Introduction

From a spacecraft we can view our Earth as a small, rocky planet, bathed in a film of white clouds with much of its surface covered in a layer of blue water. The Earth is unique. It is large enough to retain an atmosphere and the only planet in the Solar System where water exists as solid, liquid or gas.

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The Earth's outer crust is active, and we experience this as Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere (rocks and minerals) constantly interact with each other and the biosphere. The combination of these unique characteristics allows life as we know it to exist only on the Earth.

A minor in Earth Science reflects this present day awareness of how the whole Earth acts as a constantly changing dynamic system. Key courses are Meteorology (climate and atmosphere), Oceanography (oceans and currents) and Physical Geology (continents, ocean floor and the Earth's interior). Together with eight elective credits, students taking this minor will appreciate the Earth from a global perspective it's finite resources and the complexities of the planet on which we live.

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