The studies of the solid Earth and the water on and within it and the air around it are called Earth sciences. Included in the Earth sciences are the geological, the hydrological, and the atmospheric sciences, which are concerned respectively with the nature and behavior of the Earth itself, the water, and the air. The Earth sciences are basically physical sciences that utilize advances in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and, to a smaller extent, biology. Most of the Earth sciences make use of observations on a global scale, and for this reason many problems in the Earth sciences could be undertaken only when exploration of the Earth's surface was well advanced. In this connection great use has been made of satellite observations.
Geology embraces a number of sciences.
Among these is geomorphology, the study of the nature, origin, and processes of change of landforms such as the rising and subsiding of continents and mountains. Geophysics is concerned with the study of the physical phenomena of the Earth such as its magnetic field, the flow of heat from the interior, and the study of gravity, including tides. Seismology is the science of earthquakes. Geochemistry studies the chemical composition of the Earth and the laws governing the distribution of elements within the Earth. Meteorology, the study of the atmosphere, particularly for forecasting weather, can be considered as the branch of atmospheric physics concerned with the behavior and properties of the Earth's atmosphere.