Interior of Earth

Internal structure and chemical composition of various layers

Rameshwar Bali
Department of Geology
University of Lucknow

Earth originated as a Red ball of Burning Gases.

Ever since then it has been cooling
The Lithospheric Plates

The crust of the Earth is broken

into many pieces called plates. The
plates "float" on the soft, semi-rigid
asthenosphere.
 Earthquake Terminology
Fault: A surface across which two blocks can
move relative to each other.

Focus: The location on a fault where earthquake

rupture initiates.

Hypocentre: The calculated position of an

earthquake focus.

Epicentre: That point on the Earth's surface directly above the

hypocentre.
Magnitude: A measure of the strength of an earthquake, as determined by
seismographic observations.

Intensity
Elastic Rebound Theory

Fault
Fence

Original position Stress Accumulates

Earthquake: stress released Rebound to original shape

• A P-wave travels like a sound
wave.
• Pull push mechanism in the
direction of the wave
movement.
• Travels through Solids, liquids

• An S-wave is illustrated by a
sudden shake of a stretched
rope. The looped section
moves perpendicular to the
direction of wave movement.
• Travels only through solids
• Seismograph
– The velocity of both S- and P-waves is determined by the
density and rigidity of the material.
– Waves travel faster in denser more rigid material.
– Waves are reflected at boundaries where elastic
properties differ.
– If the reflected waves reach the surface, they can be
measured by a seismograph.
– Wave refraction can also be used to determine
properties of the interior of the Earth.
• Waves are refracted (bent) when they pass from a layer with
higher density to a layer with lower density.
• Seismic Waves
– A vibration that moves through the Earth.
• Body waves
– Seismic waves that travel through the Earth’s interior,
spreading outward from a disturbance in all directions.
– Two types of body waves
• P-waves
–A pressure wave where the material vibrates back
and forth in the same direction as the wave
movement.
–Can pass through rock.
–Can pass through a liquid
 Seismic Waves
Fast P waves Primary (or compressional)

S waves Secondary (or shear)

Body waves: travel

Love
through Earth.
waves

Rayleigh
Slow
waves Surface waves: travel around
the surface of Earth.
 • S-waves
–A sideways wave in which the disturbance
vibrates material side to side, perpendicular
to the direction to the wave movement.
–Can pass through rock.
–Can not pass through a liquid

• Surface Waves
– Seismic waves that travel on the Earth’s surface
– Very destructive
• Seismic waves- A tool for
exploring earth’s interior. The structure of the earth's interior

• Similar to Ultrasound.

• The seismic velocity

changes abruptly at specific
depths.

• The Seismic velocity

Discontinuity represents a
pronounced change in the
physical nature such as
density and compressibility
of the material comprising
the earth.
• .
• The P-wave shadow zone, caused by refraction of P-
waves within the earth's core.
• The S-wave shadow zone. Since S-waves cannot pass
through a liquid, at least part of the core is either a liquid or
has some of the same physical properties as a liquid.
Using the waves recorded on seismograms to
visualize Earth’s interior structure is challenging.
Seismic waves do not travel along straight paths;
instead, they are reflected, refracted, and
diffracted as they pass through our planet.
They reflect off boundaries between different
layers, they refract (change direction) when
passing from one layer to another layer, and they
diffract (follow a curved path) around obstacles
they encounter. These different wave behaviors
have been used to identify the boundaries that
exist within Earth.
The early period of heating resulted in
another process, called chemical
differentiation, whereby melting formed
buoyant masses of molten rock that rose
toward Earth’s surface and solidified to
produce a primitive crust.
These rocky materials were rich in oxygen
and “oxygen-seeking” elements, particularly
silicon and aluminum, along with lesser
amounts of calcium, sodium, potassium, iron,
and magnesium.
• In addition, some heavy metals such as gold,
lead, and uranium, which have low melting
points or were highly soluble in the ascending
molten masses, were scavenged from Earth’s
interior and concentrated in the developing
crust.
• This early period of chemical differentiation
established the three basic divisions of Earth’s
interior: (1) the iron-rich core, (2) the thin
primitive crust, and (3) Earth’s largest layer,
called the mantle, which is located between the
core and crust
P-wave and S-wave shadow zones
- caused by transmissive and refractive properties of the waves interacting with rock and
liquid
• Outer layer
• 5-100 km thick The Crust
• 2 types of crust
– Oceanic (very dense, made
of basalt)
– Continental (less dense,
made of granite)
• Oceanic crust (7-10 km)
• Heavier
• Continental Crust (35-40
kms) Lighter
• Porous (Contains ground
water)
 The Crust

The crust is composed of two rocks. The continental

crust is mostly granite. The oceanic crust is basalt. Basalt
is much denser than the granite. Because of this the less
dense continents ride on the denser oceanic plates.
• Continental crust is less dense, granite-type rock, while the
oceanic crust is more dense, basaltic rock. Both types of
crust behave as if they were floating on the mantle, which
is more dense than either type of crust.
Model of Lithosphere and Aesthenosphere showing thickness of Oceanic vs Continental
crust

Oceanic crust
Continental crust

Uppermost mantle- Aesthenosphere

Mohorovicic Discontinuity
“The Moho”
Oceanic and Continental Crust
 The Lithosphere
The crust and the upper layer of the mantle together
make up a zone of rigid, brittle rock called the
Lithosphere.
It is relatively rigid, non-flowable layer from surface to
100-150 kms
• The lithosphere is both the coolest and the most rigid of
Earth’s layers.
• The most well-known feature associated with Earth’s
lithosphere is tectonic activity. Tectonic activity
describes the interaction of the huge slabs of lithosphere
called tectonic plates
 Aesthenosphere
The aesthenosphere is the denser, weaker layer beneath the
lithospheric mantle. It lies between about 100 kilometers and 410
kilometers beneath Earth’s surface. The temperature and pressure of
the asthenosphere are so high that rocks soften and partly melt,
becoming semi-molten.

• The aesthenosphere is much more ductile than either the lithosphere

or lower mantle. Ductility measures a solid material’s ability to
deform or stretch under stress. The asthenosphere is generally more
viscous than the lithosphere.

• Relatively soft flowable layer that lies below 100-150 kms.

• At lithospehere- Aesthenosphere boundary, the temperature is around

1280 deg. C
The ocean crust is about 7 kilometers thick and forms along the mid-
ocean ridge system. The rocks of the oceanic crust are younger (180
million years old or less) and denser than continental rocks. Ocean crust
has a density of about 3.0 g/cm3 and is composed of the dark igneous
rocks basalt and gabbro.

Unlike oceanic crust, which has a relatively homogeneous chemical

composition, continental crust consists of many rock types. Although
the upper crust has an average composition of a granitic rock called
granodiorite, its composition and structure varies considerably from
place to place.

Continental crust averages about 40 kilometers thick but can be more

than 70 kilometers (40 miles) thick in mountainous regions such as the
Himalayas and the Andes. Continental crust has an average density of
about 2.7 g/cm3 , which is much lower than the density of mantle rock.
• A Different Structure
– Asthenosphere.
• A thin zone in the mantle that is from 130 to 160 km
deep, where seismic waves undergo a sharp decrease
in velocity.
• This is a layer of hot, elastic semi-fluid material that
extends around the entire Earth.
– Lithosphere.
• The solid, brittle rock that occurs just above the
asthenosphere
• Includes the crust, the Moho, and the upper part of
the mantle.
– Mesosphere.
• The material below the asthenosphere.
 The earth's interior,
showing the weak,
plastic layer called the
asthenosphere. The
rigid, solid layer above
the asthenosphere is
called the lithosphere

• . The lithosphere is broken into plates that move on the

upper mantle like giant tabular ice sheets floating on water.
This arrangement is the foundation for plate tectonics,
which explains many changes that occur on the earth's
surface such as earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain
building.
• The Mantle
– The mantle is the middle part of the Earth’s interior.
– 2,870 km thick between the crust and the core.
– Maximum Volume
– Consists of Ultramafic rock Peridotite (rich in Iron and
Magnesium and poor in Silica)
– Density increases from 3.5 g/ Cm3 to 5.5 g/cm3.
– It consists of three layers, defined by jumps in seismic
velocity
– Almost all the Mantle is solid rock
– It is so hot that it is soft enough to flow extremely slowly.
– Soft does not mean Liquid, Over long periods of time, Mantle
rocks can change shape without breaking.
– Convection currents
 MANTLE

• The mantle is the mostly-solid bulk of Earth’s interior. The

mantle lies between Earth’s dense, super-heated core and
its thin outer layer, the crust. The mantle is about 2,900
kilometers (1,802 miles) thick, and makes up a whopping
84% of Earth’s total volume.

• In terms of its constituent elements, the mantle is made up

of 44.8% oxygen, 21.5% silicon, and 22.8% magnesium.

• There's also iron, Aluminum, Calcium, Sodium, and

Potassium. These elements are all bound together in the
form of silicate rocks, all of which take the form of oxides.
•

• As Earth began to take shape about 4.5 billion years ago, iron and
nickel quickly separated from other rocks and minerals to form the
core of the new planet. The molten material that surrounded the
core was the early mantle.

• The rocks that make up Earth’s mantle are mostly silicates—a wide
variety of compounds that share a silicon and oxygen structure.
Common silicates found in the mantle include olivine, garnet, and
pyroxene. The other major type of rock found in the mantle is
magnesium oxide. Other mantle elements include iron, aluminum,
calcium, sodium, and potassium.

• The temperature of the mantle varies greatly, from 1000° Celsius

(1832° Fahrenheit) near its boundary with the crust, to 3700°
Celsius (6692° Fahrenheit) near its boundary with the core
•
Upper Mantle—upto 400 kms
Transition Zone – 400 to 670
kms
Lower mantle – 670 to upper
core
The mineral olivine is
a magnesium iron silicate
(Mg+2, Fe+2)2SiO4.

• Seismic wave velocities increase at depths of about 400 km

and 700 km (about 250 mi and 430 mi). This finding agrees
closely with laboratory studies of changes in the character
of mantle materials that would occur at these depths from
increases in temperature and pressure.
– At about 400 and 700 km the pressure and temperature
of the mantle increase and change the structure of the
olivine minerals found.
• above 400 km the typical tetrahedral silicate olivines
are found with one silicon surrounded by 4 oxygen
atoms.
• At 400 km, the increase pressure and temperature
result in a structure that collapses on itself and
produces a silicate that is more dense than that found
in the upper 400 km.
• At 700 km the structure is changed again, this time to
a silicon atom surrounded by 6 oxygen atoms.
– 700 km is the boundary between the upper mantle and
the lower mantle.
• No earthquakes occur in the lower mantle.
• Earth’s Core
– An earthquake will send out P-waves over the entire globe, except
for an area between 103O and 142O of arc from the earthquake.
– This is called the P-wave shadow zone, as no P-waves are received
here.
– P-waves appear to be refracted by the core, which leaves a
shadow.
 The Core
• Made mostly of iron
• 1/3 of the earth’s mass
• Very hot
– There is also an S-wave shadow zone that is larger than
the P-wave shadow zone.
– S-waves are not recorded in the entire region more than
103O away from the epicenter.
– There appear to be 2 parts to the core.
• The inner core with a radius of about 1,200 km
(750 mi)
• The inner core appears to be solid
• The outer core has a radius of about 3,470 km
(2,160 mi)
• The core begins at a depth of about 2,900 km
(1,800 mi)
Earth’s core
Divided into an inner and outer zone.
Outer – between 2900 to 5155 km deep
Inner -- 5155 to 6371 km
Outer zone is liquid (density 10-12) - doesn’t transmit s-waves
Probably composed of Nickel (Ni) and Iron (Fe), some heavier
radioactive elements, along with some other elements (S or N-
Sulfur or Nitrogen)
Inner core is solid- based on speed of P-wave travel
(Density 13.00. Temp 4,300 deg C)
composed of same materials as outer core
Important for generating Earth’s magnetic field
Earth’s magnetic field is
created by the rotation of
the outer fluid core around
the solid inner core.

This creates an electrical

current Generates an
electromagnetic Field.

Similar to a bar magnet with

a positive and negative end.