Outline of geophysics

Seismic velocities and boundaries in the interior of the Earth sampled by seismic waves.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to geophysics:

Geophysics – 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 have 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.

Nature of geophysics

Geophysics can be described as all of the following:

• An academic discipline: one with academic departments, curricula and degrees; national and international societies; and specialized journals.
• A scientific field (a branch of science) – widely-recognized category of specialized expertise within science, and typically embodies its own terminology and nomenclature. Such a field will usually be represented by one or more scientific journals, where peer reviewed research is published. There are several geophysics-related scientific journals.
  • A natural science – one that seeks to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world using empirical and scientific methods.
    • A physical science – one that studies non-living systems.
      • An earth science – one that studies the plant Earth and its surroundings.
  • A biological science – one that studies the effect of organisms on their physical environment.
• An interdisciplinary field – one that overlaps atmospheric sciences, geology, glaciology, hydrology, oceanography and physics.

Branches of geophysics

• Biogeophysics – the study of how plants, microbial activity and other organisms alter geologic materials and affect geophysical signatures.
• Exploration geophysics – the use of surface methods to detect concentrations of ore minerals and hydrocarbons.
• Geophysical fluid dynamics – the study of naturally occurring, large-scale flows on Earth and other planets.
• Geodesy – the measurement and representation of the Earth, including its gravitational field.
• Geodynamics – the study of modes of transport deformation within the Earth: rock deformation, mantle convection, heat flow, and lithosphere dynamics.
• Geomagnetism – the study of the Earth's magnetic field, including its origin, telluric currents driven by the magnetic field, the Van Allen belts, and the interaction between the magnetosphere and the solar wind.
• Mathematical geophysics – the development and applications of mathematical methods and techniques for the solution of geophysical problems.
• Mineral physics – the science of materials that compose the interior of planets, particularly the Earth.
• Near-surface geophysics – the use of geophysical methods to investigate small-scale features in the shallow (tens of meters) subsurface.
• Paleomagnetism – the measurement of the orientation of the Earth's magnetic field over the geologic past.
• Seismology – the study of the structure and composition of the Earth through seismic waves, and of surface deformations during earthquakes and seismic hazards.
• Tectonophysics – the study of the physical processes that cause and result from plate tectonics.

History of geophysics

Main article: History of geophysics

• History of geomagnetism
• Timeline of the development of tectonophysics
• Vine-Matthews-Morley hypothesis

General geophysics concepts

Gravity

Main article: Gravity of Earth

• Bouguer anomaly
• Geoid
• Geopotential
• Gravity anomaly
• Undulation of the geoid

Heat flow

Main article: Geothermal gradient

• Internal heating

Electricity

Atmospheric electricity

Main article: Atmospheric electricity

• Lightning
• Sprite (lightning)

Electricity in Earth

• Electrical resistivity tomography
• Induced polarization
• Seismoelectrical method
• Spectral induced polarisation
• Spontaneous potential
• Telluric current

Electromagnetic waves

• Alfvén wave
• Dawn chorus (electromagnetic)
• Hiss (electromagnetic)
• Magnetotellurics
• Seismo-electromagnetics
• Transient electromagnetics
• Whistler (radio)

Fluid dynamics

Main article: Geophysical fluid dynamics

• Isostasy
• Post-glacial rebound
• Mantle convection
• Geodynamo

Magnetism

Geomagnetism subfields

• Environmental magnetism
• Magnetostratigraphy
• Paleomagnetism
• Rock magnetism

Earth's magnetic field

Main article: Earth's magnetic field

Description

• Geomagnetic pole
• Magnetic declination
• Magnetic inclination
• North Magnetic Pole
• South Magnetic Pole

Sources

• Geodynamo
• Magnetic anomaly
• Magnetosphere

Short-term changes

• Secular variation
• Geomagnetic secular variation
• Geomagnetic jerk

Long term behavior

• Apparent polar wander
• Geomagnetic excursion
• Geomagnetic pole
• Geomagnetic reversal
• Geomagnetic secular variation
• Polar wander
• True polar wander

Magnetostratigraphy

• Archaeomagnetic dating
• Chron
• Magnetostratigraphy
• Superchron (currently redirected to Geomagnetic reversal#Moyero Reversed Superchron)

Rock magnetism

Main article: Rock magnetism

• Magnetic mineralogy
• Natural remanent magnetization
• Saturation isothermal remanence
• Thermoremanent magnetization
• Viscous remanent magnetization

Tectonic applications

• Plate reconstruction

Magnetic survey

• Aeromagnetic survey
• Geophysical survey
• Magnetic survey (archaeology)
• Magnetometer

Radioactivity

• Age of the Earth
• Geochronology
• Radiometric dating

Mineral physics

Main article: Mineral physics

• Creep
• Elasticity
• Melting
• Rheology
• Thermal expansion
• Viscosity

Vibration

Main article: Seismology

• Deep focus earthquake
• Earthquake
• Intraplate earthquake
• Seismic waves
• Reflection seismology
• Seismic refraction
• Seismic tomography
• Structure of the Earth

Closely allied sciences

Atmospheric sciences

Main article: Atmospheric sciences

• Aeronomy – the study of the physical structure and chemistry of the atmosphere.
• Meteorology – the study of weather processes and forecasting.
• Climatology – the study of weather conditions averaged over a period of time.

Geology

Main article: Geology

• Mineralogy – the study of chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals.
• Petrophysics – The study of the origin, structure, and composition of rocks.
• Volcanology – the study of volcanoes, volcanic features (hot springs, geysers, fumaroles), volcanic rock, and heat flow related to volcanoes.

Engineering

• Geological and geophysical engineering – the application of geophysics to the engineering design of facilities including roads, tunnels, and mines.

Water on the Earth

• Glaciology – the study of ice and natural phenomena that involve ice, particularly glaciers.
• Hydrology – the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets.
• Physical oceanography – the study of physical conditions and physical processes within the ocean, especially the motions and physical properties of ocean waters.

Society

Influential persons

Main article: List of geophysicists

Organizations

• American Geophysical Union · Canadian Geophysical Union · Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society · European Geosciences Union · International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics · Royal Astronomical Society · Society of Exploration Geophysicists · Seismological Society of America

Publications

• Geophysics journals
• Important publications in geophysics (geology)
• Important publications in geophysics (physics)

Geophysics lists

Main category: Geophysics lists

• Free geophysics software

See also

	Earth sciences portal
	Physics portal

• Outline of geology
• Outline of physics

External links