The word geophysics is composed with Latin roots, "geo" which means "earth", plus the word "physis" which means "nature" and finally the suffix "ica" which refers to "relative to". Geophysics is the science that deals with the study of the earth in terms of physical principles; Its objective includes the study and investigation of the phenomena that are related to the structure, the history of the evolution of the planet earth and its physical conditions; It includes the investigation of the interior of the Earth, its hydrosphere and its atmosphere, encompassing phenomena such as gravity, electricity and terrestrial magnetism. The Royal Academy summarizes the meaning of geophysics asthe part of geology that deals with the study of terrestrial physics as such.
This science, specifically, deals with examining natural phenomena and their relationship in the inner terrestrial world, among these are heat fluxes, the Earth's magnetic field, the force of gravity and the propagation of seismic waves; that for its study uses quantitative physical methods such as the physics of reflection and refraction of mechanical waves, and a set of methods that are based on the measurement of gravity, electromagnetic, magnetic or electrical fields and radioactive phenomena. Consequently, this science also studies extraterrestrial phenomena, the manifestations of cosmic radiation and the solar wind, which influence the Earth.
A geophysicist is in charge of analyzing the different behaviors of the earth, including seismology, oceanography, volcanology, tsunamis, climate changes, soil characterization, renewable energy, and many other phenomena or behaviors of the earth.
