How does Earth work? Theories of Earth’s origin, its place in our solar system, and its possible future states have radically evolved over decades of scientific research. Less than a century ago, dominant paradigms held that continents were immobile and mountains formed by vertical crustal motion, and we had no explanation for why earthquakes and volcanoes occurred where they did. Further, geologists and astronomers were struggling with the paradox that new data suggested that Earth was older than the universe.

 

This course is designed to help us understand how Earth’s physical, chemical, and biological systems have worked together to create and sustain a habitable planet. We will briefly examine some of the most important revolutions in geoscience to understand how the solid Earth and its atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere systems interoperate, how these systems evolved to their present state, and what the long-term future looks like. Along the way, we will learn how old the Earth is, understand how and when the continents formed, infer what makes the plates move, and explain the geographical distribution of oceans, volcanoes, and earthquakes. Most importantly, we’ll discuss modern thinking about climate change, mass extinctions, and biological evolution on a geological timescale.