LAYERS OF THE

EARTH
EARTH SCIENCE
REVIEW:

What are the causes of

Tsunamis?
Give one effects of Tsunamis in
Human, properties and
livestock.
Define the following terms based
on their understanding:
 Crust
 Lithosphere
 Asthenosphere
 Mantle
 InnerCore
 Outer Core
CRUST
 outermost layer of Earth.
 temperature within the crust increases with depth at a
rate of about 1°C per 100 m.
 Within the continental crust, the overall composition is
close to the composition of granite.
 most volcanoes that erupt in the ocean basins bring
lava to the surface that hardens to form basalt.
 depths as shallow as 5 km under the oceans to as
deep as 60 km under some mountain ranges on land.
 Moho is the boundary of crust and mantle.
MANTLE

 extends from the bottom of the crust to a depth

of about 2900 km.
 it contains more than half of Earth’s volume.
 magma that originates below the crust is rich in
dense, mafic minerals such as olivine and
pyroxene.
 ASTHENOSPHERE – upper part of the mantle.
 Earth’s mantle is composed primarily of iron- and
magnesium-rich, mafic silicate minerals.
CORE

 Starting at 2900 km and extending to Earth’s

center is the next layer.
 Outer core- liquid part
 Inner core- Solid part
 The Crust:
 The crust is the outermost layer of Earth. In all of the mining and drilling
humans have done, this is the only layer that has been observed directly.
In most places a thin layer of sedimentary rocks covers metamorphic
and igneous rocks. The deeper you dig, the greater the chance of finding
igneous rocks. Within the continental crust, the overall composition is
close to the composition of granite. Under the sediments and
sedimentary rocks of the oceans, the crust is more dense. This is verified
by observing that most volcanoes that erupt in the ocean basins bring
lava to the surface that hardens to form basalt. Geologists therefore infer
that the crust under the oceans is mostly basalt or has a similar
composition. Furthermore, from very deep mines, scientists know that the
temperature within the crust increases with depth at a rate of about 1°C
per 100 m. Based on this rapid rate of temperature change, it seems
logical that Earth’s interior is very hot.
The Crust:
 The bottom of the crust is inferred from observations of
earthquake waves. Seismic waves that travel through just the
crust are slower than are those that dip below the crust and
enter the mantle (because the mantle has a different
composition, the waves travel at a different velocity). This
change in seismic wave speed occurs at depths as shallow as
5 km under the oceans to as deep as 60 km under some
mountain ranges on land. The Croatian geophysicist Andrija
Mohorovicic first noticed this boundary, and it is now named in
his honor. However, most people shorten the name of the
boundary to the Moho.
 The Mantle:
The mantle extends from the bottom of the crust to a depth of
about 2900 km. In fact, it contains more than half of Earth’s volume.
However, the inability to penetrate below the crust with mines or
drills means that investigations of the mantle must be conducted
by other means.

From studies of volcanic eruptions, scientists believe that magma

that originates below the crust is rich in dense, mafic minerals such
as olivine and pyroxene. These are the minerals on the right side of
the Scheme for Igneous Rock Identification in the Earth Science
Reference Tables. Some magma originates in the crust beneath
mountain areas where Earth’s crust is thick and felsic in
composition.
 The Mantle:
 Most of the meteorites that fall to Earth are composed of dense, mafic
minerals such as pyroxene and olivine. These are called stony
meteorites. Scientists believe that these meteorites are the material
from which Earth and the other planets formed billions of years ago, or
they are the remains of a planet that was torn apart by a collision with
another object. If this is the case, you would expect meteorites to
have a composition similar to the planets, including Earth.
The Mantle:
 The diameter of planet Earth has been known for centuries.
From this value, it is easy to calculate Earth’s volume. The
mass of Earth has been determined based on its
gravitational attraction. Knowing Earth’s mass and volume,
scientists have calculated that Earth’s overall density is
about 5.5 g/cm3. That is about twice as dense as most rocks
in the crust. Therefore, scientists expect the mantle, which
includes most of Earth’s volume, to be composed of
minerals that are more dense than those in the crust are.
The Mantle:

 Earthquake waves can travel through the mantle. Because

some type of earthquake waves will not travel through a
liquid, the mantle is known to be in the solid state.
Furthermore, earthquake waves travel faster in the mantle
than they do in Earth’s crust. This indicates that the rock in the
mantle is more brittle than crustal rocks. Again, olivine and
pyroxene fit the observations. All these observations provide
strong evidence that Earth’s mantle is composed primarily of
iron- and magnesium-rich, mafic silicate minerals. Therefore,
geologists infer that the mantle is composed mostly of olivine
and pyroxene in the solid state.
The Core:

 Starting at 2900 km and extending to Earth’s center is

the next layer, called the core. Seismologists noticed
that some types of earthquake waves can penetrate
the whole planet, but other types do not travel through
Earth’s core. Scientists also know that these waves,
called P-waves, cannot travel through liquids. Since
they know that P-waves cannot travel through the
core, they think that the core must be liquid.
The Core:

 Starting from the atmosphere, each of Earth’s layers is more

dense than the layer above it: atmosphere, hydrosphere, crust,
mantle. You might therefore expect the core to be even more
dense than the mantle. Scientists also know about the core and
its high density from studying meteorites, or small to medium-
sized rocks that have fallen from space. One particular type of
meteorite is mostly composed of iron. From studying this type of
meteorite, scientists also think that they core of the Earth also
contains mostly iron, with some nickel as well. Scientists have
also inferred that the outer core is liquid because the movement
of liquid iron in the outer core is also thought to cause Earth’s
magnetic field.
The Core:

 Scientists think that the extreme pressure generated by the

weight of the Earth above makes the liquid core a solid at the
very center of the Earth. Geologists have inferred this based on
the way those abovementioned earthquake waves travel.
Because the waves change their speed and direction (refract)
when they travel through solids or liquids, scientists have noticed
that earthquakes waves often refract when they travel through
the center of the Earth. Thus, they have also concluded that there
is a solid inner core surrounded by a liquid outer core.
QUIZ No. 8
Write TRUE or FALSE:

1. The crust includes water as well as soil.

2. The crust is made mostly of granite and limestone.
3. The crust is the thickest layer averaging 100 km thick.
4. The mantle is composed of hot rock.
5. The lithosphere and asthenosphere are two layers that make up the
core.
6. The mantle is composed mainly of silicon, oxygen, iron, and
magnesium.
7. The inner core is a layer of molten metal inside of the solid outer core.