Lesson 10: Earth and its Processes

Objectives:

In this lesson, you will learn to:

1. Describe the different processes that occur on the surface of the Earth as well as underneath it.
2. Identify the layers of Earth and differentiate them from each other.
3. Describe the Continental Drift Theory, as well as discuss evidences that support it
4. Explain how the movement of plates leads to the formation of folds, faults, trenches, volcanoes,
rift valleys, and mountain ranges.
5. Explain Seafloor spreading and the formation of Ocean Basins

The Different Processes of the Earth

The surface of the planet Earth is gradually being shaped by the different processes that are
happening. These processes are the ones that gave rise to mountain ranges, and carved deep trenches
under the oceans. These processes are the reason why we have a wide range of geological forms today.

The Layers of Earth

It is i mportant to understand the structure of our planet Earth before we start learning
the different processes that shape it.

It was in the year 1864 when Jules Verne's adventure classic Journey to the Centre of the
Earth, triggered people's curiosity to know about the interior of our planet. While there may not
be prehistoric creatures under the earth, it is still undoubtedly full of wonders.

Earth is composed of four main layers: the inner core, the outer core, the mantle, and the
crust.

Crust 0-100 km /Lithosphere

thick / (ioruyt and upper-
asrl, enosphere most solid mantle)

Mantle

Mantle

2900 km
Liquid
Quter
core Core

soi

Not to scale
6378 km

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 The Crust

The crust is the outermost layer of the planet. It is the "skin" of the Earth and various
thicknesses. It is the thinnest layer of the Earth at 40 to 75 km thick under the continents and 5
to 6 km beneath ocean basins. It divided into two types: the continental crust and the oceanic
crust.

The continental crust is the crust under which the continents are built. It extends
vertically from the Earth's surface to the Mohorovocic discontinuity, which is the boundary
between the crust and the mantle. The oceanic crust, on the other hand, is found under the
oceans, and is the thinnest part of the crust. Most of Earth's oceanic crust was made through
volcanic activity. The crust is composed of two basic rock types — granite which is hard and
crystalline, and basalt, which is much denser, solidified lava. Moreover, the crust of the Earth is
broken into many pieces which we call plates.

The Mantle

Underneath the crust is the mantle. It is the largest layer, with a depth of 2,500 km. it is
composed of rocky oxides and silicates under high pressure. The mantle behaves like extremely
viscous liquid, which causes the movement of the plates underneath the crust.

The mantle is also where most gemstones such as diamonds and garnets are formed.
Diamond is formed out of high pressures found at depths greater than 150 km, which is the reason
for its compact crystal structure, and also the reason why it is the hardest material known. Rapidly
rising magmas (molten rocks) carry diamonds to the surface, where they are found embedded in
rocks.

The Core

Below the mantle lies the innermost part of the Earth — the core. It is divided into two
layers: the outer core and the inner core. The outer core is about 2,200 km thick. It mainly
consists of iron, nickel, and about 10% sulfur and oxygen. The temperature in the outer core is
always between 4,000°C and 5.000°C. It is so hot that the metal is always in a molten state. The
inner core, on the other hand, is what we call as the "centre of the Earth". It is solid, made up of
iron, nickel, and some lighter elements, and is about 1,250 km thick. It is hotter than the outer
core, ranging from 5,500°C and 7,500°C. Despite the extreme temperature, the inner core
remained solid and cannot melt due to high pressure.

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Exogenic and E ndogenic Processes

Vou may be wondering why the surface of the earth is uneven. It is all because the earth's
crust is dynamic it has moved and moves vertically and horizontally. Throughout the years, it has
been continuously subjected to by external forces origination within the atmosphere, and by
internal forces from within the earth. The external forces are the ones that create exogenic
processes, while the internal forces make the endogenic processes, which affect our planet.

Exogenic Processes

Exogenic processes are geological processes that originate externally to the Earth's
surface. These processes derive their energy from atmosphere determined by the ultimate energy
from the sun and also the gradients created by tectonic factors.

Weathering. Weathering is action of elements of weather and climate over earth

materials, which causes the mechanical disintegration and chemical decomposition of rocks.

Erosion and Deposition. Erosion occurs when massive rocks break into smaller fragments
due to weathering or other erosional geomorphic agents such as running water, groundwater,
glaciers, wind, and waves, removing them and transport them to other places. Deposition is the
consequence of erosion. The erosional agents gradually lose their velocity, causing the energy on
gentler slopes to start settle. The materials that have been carried through erosion would begin
to settle — be deposited — to different areas. The coarser materials get deposited first and the
finer materials later.

Endogenic Processes

Endogenic processes are processes that occur from inside the planet. They derive their
energy from within the earth, mostly generated by radioactivity, rotational and tidal friction and
primordial heat from the origin of the earth.

Earthquake. It is a form of energy of wave motion that is transmitted through the surface
layers of the earth. It ranges from a faint tremor to a wild motion. Earthquakes are due mostly to
the dislocation of rocks underneath the surface.

Tectonic movements. They are movements of the tectonic plates. They may be folded,
thrust over one another, or broken up. Tectonic movements give rise to mountains, oceans,
ridges, troughs, and other land forms. When the process results in building up a surface, it is
termed as distrophism.

Volcanism. It is the process by which matter is transported to the surface of the earth and
then erupted. Volcanism is the process wherein the magmatic materials are effused towards the
surface of the earth through volcanic structures. When the magma does not reach the surface,
they are called intrusives or plutons.

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The Continental Drift Theory
Since there are so many geologic processes that are continuously changing the
appearance of Earth, people began to wonder how the Earth look before.

In 1596, the Flemish cartographer Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598) observed that the
shapes of the continents on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean seem to fit together. Africa looked
as if it was torn away from Asia and Europe. With the absence of valid evidence, Ortelius
speculated that the continents, once forming a huge landmass, were separated due to
earthquakes and flooding.

Then, in the year 1912, a geophysicist named Alfred Wegener (1880-1930) developed the
concept and hypothesized what is now known as continental drift theory. According to him, there
used to be only one supergiant landmass where all the continents came from. Pangaea, his name
for the super giant landmass, broke apart into two huge landmasses over time, and these
landmasses moved away from each other.

The first landmass was called Laurasia, and it formed what is now the Northern
Hemisphere. The second landmass, called Gondwanaland (or Gondwana), comprised the
continents in what we now call the Southern Hemisphere.

225 million vears a go, 135 million years ago

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Anlatelica
65 million years alp
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Present

(Image source: www.mhhe.com )

The evidence supporting continental drift is now extensive. Along the shores of different
continents, similar plant and animal fossils have been found, suggesting that these continents
were once joined together. One example is the fossil of the Mesosaurus, which was found in both
Brazil and Africa. Another form of evidence is that of paleomagnetisrn, which is the process by
which the earth's magnetic fields move. Based on basaltic rocks, scientists at the time did not
know how to account for paleornagnetism. The magnetic field orientation of rocks of the same
age did not point to the same pole. The common magnetic north pole could only be established
if the continents were once in different positions than they are today. Using rocks with different
ages, they reconstructed the location of the continents during the past periods in geologic history.

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Plate Tectonics and the Deformation of the Crust

Wegener's theory seemed unacceptable for the scientific community, particularly

because he failed to explain why the continents moved. He only speculated that the continents
had been separated by Earth's rotational forces and some astronomical influences.

But in the year 1940, the British geologist Arthur Holmes (1890-1965) suggested that the
movements of the continents were caused by thermal convection. The concept of thermal
convection, according to Holmes, is based on the fact that as a substance is heated, its density
decreases and rises to the surface until it is cooled, then it sinks again. This repeating process may
produce a current that is strong enough to make the continents move. The thermal conveyor
works like a conveyor belt, where the pressure that moves upward could break apart a continent.
The currents can carry the broken pieces to opposite directions. This is the basis of the movement
of the continents, which were proven in later years. The current is now called mantle convection
current, to specify that heat is actually radiating from the mantle.

The pieces of crust are called plates by geologists later on. This is because it was believed
that continents are not the only ones moving. Surprisingly enough, the boundaries of these
tectonic plates were accidentally discovered and eventually studied during magnetic surveys of
the ocean floor and seismic studies for nuclear testing.

It is the movement of these plates that causes the deformation of the earth's crust. Forces
strong enough to move ocean sediments to an elevation that is many thousands of meters above
sea level causes changes in the volume and shape of the crust.

Folding. A fold is a bend in the rock that is the response to compressive forces. Folding
refers to the geologic movement that results from the compression of rock layers. One example
of a landform that formed out of folding is the Himalayan mountains.

Faulting. Faulting is the type of Earth movement that forms cracks or fractures in rocks,
aptly called fault lines. A fault forms when the internal stresses in the rock cause fractures. The
fault can be defined as displacement of a rock that was once connected along a fault plane.

Seafloor Spreading

Seafloor spreading is a geologic process in which tectonic plates split apart as a result of
mantle convection. This concept was developed by geologists Harold Hess (1895-1982) and
Robert Dietz (1914-1995). This further supported the ideas of continental drift.

Seafloor spreading is on a continuous process which occurs when tectonic plates slowly
move away from each other due to tensional force. The crust cracks and magma rises to the
surface. Seawater will cool the magma, turning it into oceanic crust. As a result, new rocks are
formed in that area. This geological process usually occurs along mid-ocean ridges.

The plate tectonics theory explains that despite the geologic processes continuously
reshaping the Earth, there is really no change in its overall volume and size. This, according to
Hess and Dietz, is because while the crust is expanding in one area, it must be shrinking

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 somewhere else. They proved this by studying the oceanic crusts descending along the
continental margins where oceanic trenches are forming.

Ocean Basin Formation

Ocean basins are the areas of the Earth's surface that extends seaward from the
continental margins. They occupy more than 76% of the total ocean area. These are formed from
a series of geologic processes, starting with a separation of two diverging plates where molten
rock materials well up from the underlying mantle into the ridge or gap between the plates,
solidifying into an ocean crust. At that time, two plates may converge at a deep-sea trench in
another part of the world.

As an ocean ridge
forms, an older part of
the ocean floor is
destroyed. Source:
(ww.
w. nake d science. or
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For each segment of new ocean floor created at the ridges, an old segment of the ocean
floor is destroyed at the trenches. This has been proven in the submarine explorations where the
oldest segment of ocean floor was found in the far wester Pacific.

With the formation of ocean basins, Hess and Dietz concluded that the Atlantic and Arctic
basins are expanding with the spreading of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Meanwhile, the Pacific basin
is shrinking with the movement of the East Pacific Rise. It is a ceaseless process that recycles ocean
basins.

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References:

Tarbuck, E.J. Lutgens, F. K. (2002). Earth: An introduction to Physical Geology. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

N oble, M.A. Earth System: History and Natural Variability Vol.2. Retrieved from:
http:fiwww.eolss.netjsarnple-chaptersjc12/E1-01-03.pdf

King, Chris. The planet we live on: The beginnings of Earth Sciences. Retrieved from:
http:Ibmw.learndev.oradliSciencelEarthScienceiThePlanetVvreLive0n.pdf

Basu, Binan. (20081. Planet Earth in a Nutshell. Vigy a n Prasar. Retrieved from:
http://www.arvindguptatoys.comiarvindguptaivp-planet-eartn.pdf

Fundamentals of Physical Geography. Retrieved from: hittpliwww.ncert.nic.injncerts/likegy206.pdf

Seafloor Spreading. Retrieved from: littp:finationalgeographic.ordencyclopediaiseafloor-spreading/