Geoscience is a broad term referring to the fields of science dealing with our planet. It involves studies on the lithosphere (including geology, geophysics, geochemistry, and geography), the hydrosphere (including hydrology and marine, ocean, and cryospheric sciences) and the atmosphere (including meteorology and climatology). As such, Earth science consists of a broad spectrum of interconnected physical, chemical, and biological disciplines dealing with processes which have been occurring on our world for billions of years, from the subatomic to the planetary scale.