Lesson 3.1 Flashcards
an integration of the different scientific fields. It is
the study of Earth as an integrated system. It seeks to understand the past, current,
and future state of our planet. This connects physical and natural sciences while
incorporating humanities fields, such as Sociology, Philosophy, and Psychology. The
interdisciplinary nature of ESS led to the development of new ideas for research, as
well as promoting scientific studies to people of different backgrounds. The more
people learn about Earth, the greater the chances of adapting to the changes that
will certainly come.
Earth Systems Science (ESS)
the capacity of Earth to continue to support
human life without depletion of natural resources.
sustainability
the sphere of human consciousness and reason.
noosphere
a Russian mineralogist and geochemist, who
popularized the term noosphere
He theorized that the noosphere is the last of many stages in evolution of
organisms. This is when human reason will provide further sustainable
development of both humanity and the global environment.
Vladimir Vernadsky,
The transfer of heat around Earth through ocean currents influences greatly affect
the types of organisms living in certain areas.
a 19th-century German geographer and naturalist, who
helped establish the foundation for Earth system science through his observations
of nature. He traveled to America and collected botanical, zoological, and geological
specimens. With this, he successfully determined how distribution of life forms are
affected by atmospheric and geophysical factors.
Alexander von Humboldt
wherein rock and soil are
transformed through exposure to Earth’s atmosphere.
weathering
described how Earth was
formed in a repeated cycle of erosion and sedimentation driven by heat from
volcanic activities
implying that the geological forces (such as those that trigger erosion and volcanic
activities) in the past are the same as those in the present, making it possible to
determine Earth’s history by studying rocks
uniformitarianism
which is a postulate that Earth works as a self-regulating system. It
proposes that all organisms and their habitats on Earth are closely integrated to
form a single and self-regulating system, where its components co-evolve to
maintain and perpetuate life forms.
Gaia hypothesis or Gaia
principle
a British environmentalist proposed the Gaia hypothesis or Gaia
principle, which is a postulate that Earth works as a self-regulating system. It
proposes that all organisms and their habitats on Earth are closely integrated to
form a single and self-regulating system, where its components co-evolve to
maintain and perpetuate life forms. He cited that this was evident in photosynthetic
cyanobacteria during the Precambrian period that modified Earth’s atmosphere to
become oxygen-enriched. This change in the atmosphere then supported the
evolution of more complex organisms.
James Lovelock,
an American biologist and evolutionary theorist, further developed
Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis. Margulis noticed that all kinds of bacteria release gases
as by products and hypothesized that atmospheric gases were from biological
sources. She collaborated with Lovelock and published a paper on how life
regulates the temperature and chemical composition of the soil and the
atmosphere. This led them to modify Gaia hypothesis into its more widely accepted
version stating that life influences planetary processes.
Lynn Margulis
A major landmark in the formal development of Earth System Science was
the formation of Earth System Science Committee by National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1983.
Through the use of satellites, National Aeronautics and Space Administration is able to provide more information to
scientists to help in the studies of Earth’s systems.
Knowledge on Earth System Science is essential to understand Earth’s
components that are essential in our daily lives and useful in drafting policies
for conservation of our planet.
