geophysiology

views updated

geophysiology The scientific study of the Earth as a total system that comprises all its biotic and abiotic components (i.e. the biota, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere). The term was coined in about 1986 by JamesLovelock, whose Gaia hypothesis proposes that a planet may be studied by methods analogous to those applied to the study of an individual organism.

More From encyclopedia.com