Earth system sciences

thumb|upright=1.25|The colorful microbial mats of [[Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, USA. The orange mats are composed of Chloroflexia, "Cyanobacteria", and other organisms that thrive in the 70˚C water. Geobiologists often study extreme environments like this because they are home to extremophilic organisms. It has been hypothesized that these environments may be representative of early Earth.]] Geobiology is a field of scientific research that explores the interactions between the physical Earth and the biosphere. It is a relatively young field, and its borders are fluid.

scientific study of the Earth's spheres and their natural integrated systems

Biogeology is the study of the interactions between the Earth's biosphere and the lithosphere. thumb|175px|Pyrite

research program