Physics of the Earth

(or geophysics), a complex of sciences that deal with the earth, the internal structure and physical properties of the earth, and physical processes that occur in the earth’s solid shells and in the hydrosphere and atmosphere. Some investigators take the term “physics of the earth” to mean the physics of the solid earth, or lithosphere physics.

Depending on the nature of the physical field studied and on the subject matter of an investigation, the physics of the earth may be classified in the following divisions: terrestrial magnetism, gravimetry, seismology, geothermy, hydrophysics, atmospheric physics, geophysical prospecting, and industrial geophysics. (See alsoEARTH, PHYSICS OF THE SEA, and GEOPHYSICAL PROSPECTING METHODS.)