News tagged with geophysics
Cuts in greenhouse gas emissions would save Arctic ice, reduce sea level rise
The threat of global warming can still be greatly diminished if nations cut emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases by 70 percent this century, according to a new analysis. While global temperatures would ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Apr 14, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (90) |
15
Scientists: No link cloud coverage and global warming
With the U.S. Congress beginning to consider regulations on greenhouse gases, a troubling hypothesis about how the sun may impact global warming is finally laid to rest.
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 11, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (89) |
35
Increasing Antarctic sea ice extent linked to the ozone hole
Increased growth in Antarctic sea ice during the past 30 years is a result of changing weather patterns caused by the ozone hole according to new research published this week (Thurs 23 April 2009).
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Apr 21, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (70) |
12
New NASA Satellite Survey Reveals Dramatic Arctic Sea Ice Thinning
(PhysOrg.com) -- Arctic sea ice thinned dramatically between the winters of 2004 and 2008, with thin seasonal ice replacing thick older ice as the dominant type for the first time on record. The new results, ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jul 07, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (66) |
6
Melting Greenland ice sheets may threaten Northeast United States, Canada
Melting of the Greenland ice sheet this century may drive more water than previously thought toward the already threatened coastlines of New York, Boston, Halifax, and other cities in the northeastern United ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 27, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (72) |
18
Ice-free Arctic Ocean possible in 30 years, not 90 as previously estimated
(PhysOrg.com) -- A nearly ice-free Arctic Ocean in the summer may happen three times sooner than scientists have estimated. New research says the Arctic might lose most of its ice cover in summer in as few ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Apr 02, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (62) |
20
A Puzzling Collapse of Earth's Upper Atmosphere
NASA-funded researchers are monitoring a big event in our planet's atmosphere. High above Earth's surface where the atmosphere meets space, a rarefied layer of gas called "the thermosphere" recently collapsed ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jul 15, 2010 |
4.4 / 5 (47) |
45
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Carbon dioxide controls Earth's temperature
(PhysOrg.com) -- Water vapor and clouds are the major contributors to Earth's greenhouse effect, but a new atmosphere-ocean climate modeling study shows that the planet's temperature ultimately depends on ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 14, 2010 |
3.8 / 5 (52) |
327
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Scientists find evidence for 'great lake' on Jupiter's moon Europa, potential new habitat for life
In a significant finding in the search for life beyond Earth, scientists from The University of Texas at Austin and elsewhere have discovered what appears to be a body of liquid water the volume of the North ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 16, 2011 |
4.8 / 5 (38) |
30
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African desert rift confirmed as new ocean in the making
(PhysOrg.com) -- In 2005, a gigantic, 35-mile-long rift broke open the desert ground in Ethiopia. At the time, some geologists believed the rift was the beginning of a new ocean as two parts of the African continent pulled ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 02, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (37) |
8
Previously Unknown Volcanic Eruption Helped Trigger Cold Decade
(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of chemists from the U.S. and France has found compelling evidence of a previously undocumented large volcanic eruption that occurred exactly 200 years ago, in 1809.
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 29, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (27) |
9
Studies agree on a 1 meter rise in sea levels
New research from several international research groups, including the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen provides independent consensus that IPCC predictions of less than a half a meter ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Apr 13, 2010 |
3.5 / 5 (33) |
32
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Marine Scientist Finds 'Little Ice Age' Had Dramatic Effect on Gulf
(PhysOrg.com) -- More than 350 years ago, the temperatures in northern Europe dropped dramatically in an event known as the “Little Ice Age.” Now - deep below the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and buried in ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Feb 22, 2010 |
4.7 / 5 (23) |
25
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How old is the Earth's core? Maybe older than you thought
(PhysOrg.com) -- Another discovery by a Michigan Technological University researcher could send shockwaves across the world of earth science.
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 12, 2011 |
4.7 / 5 (23) |
45
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Scientists discover surprise in Earth's upper atmosphere
(PhysOrg.com) -- UCLA atmospheric scientists have discovered a previously unknown basic mode of energy transfer from the solar wind to the Earth's magnetosphere. The research, federally funded by the National ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Sep 10, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (23) |
5
Geophysics
Geophysics ( /dʒiːoʊfɪzɪks/) is the physics of the Earth and its environment in space; also the study of the Earth using quantitative physical methods. The term geophysics sometimes refers only to the geological applications: Earth's shape; its gravitational and magnetic fields; its internal structure and composition; its dynamics and their surface expression in plate tectonics, the generation of magmas, volcanism and rock formation. However, modern geophysics organizations use a broader definition that includes the hydrological cycle including snow and ice; fluid dynamics of the oceans and the atmosphere; electricity and magnetism in the ionosphere and magnetosphere and solar-terrestrial relations; and analogous problems associated with the Moon and other planets.
Although geophysics was only recognized as a separate discipline in the 19th century, its origins go back to ancient history. The first magnetic compasses date back to the fourth century BC and the first seismoscope was built in 132 BC. Geophysical methods were developed for navigation; Isaac Newton applied his theory of mechanics to the tides and the precession of the equinox; and instruments were developed to measure the Earth's shape, density and gravity field, as well as the components of the water cycle. In the 20th century, geophysical methods were developed for remote exploration of the solid Earth and the ocean, and geophysics played an essential role in the development of the theory of plate tectonics.
Geophysics is applied to societal needs, such as mineral resources, mitigation of natural hazards and environmental protection. Geophysical survey data are used to analyze potential petroleum reservoirs and mineral deposits, locate groundwater, find archaeological relics, determine the thickness of glaciers and soils, and assess sites for environmental remediation.
For more information about Geophysics, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
