The
structure of the Earth
The rocks, soil and water on the surface of the Earth make up only
a tiny fraction of the total mass and volume of the Earth. Centuries
ago, people used to think that the Earth was flat, or even a hollow
sphere. Today, by monitoring vibrations in the Earth caused by earthquakes,
and examining the rock erupted out by volcanoes, we know that the Earth
has a complex layered structure. This topic investigates the internal
structure of the Earth.
The layered Earth
The Earth can be divided up into sections or layers
according to two criteria - chemical composition and physical properties.
There are three chemical layers; the crust, the mantle and core and
five recognised physical layers; the lithosphere, asthenosphere, mesosphere,
outer core and inner core.
Chemical layers
Chemically, the Earth is divided into three layers.
- The outer most layer, the crust, consists nearly entirely of rocky
silicate material, with some aluminium and trace amounts of all the
naturally occurring elements. It can be up to 50km thick, but in places
is as thin as 5km. Considering the Earth has a radius of some 6400km,
the crust is like a very thin eggshell.
There are two types of crust, continental crust and oceanic crust.
The denser oceanic crust surrounds the whole Earth, with "islands"
of less dense continental crust floating in it. The continents are
made of continental crust, while the ocean floors and below the continental
crust are oceanic crust.
- The next layer is the mantle. The mantle extends from the crust
2900km down and is composed of silicates with large amounts of iron
and magnesium.
- The third layer, the core, extends a further 3400km to the centre
of the Earth. The core is primarily made of iron and nickel metals
and is very hot - from 3200°C to 4000°C. It is the magnetic
iron and nickel in the core that is thought to be responsible for
the Earth's magnetic field.
Physical layers
As already mentioned, the temperature within the Earth increases the
deeper you go, reaching 4000°C at the centre. Pressure also increases
dramatically with depth. The combination of these two factors creates
five distinct layers or regions within the Earth alternating between
solid, liquid and semi-liquid or "plastic" phases.
The outermost physical layer is the lithosphere (LITH uhs feer). Thin,
cool and solid, the lithosphere contains the crust and some of the mantle.
Composed mainly of silicates, it "floats" on the underlying
asthenosphere.
The asthenosphere (as THEHN uhs feer) is hotter and in a semi-liquid
state. Starting at around 80 to 100 km deep, the rock in the asthenosphere
slowly flows in a plastic state moving in a circular motion creating
convection currents of hot rock. This moves heat from deep within the
mantle towards the surface. It is this movement which helps move the
continents and creates volcanoes and lava flows.
Next is the mesosphere. Comprising the inner part of the mantle, the
mesosphere is a region of very hot solid rock. Here, although hotter
than the asthenosphere, the pressure is too high for liquid rock to
form.
The core is divided into two parts, the liquid outer core, where temperature
wins over pressure and the solid inner core where again the pressure
is too high for a liquid to form.
Moving
in from the surface to the centre of the Earth you could expect to getter
hotter and be subjected to ever increasing pressure, but you would go
from solid, through flowing semi-liquid plastic rock to solid, liquid
and finally solid again at the centre.
A quite different journey to Jules Vernes' "Journey to the centre
of the Earth".
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