, On earth, the total amount of water has almost certainly not changed since geological times, what we had then we still have. Water can be polluted, abused, and misused but it is neither created nor destroyed, there is no evidence that water vapor escapes into space. Every year the turnover of water on Earth involves 577,000 km3 of water and this is water that evaporates from the oceanic surface and from land. The same amount of falls as atmospheric precipitation,458,000 km3 on the ocean and 119,000 km3 on land. The difference between precipitation and evaporation from the surface represents the total runoff of the Earths rivers. These are the sources of fresh water to support life necessities
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Lithosphere
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A lithosphere is the rigid, outermost shell of a terrestrial-type planet or natural satellite that is defined by its rigid mechanical properties. On Earth, it is composed of the crust and the portion of the mantle that behaves elastically on time scales of thousands of years or greater. The outermost shell of a planet, the crust, is defined on the basis of its chemistry. Earths lithosphere includes the crust and the uppermost mantle, which constitute the hard, the lithosphere is subdivided into tectonic plates. The uppermost part of the lithosphere that chemically reacts to the atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere through the forming process is called the pedosphere. The lithosphere is underlain by the asthenosphere which is the weaker, hotter, the study of past and current formations of landscapes is called geomorphology. The concept of the lithosphere as Earth’s strong outer layer was described by A. E. H, love in his 1911 monograph Some problems of Geodynamics and further developed by Joseph Barrell, who wrote a series of papers about the concept and introduced the term lithosphere. The concept was based on the presence of significant gravity anomalies over continental crust and these ideas were expanded by Reginald Aldworth Daly in 1940 with his seminal work Strength and Structure of the Earth and have been broadly accepted by geologists and geophysicists. The temperature at which olivine begins to deform viscously is often used to set this isotherm because olivine is generally the weakest mineral in the upper mantle, the mantle part of the lithosphere consists largely of peridotite. The crust is distinguished from the mantle by the change in chemical composition that takes place at the Moho discontinuity. Oceanic lithosphere consists mainly of mafic crust and ultramafic mantle and is denser than continental lithosphere, oceanic lithosphere thickens as it ages and moves away from the mid-ocean ridge. This thickening occurs by conductive cooling, which converts hot asthenosphere into lithospheric mantle and causes the oceanic lithosphere to become increasingly thick, the thickness of the mantle part of the oceanic lithosphere can be approximated as a thermal boundary layer that thickens as the square root of time. H ∼2 κ t Here, h is the thickness of the mantle lithosphere, κ is the thermal diffusivity for silicate rocks. The age is equal to L/V, where L is the distance from the spreading centre of mid-oceanic ridge. Oceanic lithosphere is less dense than asthenosphere for a few tens of millions of years and this is because the chemically differentiated oceanic crust is lighter than asthenosphere, but thermal contraction of the mantle lithosphere makes it more dense than the asthenosphere. New oceanic lithosphere is constantly being produced at mid-ocean ridges and is recycled back to the mantle at subduction zones, geoscientists can directly study the nature of the subcontinental mantle by examining mantle xenoliths brought up in kimberlite, lamproite, and other volcanic pipes. The histories of these xenoliths have been investigated by many methods, such studies have confirmed that mantle lithospheres below some cratons have persisted for periods in excess of 3 billion years, despite the mantle flow that accompanies plate tectonics. Cryosphere Geosphere Kola Superdeep Borehole Plate tectonics Solid Earth Chernicoff, Stanley, Whitney, earths Crust, Lithosphere and Asthenosphere Crust and Lithosphere
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Meteorology
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Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences which includes atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric physics, with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century, the 19th century saw modest progress in the field after weather observation networks were formed across broad regions. Prior attempts at prediction of weather depended on historical data, Meteorological phenomena are observable weather events that are explained by the science of meteorology. Different spatial scales are used to describe and predict weather on local, regional, Meteorology, climatology, atmospheric physics, and atmospheric chemistry are sub-disciplines of the atmospheric sciences. Meteorology and hydrology compose the interdisciplinary field of hydrometeorology, the interactions between Earths atmosphere and its oceans are part of a coupled ocean-atmosphere system. Meteorology has application in diverse fields such as the military, energy production, transport, agriculture. The word meteorology is from Greek μετέωρος metéōros lofty, high and -λογία -logia -logy, varāhamihiras classical work Brihatsamhita, written about 500 AD, provides clear evidence that a deep knowledge of atmospheric processes existed even in those times. In 350 BC, Aristotle wrote Meteorology, Aristotle is considered the founder of meteorology. One of the most impressive achievements described in the Meteorology is the description of what is now known as the hydrologic cycle and they are all called swooping bolts because they swoop down upon the Earth. Lightning is sometimes smoky, and is then called smoldering lightning, sometimes it darts quickly along, at other times, it travels in crooked lines, and is called forked lightning. When it swoops down upon some object it is called swooping lightning, the Greek scientist Theophrastus compiled a book on weather forecasting, called the Book of Signs. The work of Theophrastus remained a dominant influence in the study of weather, in 25 AD, Pomponius Mela, a geographer for the Roman Empire, formalized the climatic zone system. According to Toufic Fahd, around the 9th century, Al-Dinawari wrote the Kitab al-Nabat, ptolemy wrote on the atmospheric refraction of light in the context of astronomical observations. St. Roger Bacon was the first to calculate the size of the rainbow. He stated that a rainbow summit can not appear higher than 42 degrees above the horizon, in the late 13th century and early 14th century, Kamāl al-Dīn al-Fārisī and Theodoric of Freiberg were the first to give the correct explanations for the primary rainbow phenomenon. Theoderic went further and also explained the secondary rainbow, in 1716, Edmund Halley suggested that aurorae are caused by magnetic effluvia moving along the Earths magnetic field lines. In 1441, King Sejongs son, Prince Munjong, invented the first standardized rain gauge and these were sent throughout the Joseon Dynasty of Korea as an official tool to assess land taxes based upon a farmers potential harvest. In 1450, Leone Battista Alberti developed a swinging-plate anemometer, and was known as the first anemometer, in 1607, Galileo Galilei constructed a thermoscope
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Climatology
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Climatology or climate science is the study of climate, scientifically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of time. This modern field of study is regarded as a branch of the sciences and a subfield of physical geography. Climatology now includes aspects of oceanography and biogeochemistry, Climate models are used for a variety of purposes from study of the dynamics of the weather and climate system to projections of future climate. Weather is known as the condition of the atmosphere over a period of time, while Climate has to do with the atmospheric condition over an extended to indefinite period of time. Early climate researchers include Edmund Halley, who published a map of the winds in 1686 after a voyage to the southern hemisphere. Benjamin Franklin first mapped the course of the Gulf Stream for use in sending mail from the United States to Europe, francis Galton invented the term anticyclone. Helmut Landsberg fostered the use of analysis in climatology, which led to its evolution into a physical science. Climatology is approached in various such as Paleoclimatology, which seeks to reconstruct past climates by examining records such as ice cores. Paleotempestology uses these same records to help determine hurricane frequency over millennia, the study of contemporary climates incorporates meteorological data accumulated over many years, such as records of rainfall, temperature and atmospheric composition. Knowledge of the atmosphere and its dynamics is also embodied in models, either statistical or mathematical, modeling is used for understanding past, present and potential future climates. Historical climatology is the study of climate as related to human history, Climate research is made difficult by the large scale, long time periods, and complex processes which govern climate. Climate is governed by laws which can be expressed as differential equations. These equations are coupled and nonlinear, so that solutions are obtained by using numerical methods to create global climate models. Climate is sometimes modeled as a process but this is generally accepted as an approximation to processes that are otherwise too complicated to analyze. Scientists use climate indices based on several climate patterns in their attempt to characterize, Climate indices are generally devised with the twin objectives of simplicity and completeness, and each index typically represents the status and timing of the climate factor it represents. El Niño–Southern Oscillation is a global coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon, the Pacific Ocean signatures, El Niño and La Niña are important temperature fluctuations in surface waters of the tropical Eastern Pacific Ocean. La Niña means the little girl and their effect on climate in the subtropics and the tropics are profound. The atmospheric signature, the Southern Oscillation reflects the monthly or seasonal fluctuations in the air pressure difference between Tahiti and Darwin, the most recent occurrence of El Niño started in September 2006 and lasted until early 2007
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Ecology
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Ecology is the scientific analysis and study of interactions among organisms and their environment. It is a field that includes biology, geography. Ecology includes the study of interactions that organisms have with other, other organisms. Ecosystems are composed of dynamically interacting parts including organisms, the communities make up. Ecosystem processes, such as production, pedogenesis, nutrient cycling. These processes are sustained by organisms with specific life history traits, biodiversity, which refers to the varieties of species, genes, and ecosystems, enhances certain ecosystem services. Ecology is not synonymous with environment, environmentalism, natural history and it is closely related to evolutionary biology, genetics, and ethology. An important focus for ecologists is to improve the understanding of how biodiversity affects ecological function, Ecology is a human science as well. For example, the Circles of Sustainability approach treats ecology as more than the environment out there and it is not treated as separate from humans. Organisms and resources compose ecosystems which, in turn, maintain biophysical feedback mechanisms that moderate processes acting on living and non-living components of the planet, the word ecology was coined in 1866 by the German scientist Ernst Haeckel. Ecological thought is derivative of established currents in philosophy, particularly from ethics and politics, ancient Greek philosophers such as Hippocrates and Aristotle laid the foundations of ecology in their studies on natural history. Modern ecology became a more rigorous science in the late 19th century. Evolutionary concepts relating to adaptation and natural selection became the cornerstones of modern ecological theory, the scope of ecology contains a wide array of interacting levels of organization spanning micro-level to a planetary scale phenomena. Ecosystems, for example, contain abiotic resources and interacting life forms, an ecosystems area can vary greatly, from tiny to vast. A single tree is of consequence to the classification of a forest ecosystem. Several generations of a population can exist over the lifespan of a single leaf. Each of those aphids, in turn, support diverse bacterial communities, biodiversity describes the diversity of life from genes to ecosystems and spans every level of biological organization. The term has several interpretations, and there are ways to index, measure, characterize
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Biology
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Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, evolution, distribution, identification and taxonomy. Modern biology is a vast and eclectic field, composed of branches and subdisciplines. However, despite the broad scope of biology, there are certain unifying concepts within it that consolidate it into single, coherent field. In general, biology recognizes the cell as the unit of life, genes as the basic unit of heredity. It is also understood today that all organisms survive by consuming and transforming energy and by regulating their internal environment to maintain a stable, the term biology is derived from the Greek word βίος, bios, life and the suffix -λογία, -logia, study of. The Latin-language form of the term first appeared in 1736 when Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus used biologi in his Bibliotheca botanica, the first German use, Biologie, was in a 1771 translation of Linnaeus work. In 1797, Theodor Georg August Roose used the term in the preface of a book, karl Friedrich Burdach used the term in 1800 in a more restricted sense of the study of human beings from a morphological, physiological and psychological perspective. The science that concerns itself with these objects we will indicate by the biology or the doctrine of life. Although modern biology is a recent development, sciences related to. Natural philosophy was studied as early as the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indian subcontinent, however, the origins of modern biology and its approach to the study of nature are most often traced back to ancient Greece. While the formal study of medicine back to Hippocrates, it was Aristotle who contributed most extensively to the development of biology. Especially important are his History of Animals and other works where he showed naturalist leanings, and later more empirical works that focused on biological causation and the diversity of life. Aristotles successor at the Lyceum, Theophrastus, wrote a series of books on botany that survived as the most important contribution of antiquity to the plant sciences, even into the Middle Ages. Scholars of the medieval Islamic world who wrote on biology included al-Jahiz, Al-Dīnawarī, who wrote on botany, biology began to quickly develop and grow with Anton van Leeuwenhoeks dramatic improvement of the microscope. It was then that scholars discovered spermatozoa, bacteria, infusoria, investigations by Jan Swammerdam led to new interest in entomology and helped to develop the basic techniques of microscopic dissection and staining. Advances in microscopy also had a impact on biological thinking. In the early 19th century, a number of biologists pointed to the importance of the cell. Thanks to the work of Robert Remak and Rudolf Virchow, however, meanwhile, taxonomy and classification became the focus of natural historians
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Hydrology
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Hydrology is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is a hydrologist, working within the fields of earth or environmental science, physical geography, geology or civil, Hydrology subdivides into surface water hydrology, groundwater hydrology, and marine hydrology. Domains of hydrology include hydrometeorology, surface hydrology, hydrogeology, drainage-basin management and water quality, oceanography and meteorology are not included because water is only one of many important aspects within those fields. Hydrological research can inform environmental engineering, policy and planning, the term hydrology comes from Greek, ὕδωρ, hýdōr, water, and λόγος, lógos, study. Chemical hydrology is the study of the characteristics of water. Ecohydrology is the study of interactions between organisms and the hydrologic cycle, hydrogeology is the study of the presence and movement of groundwater. Hydroinformatics is the adaptation of technology to hydrology and water resources applications. Hydrometeorology is the study of the transfer of water and energy between land and water surfaces and the lower atmosphere. Isotope hydrology is the study of the signatures of water. Surface hydrology is the study of processes that operate at or near Earths surface. Drainage basin management covers water-storage, in the form of reservoirs, water quality includes the chemistry of water in rivers and lakes, both of pollutants and natural solutes. Determining the water balance of a region, mitigating and predicting flood, landslide and drought risk. Real-time flood forecasting and flood warning, designing irrigation schemes and managing agricultural productivity. Part of the module in catastrophe modeling. Designing dams for water supply or hydroelectric power generation, designing sewers and urban drainage system. Analyzing the impacts of antecedent moisture on sanitary sewer systems, predicting geomorphologic changes, such as erosion or sedimentation. Assessing the impacts of natural and anthropogenic environmental change on water resources, assessing contaminant transport risk and establishing environmental policy guidelines. Hydrology has been a subject of investigation and engineering for millennia, for example, about 4000 BC the Nile was dammed to improve agricultural productivity of previously barren lands
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Geomorphology
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Geomorphology is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or near the Earths surface. Geomorphologists work within disciplines such as geography, geology, geodesy, engineering geology, archaeology. This broad base of interests contributes to many styles and interests within the field. Earths surface is modified by a combination of processes that sculpt landscapes, and geologic processes that cause tectonic uplift and subsidence. Many of these factors are strongly mediated by climate, the broad-scale topographies of the Earth illustrate this intersection of surface and subsurface action. Mountain belts are uplifted due to geologic processes, denudation of these high uplifted regions produces sediment that is transported and deposited elsewhere within the landscape or off the coast. On progressively smaller scales, similar ideas apply, where individual landforms evolve in response to the balance of additive processes, often, these processes directly affect each other, ice sheets, water, and sediment are all loads that change topography through flexural isostasy. Topography can modify the climate, for example through orographic precipitation. Many geomorphologists are particularly interested in the potential for feedbacks between climate and tectonics, mediated by geomorphic processes, in addition to these broad-scale questions, geomorphologists address issues that are more specific and/or more local. Fluvial geomorphologists focus on rivers, how they transport sediment, migrate across the landscape, cut into bedrock, respond to environmental and tectonic changes, and interact with humans. Soils geomorphologists investigate soil profiles and chemistry to learn about the history of a landscape and understand how climate, biota. Other geomorphologists study how hillslopes form and change, still others investigate the relationships between ecology and geomorphology. Because geomorphology is defined to comprise everything related to the surface of the Earth and its modification, geomorphologists use a wide range of techniques in their work. These may include fieldwork and field data collection, the interpretation of remotely sensed data, geochemical analyses, geomorphologists may rely on geochronology, using dating methods to measure the rate of changes to the surface. Practical applications of geomorphology include hazard assessment, river control and stream restoration, planetary geomorphology studies landforms on other terrestrial planets such as Mars. Indications of effects of wind, fluvial, glacial, mass wasting, meteor impact, tectonics and this effort not only helps better understand the geologic and atmospheric history of those planets but also extends geomorphological study of the Earth. Planetary geomorphologists often use Earth analogues to aid in their study of surfaces of other planets, other than some notable exceptions in antiquity, geomorphology is a relatively young science, growing along with interest in other aspects of the earth sciences in the mid-19th century. This section provides a brief outline of some of the major figures
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Geology
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Geology is an earth science concerned with the solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Geology can also refer generally to the study of the features of any terrestrial planet. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth by providing the evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life. Geology also plays a role in engineering and is a major academic discipline. The majority of data comes from research on solid Earth materials. These typically fall into one of two categories, rock and unconsolidated material, the majority of research in geology is associated with the study of rock, as rock provides the primary record of the majority of the geologic history of the Earth. There are three types of rock, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. The rock cycle is an important concept in geology which illustrates the relationships between three types of rock, and magma. When a rock crystallizes from melt, it is an igneous rock, the sedimentary rock can then be subsequently turned into a metamorphic rock due to heat and pressure and is then weathered, eroded, deposited, and lithified, ultimately becoming a sedimentary rock. Sedimentary rock may also be re-eroded and redeposited, and metamorphic rock may also undergo additional metamorphism, all three types of rocks may be re-melted, when this happens, a new magma is formed, from which an igneous rock may once again crystallize. Geologists also study unlithified material which typically comes from more recent deposits and these materials are superficial deposits which lie above the bedrock. Because of this, the study of material is often known as Quaternary geology. This includes the study of sediment and soils, including studies in geomorphology, sedimentology and this theory is supported by several types of observations, including seafloor spreading, and the global distribution of mountain terrain and seismicity. This coupling between rigid plates moving on the surface of the Earth and the mantle is called plate tectonics. The development of plate tectonics provided a basis for many observations of the solid Earth. Long linear regions of geologic features could be explained as plate boundaries, mid-ocean ridges, high regions on the seafloor where hydrothermal vents and volcanoes exist, were explained as divergent boundaries, where two plates move apart. Arcs of volcanoes and earthquakes were explained as convergent boundaries, where one plate subducts under another, transform boundaries, such as the San Andreas Fault system, resulted in widespread powerful earthquakes. Plate tectonics also provided a mechanism for Alfred Wegeners theory of continental drift and they also provided a driving force for crustal deformation, and a new setting for the observations of structural geology
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Earth science
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Earth science or geoscience is a widely embraced term for the fields of science related to the planet Earth. Earth science can be considered to be a branch of planetary science, there are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth sciences. The Earth sciences can include the study of geology, the lithosphere, and the structure of the Earths interior, as well as the atmosphere, hydrosphere. Typically, Earth scientists use tools from geography, chronology, physics, chemistry, biology, Geology describes the rocky parts of the Earths crust and its historic development. Major subdisciplines are mineralogy and petrology, geochemistry, geomorphology, paleontology, stratigraphy, structural geology, engineering geology, geophysics and geodesy investigate the shape of the Earth, its reaction to forces and its magnetic and gravity fields. Geophysicists explore the Earths core and mantle as well as the tectonic and seismic activity of the lithosphere, geophysics is commonly used to supplement the work of geologists in developing a comprehensive understanding of crustal geology, particularly in mineral and petroleum exploration. Soil science covers the outermost layer of the Earths crust that is subject to soil formation processes, major subdisciplines include edaphology and pedology. Ecology covers the interactions between the biota, with their natural environment and this field of study differentiates the study of the Earth, from the study of other planets in the Solar System, the Earth being the only planet teeming with life. Hydrology is a study revolved around the movement, distribution, and quality of the water and involves all the components of the cycle on the earth. Sub-disciplines of hydrology include hydrometeorology, surface hydrology, hydrogeology, watershed science, forest hydrology. Glaciology covers the icy parts of the Earth, atmospheric sciences cover the gaseous parts of the Earth between the surface and the exosphere. Major subdisciplines include meteorology, climatology, atmospheric chemistry, and atmospheric physics, plate tectonics, mountain ranges, volcanoes, and earthquakes are geological phenomena that can be explained in terms of physical and chemical processes in the Earths crust. Beneath the Earths crust lies the mantle which is heated by the decay of heavy elements. The mantle is not quite solid and consists of magma which is in a state of semi-perpetual convection and this convection process causes the lithospheric plates to move, albeit slowly. The resulting process is known as plate tectonics, plate tectonics might be thought of as the process by which the Earth is resurfaced. As the result of spreading, new crust and lithosphere is created by the flow of magma from the mantle to the near surface, through fissures. Through subduction, oceanic crust and lithosphere returns to the convecting mantle, volcanoes result primarily from the melting of subducted crust material. Crust material that is forced into the asthenosphere melts, and some portion of the material becomes light enough to rise to the surface—giving birth to volcanoes
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Natural science
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Natural science is a branch of science concerned with the description, prediction, and understanding of natural phenomena, based on observational and empirical evidence. Mechanisms such as review and repeatability of findings are used to try to ensure the validity of scientific advances. Natural science can be divided into two branches, life science and physical science. Physical science is subdivided into branches, including physics, space science, chemistry and these branches of natural science may be further divided into more specialized branches. Modern natural science succeeded more classical approaches to natural philosophy, usually traced to ancient Greece, galileo, Descartes, Francis Bacon, and Newton debated the benefits of using approaches which were more mathematical and more experimental in a methodical way. Still, philosophical perspectives, conjectures, and presuppositions, often overlooked, systematic data collection, including discovery science, succeeded natural history, which emerged in the 16th century by describing and classifying plants, animals, minerals, and so on. Today, natural history suggests observational descriptions aimed at popular audiences, philosophers of science have suggested a number of criteria, including Karl Poppers controversial falsifiability criterion, to help them differentiate scientific endeavors from non-scientific ones. Validity, accuracy, and quality control, such as peer review and this field encompasses a set of disciplines that examines phenomena related to living organisms. The scale of study can range from sub-component biophysics up to complex ecologies, biology is concerned with the characteristics, classification and behaviors of organisms, as well as how species were formed and their interactions with each other and the environment. The biological fields of botany, zoology, and medicine date back to periods of civilization. However, it was not until the 19th century that became a unified science. Once scientists discovered commonalities between all living things, it was decided they were best studied as a whole, modern biology is divided into subdisciplines by the type of organism and by the scale being studied. Molecular biology is the study of the chemistry of life, while cellular biology is the examination of the cell. At a higher level, anatomy and physiology looks at the internal structures, constituting the scientific study of matter at the atomic and molecular scale, chemistry deals primarily with collections of atoms, such as gases, molecules, crystals, and metals. The composition, statistical properties, transformations and reactions of these materials are studied, chemistry also involves understanding the properties and interactions of individual atoms and molecules for use in larger-scale applications. Most chemical processes can be studied directly in a laboratory, using a series of techniques for manipulating materials, chemistry is often called the central science because of its role in connecting the other natural sciences. Early experiments in chemistry had their roots in the system of Alchemy, the science of chemistry began to develop with the work of Robert Boyle, the discoverer of gas, and Antoine Lavoisier, who developed the theory of the Conservation of mass. The success of science led to a complementary chemical industry that now plays a significant role in the world economy
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Paleoecology
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Paleoecology uses data from fossils and subfossils to reconstruct the ecosystems of the past. Such interpretations aid the reconstruction of past environments, paleoecologists have studied the fossil record to try to clarify the relationship animals have to their environment, in part to help understand the current state of biodiversity. They have identified links between vertebrate taxonomic and ecological diversity, that is, between the diversity of animals and the niches they occupy. The aim of paleoecology is therefore to build the most detailed model possible of the environment of previously living organisms found today as fossils. Such reconstruction takes into consideration complex interactions among environmental factors such as temperatures, food supplies, often much of this information is lost or distorted by the fossilization process or diagenesis of the enclosing sediments, making interpretation difficult. The environmental complexity factor is normally tackled through statistical analysis of the numerical data. Much of the original research has focused on the last two million years, because older environments are less well represented in the fossil timeline of evolution. Indeed, many studies concentrate on the Holocene epoch, or the last glacial stage of the Pleistocene epoch, such studies are useful for understanding the dynamics of ecosystem change and for reconstructing pre-industrialization ecosystems. Many public policy decision-makers have pointed to the importance of using palaeoecological studies as a basis for choices made in conservation ecology, historical ecology Palaeogeography Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology Fox D. Taylor, P. D. and Wilson, M. A.2003, Palaeoecology and evolution of marine hard substrate communities
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Palaeogeography
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Palaeogeography is the study of historical geography, generally physical landscapes. Palaeogeography can also include the study of human or cultural environments, when the focus is specifically on the study of landforms, the term paleogeomorphology is sometimes used instead. Paleogeography yields information that is crucial to scientific understanding in a variety of contexts, paleogeographers also study the sedimentary environment associated with fossils for clues to the evolutionary development of extinct species. Paleoecology Paleontology, Study of ancient life, often involving fossils, paleosol Physical geography Plate tectonics, Behavior of plates covering the surface of the Earth. The Role of Latitude in Mobilism Debates
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Glacial geology
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Glaciology is the scientific study of glaciers, or more generally ice and natural phenomena that involve ice. Glaciology is an earth science that integrates geophysics, geology, physical geography, geomorphology, climatology, meteorology, hydrology, biology. The impact of glaciers on people includes the fields of human geography, the discoveries of water ice on the Moon, Mars, Europa and Pluto add an extraterrestrial component to the field, as in astroglaciology. Areas of study within glaciology include glacial history and the reconstruction of past glaciation, a glaciologist is a person who studies glaciers. A glacial geologist studies glacial deposits and glacial erosive features on the landscape, glaciology and glacial geology are key areas of polar research. Alpine - ice flows down the valleys of mountainous areas and forms a tongue of ice moving towards the plains below, continental - an ice sheet found today, only in high latitudes, thousands of square kilometers in area and thousands of meters thick. These tend to smooth out the landscapes, accumulation, where the formation of ice is faster than its removal. Wastage or ablation, where the sum of melting and evaporation is greater than the amount of snow added each year, ablation wastage of the glacier through sublimation, ice melting and iceberg calving. Ablation zone Area of a glacier in which the loss of ice through ablation exceeds the annual gain from precipitation. Arête an acute ridge of rock where two cirques abut, bergschrund crevasse formed near the head of a glacier, where the mass of ice has rotated, sheared and torn itself apart in the manner of a geological fault. Cirque, corrie or cwm bowl shaped depression excavated by the source of a glacier, creep adjustment to stress at a molecular level. Flow movement in a constant direction, fracture brittle failure under the stress raised when movement is too rapid to be accommodated by creep. It happens for example, as the part of a glacier moves faster than the edges. Horn spire of rock, also known as a pyramidal peak and it is an extreme case of an arête. Plucking/Quarrying where the adhesion of the ice to the rock is stronger than the cohesion of the rock, tarn a post-glacial lake in a cirque. Tunnel valley The tunnel that is formed by erosion of ice. The tunnel valley is what remains of it in the rock when the ice sheet has melted. Movement of the glacier is very slow and its velocity varies from a few centimeters per day to a few meters per day
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Paleoclimatology
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Paleoclimatology is the study of changes in climate taken on the scale of the entire history of Earth. It then uses the records to determine the past states of the Earths various climate regions and he noted that the loess deposits at Timaru in the South Island recorded changes in climate, he called the loess a climate register. Paleoclimatologists employ a variety of techniques to deduce ancient climates. Mountain glaciers and the polar ice caps/ice sheets provide much data in paleoclimatology, ice-coring projects in the ice caps of Greenland and Antarctica have yielded data going back several hundred thousand years, over 800,000 years in the case of the EPICA project. Air trapped within fallen snow becomes encased in tiny bubbles as the snow is compressed into ice in the glacier under the weight of later years snow. The trapped air has proven a valuable source for direct measurement of the composition of air from the time the ice was formed. Layering can be observed because of seasonal pauses in ice accumulation and can be used to establish chronology, changes in the layering thickness can be used to determine changes in precipitation or temperature. Oxygen-18 quantity changes in ice layers represent changes in ocean surface temperature. Water molecules containing the heavier O-18 evaporate at a higher temperature than water molecules containing the normal Oxygen-16 isotope, the ratio of O-18 to O-16 will be higher as temperature increases. It also depends on factors such as the waters salinity. Various cycles in those isotope ratios have been detected, pollen has been observed in the ice cores and can be used to understand which plants were present as the layer formed. Pollen is produced in abundance and its distribution is well understood. A pollen count for a layer can be produced by observing the total amount of pollen categorized by type in a controlled sample of that layer. Changes in plant frequency over time can be plotted through statistical analysis of pollen counts in the core, knowing which plants were present leads to an understanding of precipitation and temperature, and types of fauna present. Palynology includes the study of pollen for these purposes, volcanic ash is contained in some layers, and can be used to establish the time of the layers formation. Each volcanic event distributed ash with a set of properties. Establishing the ashs source will establish a range of time to associate with layer of ice, climatic information can be obtained through an understanding of changes in tree growth. Generally, trees respond to changes in climatic variables by speeding up or slowing down growth, different species, however, respond to changes in climatic variables in different ways
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Topography
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Topography is the study of the shape and features of the surface of the Earth and other observable astronomical objects including planets, moons, and asteroids. The topography of an area could refer to the shapes and features themselves. This field of geoscience and planetary science is concerned with detail in general, including not only relief but also natural and artificial features. This meaning is common in the United States, where topographic maps with elevation contours have made topography synonymous with relief. The older sense of topography as the study of place still has currency in Europe, topography in a narrow sense involves the recording of relief or terrain, the three-dimensional quality of the surface, and the identification of specific landforms. This is also known as geomorphometry, in modern usage, this involves generation of elevation data in digital form. It is often considered to include the representation of the landform on a map by a variety of techniques, including contour lines, hypsometric tints. The term topography originated in ancient Greece and continued in ancient Rome, the word comes from the Greek τόπος and -γραφία. In classical literature this refers to writing about a place or places, in Britain and in Europe in general, the word topography is still sometimes used in its original sense. Detailed military surveys in Britain were called Ordnance Surveys, and this term was used into the 20th century as generic for topographic surveys, the earliest scientific surveys in France were called the Cassini maps after the family who produced them over four generations. The term topographic surveys appears to be American in origin, the earliest detailed surveys in the United States were made by the “Topographical Bureau of the Army, ” formed during the War of 1812, which became the Corps of Topographical Engineers in 1838. In the 20th century, the term started to be used to describe surface description in other fields where mapping in a broader sense is used. An objective of topography is to determine the position of any feature or more generally any point in terms of both a horizontal coordinate system such as latitude, longitude, and altitude, identifying features, and recognizing typical landform patterns are also part of the field. There are a variety of approaches to studying topography, which method to use depend on the scale and size of the area under study, its accessibility, and the quality of existing surveys. Work on one of the first topographic maps was begun in France by Giovanni Domenico Cassini, in areas where there has been an extensive direct survey and mapping program, the compiled data forms the basis of basic digital elevation datasets such as USGS DEM data. This data must often be cleaned to eliminate discrepancies between surveys, but it forms a valuable set of information for large-scale analysis. The original American topographic surveys involved not only recording of relief, remote sensing is a general term for geodata collection at a distance from the subject area. Besides their role in photogrammetry, aerial and satellite imagery can be used to identify and delineate terrain features, certainly they have become more and more a part of geovisualization, whether maps or GIS systems
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Geologic time scale
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The table of geologic time spans, presented here, agrees with the nomenclature, dates and standard color codes set forth by the International Commission on Stratigraphy. Evidence from radiometric dating indicates that Earth is about 4.54 billion years old, the geology or deep time of Earth’s past has been organized into various units according to events which took place in each period. Older time spans, which predate the reliable record, are defined by their absolute age. Some other planets and moons within the Solar System have sufficiently rigid structures to have preserved records of their own histories, for example, Venus, Mars, dominantly fluid planets, such as the gas giants, do not preserve their history in a comparable manner. Apart from the Late Heavy Bombardment, events on other planets probably had little influence on the Earth. Construction of a scale that links the planets is, therefore, of only limited relevance to the Earths time scale. The existence, timing, and terrestrial effects of the Late Heavy Bombardment is still debated, the largest defined unit of time is the supereon, composed of eons. Eons are divided into eras, which are in turn divided into periods, epochs, the terms eonothem, erathem, system, series, and stage are used to refer to the layers of rock that correspond to these periods of geologic time in Earths history. Geologists qualify these units as early, mid, and late when referring to time, and lower, middle, for example, the lower Jurassic Series in chronostratigraphy corresponds to the early Jurassic Epoch in geochronology. The adjectives are capitalized when the subdivision is formally recognized, and lower case when not, thus early Miocene but Early Jurassic. Geologic units from the time but different parts of the world often look different and contain different fossils. For example, in North America the Lower Cambrian is called the Waucoban series that is subdivided into zones based on succession of trilobites. In East Asia and Siberia, the unit is split into Alexian, Atdabanian. A key aspect of the work of the International Commission on Stratigraphy is to reconcile this conflicting terminology, the term Anthropocene is used informally by popular culture and a growing number of scientists to describe the current epoch in which we are living. The term was coined by Paul Crutzen and Eugene Stoermer in 2000 to describe the current time, others say that humans have not even started to leave their biggest impact on Earth, and therefore the Anthropocene hasnt even started yet. Whatever the case, the ICS has not officially approved the term, leonardo da Vinci concurred with Aristotles interpretation that fossils represented the remains of ancient life. The 11th-century Persian geologist Avicenna and the 13th-century Dominican bishop Albertus Magnus extended Aristotles explanation into a theory of a petrifying fluid. Avicenna also first proposed one of the principles underlying geologic time scales, the Chinese naturalist Shen Kuo also recognized the concept of deep time
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Slope
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In mathematics, the slope or gradient of a line is a number that describes both the direction and the steepness of the line. The direction of a line is increasing, decreasing, horizontal or vertical. A line is increasing if it goes up from left to right, the slope is positive, i. e. m >0. A line is decreasing if it goes down from left to right, the slope is negative, i. e. m <0. If a line is horizontal the slope is zero, if a line is vertical the slope is undefined. The steepness, incline, or grade of a line is measured by the value of the slope. A slope with an absolute value indicates a steeper line Slope is calculated by finding the ratio of the vertical change to the horizontal change between two distinct points on a line. Sometimes the ratio is expressed as a quotient, giving the number for every two distinct points on the same line. A line that is decreasing has a negative rise, the line may be practical - as set by a road surveyor, or in a diagram that models a road or a roof either as a description or as a plan. The rise of a road between two points is the difference between the altitude of the road at two points, say y1 and y2, or in other words, the rise is = Δy. Here the slope of the road between the two points is described as the ratio of the altitude change to the horizontal distance between any two points on the line. In mathematical language, the m of the line is m = y 2 − y 1 x 2 − x 1. The concept of slope applies directly to grades or gradients in geography, as a generalization of this practical description, the mathematics of differential calculus defines the slope of a curve at a point as the slope of the tangent line at that point. When the curve given by a series of points in a diagram or in a list of the coordinates of points, thereby, the simple idea of slope becomes one of the main basis of the modern world in terms of both technology and the built environment. This is described by the equation, m = Δ y Δ x = vertical change horizontal change = rise run. Given two points and, the change in x from one to the other is x2 − x1, substituting both quantities into the above equation generates the formula, m = y 2 − y 1 x 2 − x 1. The formula fails for a line, parallel to the y axis. Suppose a line runs through two points, P = and Q =, since the slope is positive, the direction of the line is increasing
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Aspect (geography)
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In physical geology, aspect is the compass direction that a slope faces. For example, a slope on the edge of the Rockies toward the Great Plains is described as having an easterly aspect. A slope which falls down to a valley on its western side. The direction a slope faces can affect the physical and biotic features of the slope, the term aspect can also be used to describe the shape or alignment of a coastline. Here, the aspect is the direction which the coastline is facing towards the sea, for example, a coastline with sea to the northeast has a northeasterly aspect. Aspect can have an influence on temperature. This is because of the angle of the sun in the northern and southern hemispheres which is less than 90 degrees or directly overhead. 5° at 40° north on December 22, the aspect of a slope can make very significant influences on its local climate. For example, because the rays are in the west at the hottest time of day in the afternoon. This can have effects on altitudinal and polar limits of tree growth. In Australia, for example, remnants of rainforest are almost always found on east-facing slopes which are protected from dry westerly wind, similarly, in the northern hemisphere a south-facing slope will therefore generally be warmer and dryer due to higher levels of evapotranspiration than a north-facing slope. This can be seen in the Swiss Alps, where farming is more extensive on south-facing than on north-facing slopes. In the Himalayas, this effect can be seen to a degree, with south-facing slopes being warm, wet and forested. In some locales there are patterns of soil differences related to differences in aspect, aspect similarly influence seasonal soil biological processes that are temperature dependent. Particulate laden winds often blow from a prevailing direction near solar early afternoon, the summer dryness of the Coromandel Coast due to the southerly monsoon flowing parallel to the coast. Its wetness during the northeast monsoon is similarly explained, the anomalous late autumn rainy seasons of central Vietnam and the coastal zone of northeastern Brazil for the same reason as above. The unusual dryness of Port Moresby compared to the rest of New Guinea is because the National Capital District lies parallel to the winds which have a drying effect. In Gulf Province and Lae, which receives their full force, rainfall during winter is exceedingly heavy, with rainfall. The relative dryness of the Queensland coast has the same cause as with Port Moresby
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Anisotropy
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Anisotropy /ˌænaɪˈsɒtrəpi/ is the property of being directionally dependent, which implies different properties in different directions, as opposed to isotropy. It can be defined as a difference, when measured along different axes, another is wood, which is easier to split along its grain than against it. In the field of graphics, an anisotropic surface changes in appearance as it rotates about its geometric normal. Anisotropic filtering is a method of enhancing the quality of textures on surfaces that are far away. Older techniques, such as bilinear and trilinear filtering, do not take account the angle a surface is viewed from. By reducing detail in one more than another, these effects can be reduced. In NMR spectroscopy, the orientation of nuclei with respect to the magnetic field determines their chemical shift. In this context, anisotropic systems refer to the distribution of molecules with abnormally high electron density. This abnormal electron density affects the magnetic field and causes the observed chemical shift to change. Anisotropy measurements reveal the average displacement of the fluorophore that occurs between absorption and subsequent emission of a photon. Physicists from University of California, Berkeley reported about their detection of the anisotropy in cosmic microwave background radiation in 1977. Their experiment demonstrated the Doppler shift caused by the movement of the earth with respect to the early Universe matter, cosmic anisotropy has also been seen in the alignment of galaxies rotation axes and polarisation angles of quasars. Physicists use the term anisotropy to describe direction-dependent properties of materials, magnetic anisotropy, for example, may occur in a plasma, so that its magnetic field is oriented in a preferred direction. Plasmas may also show filamentation that is directional, liquid crystals are examples of anisotropic liquids. Some materials conduct heat in a way that is isotropic, that is independent of spatial orientation around the heat source, heat conduction is more commonly anisotropic, which implies that detailed geometric modeling of typically diverse materials being thermally managed is required. The materials used to transfer and reject heat from the source in electronics are often anisotropic. Many crystals are anisotropic to light, and exhibit such as birefringence. Crystal optics describes light propagation in these media, an axis of anisotropy is defined as the axis along which isotropy is broken
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Uniformitarianism
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Uniformitarianism is the assumption that the same natural laws and processes that operate in the universe now have always operated in the universe in the past and apply everywhere in the universe. Though an unprovable postulate that cannot be verified using the scientific method, coined by William Whewell, it was originally proposed in contrast to catastrophism by British naturalists in the late 18th century, starting with the work of the Scottish geologist James Hutton. Huttons work was refined by John Playfair and popularised by Charles Lyells Principles of Geology in 1830. The earlier conceptions likely had influence on 18th-century European geological explanations for the formation of Earth. Abraham Gottlob Werner proposed Neptunism, where strata represented deposits from shrinking seas precipitated onto primordial rocks such as granite, in 1785 James Hutton proposed an opposing, self-maintaining infinite cycle based on natural history and not on the Biblical account. The solid parts of the present land appear in general, to have composed of the productions of the sea. Hence we find reason to conclude, 1st, That the land on which we rest is not simple and original, but that it is a composition, and had been formed by the operation of second causes. 2nd, That before the present land was made, there had subsisted a world composed of sea and land, in which were tides and currents, with such operations at the bottom of the sea as now take place. Both Playfair and Hall wrote their own books on the theory, georges Cuviers paleontological work in the 1790s, which established the reality of extinction, explained this by local catastrophes, after which other fixed species repopulated the affected areas. From 1830 to 1833 Charles Lyells multi-volume Principles of Geology was published, the works subtitle was An attempt to explain the former changes of the Earths surface by reference to causes now in operation. The terms uniformitarianism for this idea, and catastrophism for the opposing viewpoint, were coined by William Whewell in a review of Lyells book, Principles of Geology was the most influential geological work in the middle of the 19th century. According to Reijer Hooykaas, Lyells uniformitarianism is a family of four related propositions, not an idea, Uniformity of law – the laws of nature are constant across time. Uniformity of methodology – the appropriate hypotheses for explaining the geological past are those with analogy today, Uniformity of kind – past and present causes are all of the same kind, have the same energy, and produce the same effects. Uniformity of degree – geological circumstances have remained the same over time, none of these connotations requires another, and they are not all equally inferred by uniformitarians. The four together make up Lyells uniformitarianism, the two methodological assumptions below are accepted to be true by the majority of scientists and geologists. Gould claims that these propositions must be assumed before you can proceed as a scientist doing science. You cannot go to an outcrop and observe either the constancy of natures laws or the working of unknown processes. It works the way around
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Soil retrogression and degradation
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Soil retrogression and degradation are two regressive evolution processes associated with the loss of equilibrium of a stable soil. Retrogression is primarily due to erosion and corresponds to a phenomenon where succession reverts the land to its natural physical state. Degradation is an evolution, different from natural evolution, related to the local climate and it is due to the replacement of primary plant communities by the secondary communities. This replacement modifies the humus composition and amount, and affects the formation of the soil and it is directly related to human activity. Soil degradation may also be viewed as any change or ecological disturbance to the soil perceived to be deleterious or undesirable, at the beginning of soil formation, the bare rock out crops is gradually colonized by pioneer species. They are succeeded by herbaceous vegetation, shrubs and finally forest, in parallel, the first humus-bearing horizon is formed, followed by some mineral horizons. Each successive stage is characterized by an association of soil/vegetation and environment. After a certain time of parallel evolution between the ground and the vegetation, a state of balance is reached. This stage of development is called climax by some ecologists and natural potential by others, succession is the evolution towards climax. Regardless of its name, the stage of primary succession is the highest natural form of development that the environmental factors are capable of producing. The cycles of evolution of soils have very variable durations, between tens, hundreds, or thousands of years for quickly evolving soils to more than a million years for slowly developing soils. The same soil may achieve several successive steady state conditions during its existence, as exhibited by the Pygmy forest sequence in Mendocino County, soils naturally reach a state of high productivity, from which they naturally degrade as mineral nutrients are removed from the soil system. Thus older soils are vulnerable to the effects of induced retrogression and degradation. There are two types of factors influencing the evolution of a soil. These two factors are significant to explain the evolution of soils of short development. A first type of factor is the climate of an area. A second type of factor is more local, and is related to the original rock and this type of factor explains appearance of specialized associations. The destruction of the vegetation implies the destruction of evoluted soils, cycles of succession-regression of soils follow one another within short intervals of time or long intervals of time
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Vegetation
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Vegetation is assemblages of plant species and the ground cover they provide. It is a term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent. It is broader than the flora which refers to species composition. Perhaps the closest synonym is plant community, but vegetation can, primeval redwood forests, coastal mangrove stands, sphagnum bogs, desert soil crusts, roadside weed patches, wheat fields, cultivated gardens and lawns, all are encompassed by the term vegetation. The vegetation type is defined by characteristic dominant species, or an aspect of the assemblage. The contemporary use of vegetation approximates that of ecologist Frederic Clements term earth cover, Natural vegetation refers to plant life undisturbed by humans in its growth and which is controlled by the climatic conditions of that region. The distinction between vegetation and flora was first made by Jules Thurmann, prior to this, the two terms were used indiscriminately, and still are in some contexts. Augustin de Candolle also made a distinction, but he used the terms station and habitation. Later, the concept of vegetation would influence the usage of the term biome, other concepts similar to vegetation are physiognomy of vegetation and formation. Departing from Linnean taxonomy, Humboldt established a new science, dividing plant geography between taxonomists who studied plants as taxa and geographers who studied plants as vegetation. The physiognomic approach in the study of vegetation is common among biogeographers working on vegetation on a world scale, the concept vegetation type is more ambiguous. For some authors, it includes, besides physiognomy, floristic, furthermore, the phytosociological approach in the study of vegetation relies upon a fundamental unit, the plant association, which is defined upon flora. An influential, clear and simple scheme for types of vegetation was produced by Wagner & von Sydow. Like all the systems, plant communities are temporally and spatially dynamic. Dynamism in vegetation is defined primarily as changes in species composition and/or vegetation structure, temporally, a large number of processes or events can cause change, but for sake of simplicity they can be categorized roughly as either abrupt or gradual. Abrupt changes are referred to as disturbances, these include things like wildfires, high winds, landslides, floods, avalanches. Their causes are external to the community—they are natural processes occurring independently of the natural processes of the community. Such events can change vegetation structure and composition very quickly and for time periods
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Sedimentation
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Sedimentation is the tendency for particles in suspension to settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to the acting on them. In geology, sedimentation is often used as the opposite of erosion, in that sense, it includes the termination of transport by saltation or true bedload transport. Settling is the falling of suspended particles through the liquid, whereas sedimentation is the termination of the settling process, in estuarine environments, settling can be influenced by the presence or absence of vegetation. Trees such as mangroves are crucial to the attenuation of waves or currents, even small molecules supply a sufficiently strong force to produce significant sedimentation. This process is used in the biotech industry to separate cells from the culture media. In a sedimentation experiment, the applied force accelerates the particles to a velocity v t e r m at which the applied force is exactly canceled by an opposing drag force. For small enough particles, the force varies linearly with the terminal velocity, i. e. F d r a g = f v t e r m where f depends only on the properties of the particle. Thus, measuring s can reveal underlying properties of the particle, in many cases, the motion of the particles is blocked by a hard boundary, the resulting accumulation of particles at the boundary is called a sediment. The concentration of particles at the boundary is opposed by the diffusion of the particles, the sedimentation of a single particle under gravity is described by the Mason–Weaver equation, which has a simple exact solution. The sedimentation coefficient s in this case equals m b / f, the sedimentation of a single particle under centrifugal force is described by the Lamm equation, which likewise has an exact solution. The sedimentation coefficient s also equals m b / f, where m b is the buoyant mass, the Lamm equation also has extra terms, since it pertains to sector-shaped cells, whereas the Mason–Weaver equation is one-dimensional. They settle as individual particles and do not flocculate or stick to other during settling, example, alum or iron coagulation Type 3 sedimentation is also known as zone sedimentation. In this process the particles are at a high concentration such that the particles tend to settle as a mass, zone settling occurs in lime-softening, sedimentation, active sludge sedimentation and sludge thickeners. In geology, sedimentation is the deposition of particles carried by a fluid flow, for suspended load, this can be expressed mathematically by the Exner equation, and results in the formation of depositional landforms and the rocks that constitute sedimentary record. An undesired increased transport and sedimentation of suspended material is called siltation, high sedimentation rates can be a result of poor land management and a high frequency of flooding events. If not managed properly, it can be detrimental to fragile ecosystems on the receiving end, climate change also affects siltation rates. In chemistry, sedimentation has been used to measure the size of large molecules, where the force of gravity is augmented with centrifugal force in an ultracentrifuge
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Pleistocene
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The Pleistocene is the geological epoch which lasted from about 2,588,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the worlds most recent period of repeated glaciations. The end of the Pleistocene corresponds with the end of the last glacial period, the Pleistocene is the first epoch of the Quaternary Period or sixth epoch of the Cenozoic Era. In the ICS timescale, the Pleistocene is divided into four stages or ages, all of these stages were defined in southern Europe. In addition to this subdivision, various regional subdivisions are often used. Charles Lyell introduced the term pleistocene in 1839 to describe strata in Sicily that had at least 70% of their molluscan fauna still living today and this distinguished it from the older Pliocene Epoch, which Lyell had originally thought to be the youngest fossil rock layer. The Pleistocene has been dated from 2.588 million to 11,700 years before present and it covers most of the latest period of repeated glaciation, up to and including the Younger Dryas cold spell. The end of the Younger Dryas has been dated to about 9640 BC, the IUGS has yet to approve a type section, Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point, for the upper Pleistocene/Holocene boundary. The proposed section is the North Greenland Ice Core Project ice core 75°06 N 42°18 W, the lower boundary of the Pleistocene Series is formally defined magnetostratigraphically as the base of the Matuyama chronozone, isotopic stage 103. Above this point there are notable extinctions of the calcareous nanofossils, Discoaster pentaradiatus, the Pleistocene covers the recent period of repeated glaciations. The name Plio-Pleistocene has, in the past, been used to mean the last ice age. The revised definition of the Quaternary, by pushing back the date of the Pleistocene to 2.58 Ma. Pleistocene climate was marked by repeated glacial cycles in which continental glaciers pushed to the 40th parallel in some places and it is estimated that, at maximum glacial extent, 30% of the Earths surface was covered by ice. In addition, a zone of permafrost stretched southward from the edge of the sheet, a few hundred kilometres in North America. The mean annual temperature at the edge of the ice was −6 °C, during interglacial times, such as at present, drowned coastlines were common, mitigated by isostatic or other emergent motion of some regions. The effects of glaciation were global, antarctica was ice-bound throughout the Pleistocene as well as the preceding Pliocene. The Andes were covered in the south by the Patagonian ice cap, there were glaciers in New Zealand and Tasmania. The current decaying glaciers of Mount Kenya, Mount Kilimanjaro, glaciers existed in the mountains of Ethiopia and to the west in the Atlas mountains. In the northern hemisphere, many glaciers fused into one, the Cordilleran ice sheet covered the North American northwest, the east was covered by the Laurentide
