Geophysical Science

Subfields of geophysics that use physical measurement, instrumentation and modeling to study the Earth's interior, magnetic field and mechanical behavior rather than direct examination of rock samples. Includes paleomagnetism, the study of the Earth's past magnetic field as recorded in rock, seismology, the study of earthquakes and the seismic waves that reveal the Earth's internal structure, and tectonophysics, the study of the physical forces and mechanics behind plate tectonics and crustal deformation. Belongs here: any discipline whose primary method is physical measurement of the Earth's interior, field or mechanical state. Does not belong here: geophysics itself, the parent discipline these subfields divide (Earth Science), or a discipline that studies rock composition and texture directly rather than through geophysical measurement (Branch of Geology).