− | '''Earth science''' (also known as '''geoscience''', '''the geosciences''' or '''the Earth Sciences'''), is an all-embracing term for the [[science]]s related to the planet [[Earth (planet)|Earth]].<ref>[http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=earth%20science Wordnet Search: Earth science]</ref> It is arguably a special case in [[planetary science]], the Earth being the only known [[life]]-bearing planet. There are both [[reductionist]] and [[holism|holistic]] approaches to Earth science. The major historic [[discipline]]s use [[physics]], [[geology]], [[geography]], [[meteorology]], [[mathematics]], [[chemistry]] and [[biology]] to build a quantitative understanding of the principal areas or ''[[Earth's spheres|spheres]]'' of the Earth system. | + | '''Earth science''' (also known as '''geoscience''', '''the geosciences''' or '''the Earth Sciences'''), is an all-embracing term for the [[science]]s related to the planet [[Earth (planet)|Earth]]. [http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=earth%20science Wordnet Search: Earth science] It is arguably a special case in [[planetary science]], the Earth being the only known [[life]]-bearing planet. There are both [[reductionist]] and [[holism|holistic]] approaches to Earth science. The major historic [[discipline]]s use [[physics]], [[geology]], [[geography]], [[meteorology]], [[mathematics]], [[chemistry]] and [[biology]] to build a quantitative understanding of the principal areas or ''[[Earth's spheres|spheres]]'' of the Earth system. |