Earth’s Interior

Heart of the Earth

Ann Ruby Alcaide-Blando

Image credit: NASA
Compositional
Crust
Mantle
Core

Physical / Mechanical
Lithosphere
Asthenosphere
Image credit: USGS
Mesosphere
 What We Know - Crust
 Two types of crust:
 Continental
 30% of crust
 40 Km thick
 Oldest is 3.8 billion years
(90% solar system age;
missing ~700 m.y.)

 Oceanic crust
 5-10 Km thick
 200 Ma oldest; 100 Ma
average

Image credit: USGS

 What We Know - Mantle
 Density – between
crust and core
 3.3 - 5.5 g/cm3
 Samples from volcanic
eruptions, basalt
composition; lab
experiments

Image credit: John Lahr, USGS Open-File Report 99-

 What We Infer – Core
 No direct samples
 Probably heavy
stuff
 Liquid outer
(molten iron), solid
inner (iron, nickel)

Image credit: John Lahr, USGS Open-File Report 99-

 What We Infer – Core
 Total density of Earth is ~5,500 km/g3
 Avg. surface density is ~3,000 km/g3
 Core must be very dense!
 Why iron? Meteorites!
 Earth’s Interior
 How do we infer the properties of the core?
 Seismic Waves

Earthquakes generate
three types of waves –
P, S, & surface waves

We will just concern

ourselves with P & S
waves

Image credit: USGS

 Wave Types

 Transverse (S) Waves –

particles move
perpendicular to
direction of disturbance;
rock is moved (sheared)

Image credit: USGS

 Wave Types
 Longitudinal (P) Waves
– push-pull waves;
particles move parallel
to direction of
disturbance; rock
changes volume
(compressed & dilated)

Image credit: USGS

 Earthquake Waves
 P-waves (longitudinal) travel through liquids &
solids

 S-waves (transverse) do NOT travel through

liquids; solids only
 Earthquake Waves Hint at Internal Layering

 P-waves (longitudinal) are

able to travel through
liquids (outer core)
 S-waves (transverse) are
NOT able to travel through
liquids (outer core)

Image credit: LPI

 Websites
 Earthquake data
 http://www.iris.edu/hq/

 TERC’s Exploring Earth

FANTASTIC interactive lessons for students about Earth, visualizations,
and more. In particular, explore how we have modeled Earth’s internal
structure using seismic waves
http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/investigations/
es0402/es0402page04.cfm?chapter_no=investigation
Earth’s Interior
• Core
– Made of Iron and Nickel
– Inner Core - solid
– Outer Core - liquid
• Mantle
– Less dense than core
– Iron and Silicates
– Mostly solid

• Crust
– Outermost layer is solid rock.

– Continental – granite

– Oceanic – basalt
 Lithosphere
 The outer solid layer of the Earth

 Litho- Rock

 Sphere- Round
 Lithosphere
 Consists of continental, oceanic and upper
part of mantle
• Continents composed of granite-type
rock, less dense then oceanic crust
• Oceanic crust formed of basalt; more dense
then continental crust
 Asthenosphere
 Located below the Lithosphere

 Enormous heat and pressure

 Rock exhibits Plasticity: ability to flow

 Causes Tectonic Plates to move

 Mesosphere
 Located below the Asthenosphere

 “Meso” means middle

 Outer Core
 Made of liquid Iron and Nickel
 Inner Core
 Made of solid iron and nickel
 Do Now
 What is the difference between the Earth’s
lithosphere and asthenosphere.
 Earth’s Gravity
 Gravity is the force of attraction due to an
object’s mass

 Determined by mass and distance between two

objects in space
Earth’s Interior
 Continental Drift Evidence
• Researchers noted geographic fit of continents
• e.g. Africa and S. America
• Atlantic formed by separation of Africa from S. America

• Seuss, 1885, proposed super continent by studying fossils, rocks,

mountains

• Wegener and Taylor, early 1900’s, proposed continental drift and

Pangaea

• Evidence supporting the idea that the continents had drifted.

drifted
– Geographic fit of continents
– Fossils
– Mountains
– Glaciation
 Continental Drift
Geographic Fit

 Continents seem to fit together like pieces of a puzzle

 Continental Drift
Fossils

 Similar distribution of fossils such as the Mesosaurus

Palisades in North New Jersey
 Continental Drift
Mountains

 Mountain ranges match across oceans

Continental Drift
Glaciation

 Glacial ages and climate evidence

Diving between the plates in Iceland
Continental Drift Model
Problems

 Alfred Wegener
– Presented research to
professionals

– Did not provide a

plausible mechanism to
explain how continents
drifted
 Seafloor Spreading
 Continental drift reexamined in 1960’s with new
information
• New theory developed – Seafloor spreading
• Supporting evidence for seafloor spreading
– World seismicity
– Volcanism
– Age of seafloor
– Paleomagnetism
– Heat flow
• Theory combining continental drift and seafloor spreading
termed “Plate Tectonics”
 Seafloor Spreading

 New sea floor created at the mid-ocean ridge and

destroyed in deep ocean trenches
 Evidence for Seafloor Spreading
World Seismicity

 Earthquake distribution matches plate boundaries

 Evidence for Seafloor Spreading
Volcanism

 Volcanoes match some plate boundaries; some are hot spots

Evidence for Seafloor Spreading
Age of Seafloor

• Youngest sea floor is at mid-ocean ridge

• Oldest sea floor away from mid-ocean ridge
 Evidence for Seafloor Spreading
Paleomagnetism

• Earth has a magnetic field - Probably caused by rotation of solid

inner core in liquid outer core (both mostly Fe)
 When rocks cool at the Earth’s surface, they record Earth’s magnetic
field (normal or reverse polarity)
 Evidence for Seafloor Spreading
Paleomagnetism

 Paleomagnetic studies indicate alternating stripes

of normal and reverse polarity at the mid-ocean
ridge.
Seafloor Spreading
Heat Flow
 Seafloor Spreading
Convection Currents

 In 1960, proposed as driving force to move continents

 Theory of Plate Tectonics

 John Tuzo Wilson combined ideas of continental drift

and seafloor spreading into “Plate Tectonics”
 Principles of Plate Tectonics

 Earth’s outermost layer composed of thin rigid

plates moving horizontally

• Plates interact with each other along their edges

(plate boundaries)
• Plate boundaries have high degree of tectonic activity
– mountain building
– earthquakes
– volcanoes
Plate Boundaries
Three types

• Divergent
• Convergent
• Transform
 Plate Boundaries
Divergent

 Plates move away from each other

• New crust is being formed
Divergent Plate Boundaries
Examples

East African Rift Mid-Atlantic Ocean Ridge

 Plate Boundaries
Convergent

Three Types:

• Ocean-continent

• Ocean-ocean

• Continent-continent

 Plates are moving toward each other

• Crust is being destroyed
 Convergent Plate Boundaries
Mount Fuji, Japan Examples
Mount Lassen, California

Andes, South America

 Plate Boundaries
Transform
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• Crust is neither created nor destroyed

 Plates slide past one another
Transform Plate Boundaries
Examples

San Andreas Fault

Calexico, California

Carrizo Plains, Central California