The first thing that comes to mind when it comes to earth science is geography. Indeed, it is an ancient science that studies our planet in the broad sense of the word, including the life of its main inhabitant - man. But modern Earth science has a lot of branches and specifications, such as geology, geodesy, oceanography, seismology, volcanology and so on. The list is not small, and a separate article should be devoted to this. But the basis of all these sciences is geography.
The origins
The mother of modern Earth sciences, geography, studies the seas and oceans, continents and islands, climate, natural resources, wildlife, birds that inhabit our planet, and the person living on it - where and in what numbers it settles, what nationalities exist, how the economic life of his society is taking shape. Therefore, when the question is: “What is the name of Earth science?”, We can safely say - geography. All other disciplines in this area evolved from it.
Goals and means
The most important task of this science is to determine the suitability of various parts of our planet for human habitation. The main assistant to the geographer are maps. Looking at them, you can see plots of different colors, representing the seas, oceans, rivers, mountains, glaciers, deserts, soil depths, vegetation, population density and many other geographical quantities and concepts.
Geography is what Earth science is called in translation from ancient Greek.
Those places on the map that are colored in blue, white, beige and brown indicate sparsely populated areas. A person prefers to settle in those places that are painted on the map in green and yellow. Of course, after all, these places on the map indicate land adapted for agriculture (forests, plains), and therefore, for the livelihoods of the population.
Options
Despite the fact that geography underlies, often the question: “What is the name of the science of the Earth?”, Give the answer: “Geology”. Why? The word itself came from "geo", which means earth and "logos" - knowledge (word, doctrine). And, geography is “geo” (earth) and “graphos” (letter).
So, geography describes the Earth, and geology - studies it.
All disciplines that study the Earth belong to the natural sciences. Their number is large. There are very young, and there are ancient. All of them study the shells of the earth's surface, natural systems and are combined into the category of Earth sciences.
A bit of history
The heyday of classical geography is the era of the XV-XVII centuries, which was called the Great in the field of geographical discoveries. This was followed by a period of development of new and poorly studied territories by developed powers. In those days, all the noble monarchs and wealthy merchants knew very well the name of the Earth science, which was very important for the development of states and enrichment. Of course - this is geography. They personally consulted with geographic scientists about plans for future expeditions, generously financing their trips and hoping to recoup all the expenses more than.
In a short historical period, the main science about the Earth and man made so many discoveries that large parts of the oceanic spaces and lands where man lives appeared on the world map.
In those days, geography was presented as a collection of diverse information about our planet. She indicated the location of objects, answered the questions "what is this?" But even then, in the VIII century, Antarctica and the Arctic, as well as Australia and many inland mainland areas, remained white spots on all maps.
Gradually, Europeans discovered and settled North and South America, and the inner regions of Asia, Africa, Australia and other parts of the world became known.
As a result, the most important prerequisites were laid for a new stage in the development of the material culture of human society. In this case, a very significant role was played by geographical science - the main science of the Earth of that time.
Today you can go to study at the Institute of Earth Sciences and get a profession of geographer. The strategic goal of this institution is the development of fundamental and applied sciences in the field of geography, as well as the improvement of the qualifications of ready-made specialists. All the work of the institute is aimed at promoting the development of the economy, the scientific, educational and cultural environment of the state, participating in solving problems of preserving and increasing natural resources, their rational use, monitoring, preserving unique landscapes, environmental quality, and engineering surveys.