CONCEPT MAP

EARTH
consists of Flow of matter
Subsystems showing
and energy

layers lithosphere atmosphere hydrosphere biosphere

include

CORE MANTLE CRUST

Consists of Consists of
Consists of

inner core lower upper continental oceanic

Earth’s surfacE
• Our experience with Earth is limited to its
surface.
• Yet Earth has a complicated interior.
• Earth is characterized by…
– An internally generated magnetic field.
– A layered interior
• Solid and liquid layers.
– A gaseous envelope.
• i.e. atmosphere The Black Canyon of the Gunnison, CO
The Solar System
• Human perceptions have changed.
– Early history
– Planets as moving lights.
– 1600s
– 1st telescopes saw hazy spheres.
– Today
– A complex, evolving system.
– Structure
– History
• Space probes have photographed and analyzed planets.
• Scientists have hypothesized likely origins of the solar system.
Earth and the Solar System
What would solar system visitors notice?
– Magnetic field.
– Atmosphere.
– Surface features.
• Continents.
• Oceans.
• Polar ice caps.
• Evidence of humanity?
– Structures.
» Dams. » Great Wall of China. » Cities. » Roads / canals.
– Electric lights.
1. Earth has a dipole magnetic field that deflects solar
wind and protects earth’s surface from solar radiation
2. Earth has a stratified atmosphere, mainly composed of nitrogen
(N2) and oxygen (O2)
3. Earth is made of a variety of minerals, glasses, melts, fluids and
volatiles, all left behind during birth of the solar system
4. The Earth has layers: a thin silicate crust, a thick iron- &
magnesium silicate mantle, and a thick metallic core
5. Physically, the earth can be divided into a rigid outer
lithosphere and a plastic/ductile asthenosphere
 Earth’s MaGNEtIc fIELD
• Geodynamo - The Earth’s magnetic field is
produced by the geodynamo
-Flow in the liquid iron outer core creates a
magnetic field
• Magnetic field - region affected by force
emanating from a magnet - grows stronger as
separating distance decreases - attracts or
repels magnetically charged or moving
electrically charged objects - compasses work
because Earth is a large magnet
Geodynamo
-The mechanism responsible for the
generation of the Earth's magnetic
field caused by convection and
conduction currents in the fluid
core.
A Van Allen radiation belt
is a zone of energetic
charged particles, most
of which originate from
the solar wind, that are
captured by and held
around a planet by that
planet's magnetic field.
Earth’s forMatIoN aND LaYErs
• The Earth (and other planets) have layered interiors.
Crust
• Continental
• Oceanic
Mantle
• Upper
• Lower
Core
• Outer – Liquid
• Inner – Solid
CRUST

MANTLE

CORE
Beno Gutenberg (1889-1960) was a
scientist and seismologist who studied the inner
layers of the Earth. Seismic waves are generally
caused by explosions or earthquakes below
ground, but in 1913 Gutenberg observed that, at
a certain depth beneath the Earth's surface,
primary waves slowed down dramatically and
secondary waves stopped entirely. Although
secondary waves can easily transmit through
solid material, such waves cannot travel through
liquid. Thus, Gutenberg concluded — correctly —
that at the specific depth where the secondary
waves vanish, around 1,800 miles beneath the
surface, liquid must be present.
The Gutenberg Discontinuity
Because seismic waves changed their activity and secondary waves completely
disappeared at the depth of about 1,8000 miles below the surface, Gutenberg
was the first to discover that above this depth mark the interior of the Earth
must be solid, while below this mark the interior must be liquid. Thus,
Gutenberg established an accurate boundary line — or discontinuity — that
separates and divides the lower mantle from the outer core. The lower mantle
above the Gutenberg line is solid, but the outer core below the line is liquid
molten. The actual discontinuity area is an uneven and narrow zone that
contains undulations of up to 3-5 miles wide. Beneath the boundary zone, the
molten outer core is much denser than the mantle above as a result of the
heavy amounts of iron it contains, and below this layer is the inner core, which
is composed of extremely hot solid nickel and iron.
 Mohorovicic Discontinuity
Named after the pioneering Croatian seismologist Andrija
Mohorovičić, the Moho separates both the oceanic crust and
continental crust from underlying mantle.The Mohorovičić
discontinuity was first identified in 1909 by Mohorovičić, when
he observed that seismograms from shallow-focus earthquakes
had two sets of P-waves and S-waves, one that followed a
direct path near the Earth's surface and the other refracted by
a high-velocity medium

The Moho lies almost entirely within the lithosphere; only

beneath mid-ocean ridges does it define the lithosphere–
asthenosphere boundary. The Mohorovičić discontinuity is 5 to
10 kilometres (3–6 mi) below the ocean floor, and 20 to 90
kilometres (10–60 mi) beneath typical continental crusts, with
an average of 35 kilometres (22 mi).
The Mohorovičić discontinuity (usually referred to as the Moho,
is the boundary between the Earth's crust and the mantle.
Inge Lehmann
In 1929 a large earthquake occurred
near New Zealand. Danish
seismologist Inge Lehmann “the only
Danish seismologist,” as she once
referred to herself—studied the shock
waves and was puzzled by what she
saw. A few P-waves, which should
have been deflected by the core, were
in fact recorded at seismic stations
• Lehmann theorized that these waves had
traveled some distance into the core and
then bounced off some kind of boundary.
Her interpretation of this data was the
foundation of a 1936 paper in which she
theorized that Earth’s center consisted of
two parts: a solid inner core surrounded by
a liquid outer core, separated by what has
come to be called the Lehmann
Discontinuity. Lehmann’s hypothesis was
confirmed in 1970 when more sensitive
seismographs detected waves deflecting
off this solid core.
The seismic waves called S-waves do not travel through liquid. We know that the
outer core is liquid because of the shadow it casts in S-waves. Illustrations ©
American Museum of Natural History
The seismic waves called P-waves pass through the core and are detected on the far side
of the Earth. Indirect signals received in the P-wave shadow zone suggest there is a solid
inner core deflecting some waves. Illustrations © American Museum of Natural History
The hydrosphere is the part of a planet that's made of water.
Oceans, rivers, lakes, and clouds are all typically included in
the hydrosphere.
The watery parts of our planet, including vapor that hovers
above the Earth's surface and water that's underground,
make up its hydrosphere. Most of this water is salty, found in
oceans, seas, estuaries, and other salty spots. Some of it is
frozen into ice caps and permanent snow cover. Hydrosphere
combines the Greek root hydro-, "water," and sphere,
"globe, cosmos, or space," from the Greek sphaira, "globe or
ball."