SOS 110 Study Guide - Final Guide: Ecologically Sustainable Development, Contin, Earth Science
Document Summary
The study of the earth has captured the interest and imagination of people throughout the ages. The desire to experience and understand earth"s environments has pushed the frontiers of humankind"s exploration across the entire globe and beyond, to earth"s moon and to other planets. Astounding discoveries from space exploration have been matched in our knowledge of deep ocean environments and the interior of the earth. Our earth represents a dynamic system in which the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere are constantly interacting and where natural cycles that involve water, rocks, and atmospheric gases play their part in supporting and sustaining life. Natural earth processes shape landscapes and maintain the planet"s environments by constantly reworking, conserving, and renewing its materials. The interaction of the atmosphere and hydrosphere strongly influences earth"s weather system and produces catastrophic events such as floods, cyclones, hurricanes and tornadoes. Hazardous earth processes such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, on the other hand, reflect internal earth processes.
