INRODUCTION

OBJECTIVE

 Communicate about the system of the Earth

 Explain the differences of the Earth’s layers based on its composition
and physical characteristics.
 Realise tha Earth is only place that can sustain life based on its physical
characteristic

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9.1 The System and Structure of the Earth
The Earth System
The Earth System consist of four main spheres:
i. The atmhosphere:The air zone covering the entire Earth’s surface
ii. The hydrosphere:The Earth’s surface that is covered with water such as
oceans,rivers,lakes,ponds,swamps and underground water.
iii. The geosphere:The solid part of the Earth such as rocks and soil
iv. The biosphere :the part of the Earth inhabited by living things.

hydrosphere atmosphere

biosphere geosphere

Atmospheric stratification
The atmosphere is a layer of gas that covers the Earth’s surface due to the
Earth’s gravitational force.The Earth’s atmosphere consists of nitrogen,oxygen
and small amounts of argon,carbon dioxide,water vapour and othe gases.The
atmosphere is divided into five layers or
strata:troposphere,stratosphere,mesosphere,thermosphere and
exosphere.The atmosphere protects living things on the Earth by absorbing
ultraviolet rays from the Sun to reduce the extreme tempretures between day
and night.The atmosphere layers do not have borders but became thinner
slowly with their increasing altitudes.

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 The characteristics and roles of the atmospheric strata
Atmospheric Characteristics and roles
srata
Troposphere  The closest layer to the Earth’s surface
(0-3 km from the  Consist os 80% af all atmosphere gases.
earth surface)  Weather changes such as clouds,rain,snow and lightning happen in this
layer
 The temperature and water vapour content of the troposphere
decrease rapidly with altidtude.Water vapour plays an important role in
contolling the air temperature because it absorb solar energy and
radiant heat from the Earth’s surface .
 The troposphere contains 99% of the water vapour present in the
atmosphere.
Stratosphere  Since the air In the troposphere is very thin,the heat from the hot
(3-50 km from surface of the Earth or the Sun cannot increase the temperature of the
the Earth surface) air in this layer.
 The bottom layer of the stratosphere has a stable temperature and its
suitable the commercial airplane flights.
 At the top part of the stratosphere,there is a layer that protects the
Earth from dangerous ultraviolet rays and it is known as the ozone layer.
 The ozone layer becomes thinner due to the presence of pollutants
especially chlorofluocarbon in the air that breakdown the ozone
molecules.
 The decrease in the number of ozone molecules in the atmosphere
causes the phenomenon of thining of the ozone layer.
Mesosphere  The coldest layer
(50-80 km from  Most meteors burn and decompose to become a shiny gas when
the Earth’s entering this layer
surface)

Thermosphere  Cloudless and free of water vapour

(80-480 km from  The phenomenon of aurora is seen in this layer
the Earth’s  The bottom part of the thermosphere is known as ionosphere
surface)  The ionosphere has very high temperatures due to the prese outer
spacence of charged particles or ions.The ions function as a reflector of
electromagnetic waves in long distance telecommunications.
Exosphere  The furthest layer from the Earth that connects with outer space
(more than 480  The density of the air decreases from an altitude of 500km until it
km from the reaches zero or vacuum state at an altitude of 1000 km or more in outer

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Earth surface) space
 Satelites orbit in this layer
 Consists of widely dispersed particles such as hydrogen .

Ocean stratification
About 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered with oceans.The diversity of
living things or biodiversity id the highest in the oceans.The oceans can also
be divided into three main zones based on the depths of the zones .
I. Surface zone
II. Twilight zone
III. Dark zone

1. Surface zone (from the surface of the ocean to a depth of 200m)

In this zone,water is very shallow and provides a suitable habitat for
plants.Light can penetrate this zone and is sufficient for aquatic plant to
photosynthesise.This zone is also known as the sunlit zone or euphotic
zone.Heat is absorbed into this zone from the surface of the ocean ans warms
up the sea water over a wide range of temperature.
2.Twilight zone (from a depth of 20 m to 1500m)

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Only a little light penetrates this zone and is insufficient for photosynthesis to
occur.This zone is also called the dusk zone or dysphotic zone and no aquatic
plants can live in this zone.This zone is also becomes a suitable habitat for large
marine animals such as giant squids and various species of whales.The fish
living in this zone have large eyes to help them see better and at wider angles.
3.Dark zone (from a depth of 1500 m to 4000 m)
No light can penetrate this zone except for light emitted by the animals living
in this zone.This zone is also known as the aphotiz zone.Most of the animals
living in this zone have bodies that shine or glow in the dark.The water
preasure in this zone is very high.Yet the animal species living in this zone are
relative high in numbers but have one out of two colour,red or black.
Distributtion of Water and Earth
The hydrosphere is the total water content on the Earth that can exist in the
state of
i. Solidas snow,glacier and iceberg
ii. Liquid as surface water,underground water and in the air as rainwater.
iii. Gas as water vapour that has been evaporated in the
clouds,rainwater,pond water,river water and sea water.
The hydrosphere is important because it
i. Maintains the water content of the Earth through the natural water
cycle
ii. Maintains weather condition such as temperature and humidity of air
iii. Provides a habitat for aquatic life
iv. Provides a source of seafood to humans
v. Generates electrical energy in the form of hydroelectricity.
Water circulates and changes its states of matter continuously in the
hydrosphere in a natural cycle known as the water cycle.The water cycle is
important in keeping the total amount of water contained in the Earth,on the
Earth’s surface and in the atmosphere constant. Evaporation is considered to
be the first step of the water cycle. In it, water that's stored in our oceans,
lakes, rivers, and streams absorbs heat energy from the sun which turns it from
a liquid into a gas called water vapor (or steam). Evaporation doesn't just
happen over bodies of water it happens on land too. When the sun heats the
ground, water is evaporated from the top layer of soil a process known as

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evapotranspiration. Likewise, any extra water that isn't used by plants and
trees during photosynthesis is evaporated from its leaves in a process called
transpiration.
A similar process happens when water that's frozen in glaciers, ice, and snow
converts directly into water vapor (without first turning into a liquid). Called
sublimation, this happens when the air temperature is extremely low or when
high pressure is applied.

The water cycle

The Earth’s layers
Based on its physical properties,the Earth can be divided into three main
layers:
a) Crust
b) Mantle
c) Core
Except for the crust, no one has ever explored these layers in person. In fact,
the deepest humans have ever drilled is just over 12 kilometers (7.6 miles).
And even that took 20 years

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The crust
Earth’s crust is like the shell of a hard-boiled egg. It is extremely thin, cold and
brittle compared to what lies below it. The crust is made of relatively light
elements, especially silica, aluminum and oxygen. It’s also highly variable in its
thickness. Under the oceans (and Hawaiian Islands), it may be as little as 5
kilometers (3.1 miles) thick. Beneath the continents, the crust may be 30 to 70
kilometers (18.6 to 43.5 miles) thick.

Along with the upper zone of the mantle, the crust is broken into big pieces,
like a gigantic jigsaw puzzle. These are known as tectonic plates. These move
slowly at just 3 to 5 centimeters (1.2 to 2 inches) per year. What drives the
motion of tectonic plates is still not fully understood. It may be related to heat-
driven convection currents in the mantle below. Some scientists think it’s
caused by the tug from slabs of crust of different densities, something called
“slab pull.” In time, these plates will converge, pull apart or slide past each
other. Those actions cause most earthquakes and volcanoes. It’s a slow ride,
but it makes for exciting times here on Earth’s surface.
The Mantle
At close to 3,000 kilometers (1,865 miles) thick, this is Earth’s thickest layer. It
starts a mere 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) beneath the surface. Made mostly of
iron, magnesium and silicon, it is dense, hot and semi-solid (think caramel
candy). Like the layer below it, this one also circulates. It just does so far more

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slowly. Near its upper edges, somewhere between about 100 and 200
kilometers (62 to 124 miles) underground, the mantle’s temperature reaches
the melting point of rock. Indeed, it forms a layer of partially melted rock
known as the asthenosphere (As-THEEN-oh-sfeer). Geologists believe this
weak, hot, slippery part of the mantle is what Earth’s tectonic plates ride upon
and slide across.
The core
This solid metal ball has a radius of 1,220 kilometers (758 miles), or about
three-quarters that of the moon. It’s located some 6,400 to 5,180 kilometers
(4,000 to 3,220 miles) beneath Earth’s surface. Extremely dense, it’s made
mostly of iron and nickel. The inner core spins a bit faster than the rest of the
planet. It’s also intensely hot: Temperatures sizzle at 5,400° Celsius (9,800°
Fahrenheit). That’s almost as hot as the surface of the sun. Pressures here are
immense: well over 3 million times greater than on Earth’s surface. Some
research suggests there may also be an inner, inner core. It would likely consist
almost entirely of iron.
Chemical properties of the Earth’s structure
Lithosphere
The lithosphere is the outermost layer of the Earth ~100 km thick and is
defined by its mechanical properties. This rigid layer includes the brittle upper
portion of the mantle and the crust. The lithosphere is divided into 15 major
tectonic plates, and it is at the boundary of these plates where major tectonic
occurs, such as earthquakes and volcanoes. The lithosphere contains oceanic
and continental crust that varies in age and thickness across locations and
geologic time. The lithosphere is the coolest layer of the Earth in terms of
temperature, with the heat from the lower layers generating the plate
movements.
Asthenosphere
The asthenosphere includes the upper part of the mantle that is highly viscous
and mechanically weak. The lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) is
where geophysicists mark the difference in ductility (a measures a solid
material’s ability to deform or stretch under stress) between the two layers.
This boundary in the upper mantle is marked at the 1300oC isotherm. Above

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the isotherm marks where the mantle behaves in a rigid fashion and below
which it behaves in a ductile fashion.
Mesosphere
The mesosphere refers to the mantle in the region under the lithosphere and
the asthenosphere, but above the outer core. The upper boundary is defined
as the sharp increase in seismic wave velocities and density at a depth of 660
kilometers (410 mi). This layer should not be confused with the atmospheric
mesosphere.
The Earth is the only Home for All Living Organism
 The Earth is the only planet in the solar system that is suitable to
inhabited by all living organisms.
 This is due to the Earth’s position,which is not too near or too far from
the Sun.
 The biosphere is the part of the Earth in which all living organisms
inhabit.
 All animals and plants live in the biosphere which consists of the
lithosphere,hydrosphere and atmosphere as far as 10 km from the
Earth’s surface
 Habitats for most living organism lie between 10 m below the sea level
and 1000 m above the Earth’s
surface
 The composition of the
biosphere consist of
compounds that contain
carbon,hydrogen and oxygen.
 The living organisms in the
biosphere play an important
role in the carbon cycle,water cycle and nitrogen cycle which represent
the interactions between the biosphere and atmosphere,hydrosphere
and geosphere(lithosphere).
 About a billion years after Earth was formed, photosynthesis evolved.
Photosynthesis is how plants, algae and other organisms convert
sunlight into chemical energy and break down CO2 into its elements,
carbon and oxygen.

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9.2 Composition of the Earth
Types of rocks and their characteristics
Rock is a solid substance formed when two or more minerals combine
chemically.The quantities and types of minerals found in rocks are different
because the rocks undergo different formation processes.
Type of rock Characteristics
Igneous rocks (from the Latin word for fire) form
when hot, molten rock crystallizes and solidifies.
The melt originates deep within the Earth near
active plate boundaries or hot spots, then rises
toward the surface. Igneous rocks are divided
into two groups, intrusive or extrusive, depending
Igneous upon where the molten rock solidifies.
sedimentary rock, rock formed at or near Earth’s
surface by the accumulation and lithification of
sediment (detrital rock) or by the precipitation
from solution at normal surface temperatures
(chemical rock). Sedimentary rocks are the most
common rocks exposed on Earth’s surface but are
only a minor constituent of the entire crust,
which is dominated by igneous and metamorphic
rocks.Sedimentary rocks are produced by the
weathering of preexisting rocks and the
Sedimentary subsequent transportation and deposition of the
weathering products.
Metamorphic rocks started out as some other
type of rock, but have been substantially changed
from their original igneous, sedimentary, or
earlier metamorphic form. Metamorphic rocks
form when rocks are subjected to high heat, high
pressure, hot mineral-rich fluids or, more
commonly, some combination of these factors.

Metamorphic

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The process of Rock Formation
Rocks are classified into igneous rocks,sedimentary rocks and metamorphic
rocks based on the process of rock formation .Magma is molten rock in the
mantle that is formed through the absorption of heat from the mantle at high
temperature.

The rock cycle

Types of sedimentary rocks
Clastic Sedimentary rocks
 Sandstone
 Shale
 Breccia
Chemical sedimentary rocks
 Rock salt
 Gypsum
Organic sedimentary rocks
 Limestone
 Coal

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9.3 Main Processes of the Earth
Exogenic processes
 Series of processes that occur on the Earth’s surface and are driven by
the energy from the Sun.
 The Sun influences the elements of climate and weather which in turn
influence the agents of weathering,erosion and transport such as
sunlight,wind,waves,rain moving water and air temperature.
Exogenic processes and the characteristics
Weathering
The processes of fragmention and decomposition of rocks happen naturally on
the surface of the Earth’s crust and up to two metres in depth from the Earth’s
surface.
Type of weathering

(1) Physical / Mechanical weathering

Physical or mechanical weathering processes depend on some applied forces.
The applied forces could be
(i) gravitational forces such as overburden pressure, load, and shearing
stress;
(ii) expansion force due to temperature changes, crystal growth or animal
activity;
(iii) water pressure controlled by wetting and drying cycles.
(2) Chemical weathering
Chemical weathering can be due to solution, carbonation, hydration or
oxidation/reduction.
(3) Biological weathering
The fragmention and decomposition of rocks carried out by
humans,plants,wildlife and bacteria

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Erosion
Erosion is the geological process in which earthen materials are worn away and
transported by natural forces such as wind or water. A similar process,
weathering, breaks down or dissolves rock, but does not involve movement.
Erosion is the opposite of deposition, the geological process in which earthen
materials are deposited, or built up, on a landform. Most erosion is performed
by liquid water, wind, or ice (usually in the form of a glacier). If the wind is
dusty, or water or glacial ice is muddy, erosion is taking place. The brown color
indicates that bits of rock and soil are suspended in the fluid (air or water) and
being transported from one place to another.
Mass depletion/land depletion/land movement
The slow and fast mass movements, also known as slope movement or mass
wasting, affect the shallow to deep columns of material and works creep, flow,
slide, and fall.The bedrock, as well as the results of weathering, are subjected
to gravitational attraction. Weathering isn't a prerequisite for mass movement,
but it certainly helps. Erosion does not apply to mass wasting because it is led
solely by gravity and has no impact from geomorphic agents such as waves,
currents, glaciers, water, or wind.Over steepened slopes, water, earthquake,
and vegetation removal are the factors that trigger it.
Sedimentation
It is a natural process where sediments are deposited at the bottom and
undergo changes and form into solid structures.Sediments are particles that
have been broken down. The size of the sediments is categorized, ranging from
silts and muds to gravels and boulders.

Endogenic Processes
Endogenic processes are primarily driven by the energy emerging from within
the earth. Diastrophism and Sudden Movements are the two basic forms of
earth movements.
Earth's interior heat is the ultimate source of energy that drives endogenic
movements. Rotational and tidal friction, radiation, and primordial heat from
the earth's origin all contribute to this energy.

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Mantle Convection process
Mantle convection is the very slow creeping motion of Earth's solid silicate
mantle as convection currents carrying heat from the interior to the planet's
surface.The Earth's surface lithosphere rides atop the asthenosphere and the
two form the components of the upper mantle. The lithosphere is divided into
a number of tectonic plates that are continuously being created or consumed
at plate boundaries. Accretion occurs as mantle is added to the growing edges
of a plate, associated with seafloor spreading. Upwelling beneath the
spreading centers is the rising component of mantle convection.
Magma Activity
Magma is liquid rock at high pressures in the mantle that pushes the Earth’s
crust causing crevies or cracks.When magma flows out from the mantle to the
Earth’s surface through the crevices or cracks on the Earth’s crust,it solidifies
landforms.
Movement of the Earth’s crust (plate tectonics)
According to the theory of Plate Tectonics,the Earth’s lithosphere(the Earth’s
crust and upper mantle) is broken up into plates of vrying sizes known as
tectonic plates.

Movement of the tectonic

plates
Movement of the tectonic plates creates various landforms on the Earth such
as faults in the oceans,island arcs and mountain ranges.It also causes
earthquakes and formation of new tectonic plates.

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9.4 Geohazard Phenomena
Geohazard are the consequences of endogenic processes that occur within
the earth.
Geohazard phenomena
a) Earthquake
b) Volcanism
c) Landslide
d) Tsunami
e) Global warming
f) Acid rain
g) Sinkhole Quicksand
Earthquake
 Vibrations of the Earth’s crust due to the sudden release of energy from
within the Earth.These vibrations happen when tectonic plates makes
sudden movements
Volcanism
 Volcanism (volcanoes) and earthquakes are usually related phenomena
because they happen in the same tectonic plate or strip
Landslide
 Landslide is mass depletion in which unstable soil slides down a slope
due to gravity that acts on the unstable soil.
 Water is the common lubricant that facilitates the drop or depletion of
soil down the slope.
Tsunami
 Tsunami is a gigantic wave that is caused by earthquake or volcanism in
the ocean floor and the impact of meteor hitting the surface ocean.
Global warming
 Related to the increase in the temperature of the Earth’s surface due to
the heating of the atmosphere which contains excess carbon dioxide.

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Acid rain
 Is a global disaster caused by rainwater of high acidity i.e. has a pH of
lower than 5.
Sinkhole
 Formed when the ground on the Earth’s surface falls into an empty
space or cavity along an eroded layer formed below the lower surface of
limestone area.
Quicksand
 Usually happens in an area that consist of clay and mud which are
impervious to water at the lowest layer of the area.
 During rain,water diffuses into the ground and flows to the upper layer
of the clay.

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