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The natural history of Earth concerns the development of planet Earth from its formation to the present day. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Nearly all branches of natural science have contributed to understanding of the main events of Earth's past, characterized by constant geological change and biological evolution .
Pangaea straddled the equator and extended toward the poles, with a corresponding effect on ocean currents in the single great ocean (Panthalassa, the universal sea), and the Paleo-Tethys Ocean, a large ocean that was between Asia and Gondwana. The Cimmeria continent rifted away from Gondwana and drifted north to Laurasia, causing the Paleo ...
The ocean is a major driver of Earth's water cycle. Ocean water represents the largest body of water within the global water cycle (oceans contain 97% of Earth's water). Evaporation from the ocean moves water into the atmosphere to later rain back down onto land and the ocean. [69] Oceans have a significant effect on the biosphere.
This demonstrates the crustal spatial evolution at the Earth's surface dictated by plate tectonics. Earth's crustal evolution involves the formation, destruction and renewal of the rocky outer shell at that planet's surface. The variation in composition within the Earth's crust is much greater than that of other terrestrial planets.
The mass of Earth's oceans is estimated to be 1.37 × 10 21 kg, which is 0.023% of the total mass of Earth, 6.0 × 10 24 kg. An additional 5.0 × 10 20 kg of water is estimated to exist in ice, lakes, rivers, groundwater, and atmospheric water vapor. [21] A significant amount of water is also stored in Earth's crust, mantle, and core.
The ocean is an incredible place. Although more than 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by water, there is still so much we don't know about its depths.
Then in the Middle Cretaceous, Gondwana fragmented to open up the South Atlantic Ocean as South America started to move westward away from Africa. The South Atlantic did not develop uniformly; rather, it rifted from south to north. Map of Earth around 60 million years ago, during the Early Cenozoic (Paleocene)
By Will Dunham. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Earth is an ocean world, with water covering about 71% of its surface. Venus, our closest planetary neighbor, is sometimes called Earth's twin based on their ...