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    Earth's Structure

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    kinetsushyrre
    About components of earth

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    Earth's Structure

    Uploaded by

    kinetsushyrre
    1 views14 pages
    About components of earth

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

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    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

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    About components of earth

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    1 views14 pages

    Earth's Structure

    Uploaded by

    kinetsushyrre
    About components of earth

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    You are on page 1of 14

    Earth’s Structure

    Layers
    The Layers of the Earth

    ▪ The Earth is an oblate spheroid –


    the Solid Earth.
    ▪ It is composed of a number of
    different layers as determined by
    deep drilling and seismic evidence.
    The Four Basic Layers

    ▪ The crust is the layer that you live on,


    and it is the most widely studied and
    understood.
    ▪ The mantle is much hotter, has the
    largest mass, and several layers
    (uppermost/rigid mantle,
    asthenosphere, lower mantle).
    ▪ The outer core and inner core are
    even hotter with pressures so great
    you would be squeezed into a ball
    smaller than a marble if you were able
    to go to the center of the Earth!
    A More Detailed View of Earth’s Structure
    The Crust

    ▪ The Earth's Crust is like the skin of


    an apple. It is very thin in
    comparison to the other three
    layers.
    ▪ The crust is only about 3 - 5 miles
    thick under the oceans (oceanic
    crust) and about
    ▪ 25 miles thick under the continents
    (continental crust).
    The Crust

    ▪ The crust is composed of two different rocks.


    ▪ The continental crust is mostly granite.
    ▪ The oceanic crust is basalt.
    Basalt is much denser than granite. Because of this the less dense continents
    ride on the denser oceanic plates.
    The Mantle

    ▪ The Mantle is the largest layer of


    the Earth (1800 miles thick – 2/3 of
    earth’s mass), it is hot (5100 - 3300◦
    F), and the source of most magma
    → (lava)
    ▪ The uppermost part of the mantle is
    rigid, and together with the crust,
    forms the Lithosphere
    ▪ The middle part of the upper
    mantle is composed of very hot
    dense rock that flows like asphalt,
    and it is called – asthenosphere
    ▪ The lower mantle is hot and dense.
    The Lithosphere

    ▪ The crust and the uppermost layer of the mantle together make up
    a zone of rigid, brittle rock called the Lithosphere.
    The Lithospheric Plates

    The crust of the Earth


    (which is part of the
    lithosphere) is broken
    into many pieces called
    lithospheric/crustal
    plates. The plates
    "float" on the soft,
    semi-rigid or plastic
    asthenosphere.
    The Asthenosphere

    The asthenosphere
    is the semi-rigid part
    of the upper mantle
    that flows like hot
    asphalt under a
    heavy weight.
    Convection Currents

    ▪ The asthenosphere "flows" because of


    convection currents.
    ▪ Convection currents are caused by the
    very hot material at the deepest part of
    the mantle rising, then cooling and
    sinking again – repeating this cycle over
    and over.
    ▪ When the convection currents flow in
    the asthenosphere they also move the
    lithospheric/crustal plates.
    The Core

    ▪ The core of the Earth has a radius of 2100 miles and contains 1/3 of Earth’s mass.
    ▪ It is like a ball of very hot metals, with estimated temperatures of 12,400˚F at the
    center, and 8,600˚F at the outer limits.
    The OUTER CORE
    ▪ The outer core (1400 miles thick) is so hot that metals in
    it are in liquid state. It is composed of mainly melted
    nickel and iron → Earth’s magnetic sphere is largely
    related to this outer core
    The INNER CORE
    ▪ The inner core of the Earth, about 700 miles thick, has
    temperatures and pressures so great that the metals are
    squeezed together and are not able to move about like a
    liquid, but are forced to vibrate in place like a solid.
    Earth Structure: Established Relationships

    ▪ Density of materials (rocks, minerals) greatest in the center (core),


    and decreases towards the surface
    ▪ Gravitational force strongest at the center, decreasing towards the
    surface
    ▪ Temperature also decreases from center to the periphery
    ▪ Pressure decreases from center to periphery as well
    ▪ Layers in earth’s internal structure are differentiated by composition,
    density, temperature and other characteristics
    ▪ Earth’s interior is an immense reservoir of minerals and geothermal
    energy
    Detailed View of Earth’s Structure

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