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geophysics

  ('ō-fĭz'ĭks) pronunciation
n. (used with a sing. verb)

The physics of the earth and its environment, including the physics of fields such as meteorology, oceanography, and seismology.

geophysical ge'o·phys'i·cal adj.
geophysically ge'o·phys'i·cal·ly adv.
geophysicist ge'o·phys'i·cist (-ĭ-sĭst) n.
 
 

Those branches of earth sciences in which the principles and practices of physics are used to study the Earth. Geophysics is considered by some to be a branch of geology, by others to be of equal rank. It is distinguished from the other earth sciences largely by its use of instruments to make direct or indirect measurements of the parts of the Earth being studied, in contrast to the more direct observations which are typical of geology. See also Geology.

Geophysics consists of several principal fields plus parallel and subsidiary divisions. These are commonly considered to include plutology, with geodesy, geothermometry, seismology, and tectonophysics as subdivisions; hydrospheric studies, hydrology (groundwater studies), oceanography, and glaciology; atmospheric studies, meteorology, and aeronomy; and several fields of geophysics which overlap one another, including geomagnetism and geoelectricity, geochronology, geocosmogony, and geophysical exploration and prospecting. Planetary sciences, the study of the planets and satellites aside from the Earth, are usually considered a branch of geophysics because the techniques used have been, until the first landings on each, entirely instrumental rather than directly observational. See also Geochronometry; Geodesy; Geoelectricity; Geomagnetism; Glaciology; Hydrology; Meteorology; Oceanography; Seismology.


 

Major branch of earth science that applies the principles and methods of physics to the study of the Earth. Geophysics deals with such geologic phenomena as the temperature distribution of the Earth's interior; the source, configuration, and variations of the geomagnetic field; and the large-scale features of the terrestrial crust, such as rifts, continental sutures, and oceanic ridges. Modern geophysical research also examines phenomena of the outer parts of the Earth's atmosphere and even the physical properties of other planets and their satellites. See also marine geophysics.

For more information on geophysics, visit Britannica.com.

 
study of the structure, composition, and dynamic changes of the earth, its atmosphere, hydrosphere and magnetosphere, based on the principles of physics. The term was probably first used in Germany, where it appeared in scientific writings of the mid-19th cent. Geophysics, which embraces the concepts, data, and methods of various other sciences, is very broad in scope. For example, geology, meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, and seismology all enter into geophysical studies, with many of them overlapping (e.g., meteorology and oceanography in the study of possible global warming). Most techniques for locating subsurface petroleum, mineral deposits, and water supplies are reliant upon applied geophysics, including the use of seismic and electrical measurements at shallow depths and gravimetric, magnetic, and radiometric surveys at ground stations and in airplanes. Information is then correlated with visible surface features, subsurface conditions are inferred, and boreholes are drilled to determine the extent and richness of promising areas. Geophysics also is used to understand the interactions of the atmosphere and hydrosphere, including how certain anomalies in the ocean's circulation affect the atmosphere. Magnetosphere studies in geophysics concentrate on the magnetic field around the earth. Other geophysical studies are more specific, i.e. selenophysics, or the physics of the moon. Recent flyby spacecraft have accumulated extensive physical data, allowing geophysicists to theorize, by analogy to geophysical earth studies, about the underlying structures, atmospheres, and magnetospheres of other planets and satellites in the solar system.


 
Science Dictionary: geophysics

The science devoted to the study of the physical properties and processes of geological phenomena, including fields such as meteorology, oceanography, and seismology.

 
Wikipedia: geophysics

Geophysics, a branch of Earth sciences, is the study of the Earth by quantitative physical methods, especially by seismic, electromagnetic, and radioactivity methods. The theories and techniques of geophysics are employed extensively in the planetary sciences in general.

The field of geophysics includes the branches of:

See also

External links


 
Translations: Translations for: Geophysics

Dansk (Danish)
n. - geofysik

Nederlands (Dutch)
geofysica

Français (French)
n. - géophysique

Deutsch (German)
n. - Geophysik, %

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - γεωφυσική

Italiano (Italian)
geofisica

Português (Portuguese)
n. - geofísica (f)

Русский (Russian)
геофизика

Español (Spanish)
n. - geofísica

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - geofysik

中文(简体) (Chinese (Simplified))
地球物理学

中文(繁體) (Chinese (Traditional))
n. pl. - 地球物理學
n. - 地球物理學

한국어 (Korean)
n. pl. - 지구 물리학
n. - 지구 물리

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 地球物理学

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) علم الفيزياء الأرضيه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮הפיסיקה של כדור-הארץ, גיאופיסיקה‬


 
 

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Sci-Tech Encyclopedia. McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/  Read more
Science Dictionary. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Geophysics" Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more

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