THE EARTH

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GEOGRAPHY THE EARTH BY: - GAUTAM SIR
The Origin and Evolution of the Earth
Major Concepts Regarding the Origin of Earth
Theory/Hypothesis Scientist/Philosopher
(i) The comet hypothesis - Comte de Buffon (1749)
(ii) Gaseous Hypothesis - Immanuel Kant (1755)
(iii) Nebular Hypothesis - Laplace (1796)
(iv) Planetesimal Hypothesis - Chamberlin & Moulton (1905)
(v) Tidal Hypothesis - Jeans & Jeffrey’s
(vi) Binary Star Hypothesis - Russell
(vii) Supernova Hypothesis - Hoyle
(viii) Inter-Stellar Dust Hypothesis - Otto Schmidt
(ix) Big Bang Theory - Georges-Henri Lemaitre

ORIGIN OF THE EARTH

Early Theories
A large number of hypotheses were given by different philosophers and
scientists regarding the origin of the earth.

• One of the earlier and popular arguments known as Gaseous

Hypothesis was proposed by German philosopher Immanuel Kant.
• Mathematician Laplace revised it in 1796. It is known as Nebular
Hypothesis. The hypothesis considered that the planets were formed
 out of a cloud of material associated with a youthful sun, which was
slowly rotating.
• Later in 1900, Chamberlain and Moulton considered that a wandering
star approached the sun. As a result, a cigar-shaped extension of
material was separated from the solar surface. As the passing star
moved away. The material separated from the solar surface continued
to revolve around the sun and it slowly condensed into planets.
• Sir James Jeans and later Sir Harold Jeffrey supported this argument.
• At a later date, the arguments considered of a companion to the sun to
have been coexisting. These arguments are called binary theories.
• In 1950, Otto Schmidt in Russia
and Carl Weizascar in Germany
somewhat revised the 'nebular
hypothesis'. Though differing in
details. They considered that the
sun was surrounded by solar nebula
containing mostly the hydrogen
and helium along with what may be
termed as dust. The friction and
collision of particles led to
formation of a disk-shaped cloud
and the planets were formed through the process of accretion.
Modern Theories
However, scientists in later period took
up the problems of origin of universe
rather than that of just the earth or the
planets. The most popular argument
regarding the origin of the universe is the
Big Bang Theory. It is also called
expanding universe hypothesis. Edwin
Hubble, in 1920, provided evidence that
the universe is expanding. As time
passes, galaxies move further and further apart.

Evolution of the earth

The evolution of the Earth is a captivating journey spanning billions of
years, encompassing dramatic transformations in its physical, chemical, and
biological composition. Over this extensive
timeline, our planet has witnessed the
emergence of continents, oceans, and diverse
life forms, shaping its current state.
The study of evolution of the earth offers
profound insights into the dynamic processes
that have sculpted our world and the intricate interplay of natural forces that
continue to shape its future.
• The Early Earth - Initially, the
planet earth was a barren, rocky
and hot object with a thin
atmosphere of hydrogen and
helium.
 • Transformation and Evolution
of the earth - The period,
between 4,600 million years and
the present, led to the evolution of
life along with evolution of the
earth, making it a beautiful planet
with ample amount of water and
conducive atmosphere from rocky, barren and hot earth.
• Layered Earth Structure - The earth has a layered structure from the
outermost end of the atmosphere to the center of the earth. The material
is not uniform throughout.
• Atmospheric Composition - The matter of the atmosphere has the
least density.
• Diverse Earth Interior Zones - The earth’s interior has different
zones from the surface to core and each of these contains materials
with different characteristics.

Development of Lithosphere
Lithosphere is the solid, outer part of the earth.
• During the primordial stage the earth was mostly in a volatile state.
• The temperature increased due to gradual increase in density.
 • As a result the material inside started getting separated depending on
their densities for ex. heavier materials (like iron) sinked towards the
center and the lighter ones moved towards the surface of the earth.
• Solidification and Crust Formation - With passage of time it
cooled further and solidified and condensed into a smaller size which
later led to the development of the outer surface in the form of a
crust.
Formation of the Moon and differentiation - During the formation
of the moon, due to the giant impact or The Big Splat theory, the earth
was further heated up and through the process of differentiation, the
earth forming material got separated into different layers.

Formation of the Moon

The moon is the only natural satellite of the earth. Like the origin of the
earth, there have been attempts to explain how the moon was formed. In
1838, Sir George Darwin suggested that initially, the earth and the moon
FORMATION OF MOON
formed a single rapidly rotating body. The whole mass became a dumb-bell-
shaped body and eventually it broke.
• It was also suggested that the material forming the moon was separated
from what we have at present the depression occupied by the Pacific
Ocean.

FORMATION OF MOON

• However, the present scientists do not accept either of the

explanations. It is now generally believed that the formation of moon,
as a satellite of the earth, is an outcome of 'giant impact or what is
described as "the big splat".
• A body of the size of one to three times that of mars collided into the
earth sometime shortly after the earth was formed. It blasted a large
 part of the earth into space. This portion of blasted material then
continued to orbit the earth and eventually formed into the present
moon about 4.44 billion years ago.

Evolution of Atmosphere and Hydrosphere

The present composition of earth's atmosphere is chiefly contributed by
nitrogen and oxygen. You will be dealing with the composition and
structure of the earth's atmosphere in climatology.
• There are three stages in the evolution of the earth’s present
atmosphere:
1. The loss of primordial atmosphere.
2. The hot interior contributed to the evolution of the earth’s
atmosphere.
3. The composition of the atmosphere was modified by the living world
through the process of photosynthesis.
Early Atmosphere Composition - The early atmosphere of earth, with
hydrogen and helium, and all the terrestrial planets with their primordial
atmosphere were supposed to have been lost through the impact of solar
winds.
 • During the cooling of the earth, gases and water vapour were released
from the interior solid earth by the process called degassing which
started the evolution of the earth’s present atmosphere.
• The early atmosphere largely contained water vapour, nitrogen,
carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia and very little of free oxygen.
• Continuous volcanic eruptions contributed water vapour and gases to
the atmosphere.
• As the earth cooled, the water vapour released started getting
condensed.
Volcanic Eruptions and Water Vapor - The carbon dioxide present in
the atmosphere got dissolved in rainwater and the temperature further
decreased causing more condensation and more rains.
Formation of Oceans - The rainwater got collected in the depressions to
give rise to oceans and were formed within 500 million years from the
formation of the earth (i.e. oceans are 4,000 million years old).
Evolution of Life - Life began to evolve, sometime around 3,800 million
years ago.
Development of Photosynthesis - The process of photosynthesis evolved,
around 2,500-3,000 million years ago.
• Life was confined to the oceans for a long time and oceans began to
have the contribution of oxygen through the process of
photosynthesis.
Oxygen Contribution - Eventually, oceans were saturated with
oxygen, and around 2,000 million years ago, oxygen began to flood the
atmosphere.

Origin of Life
Origin and Evolution of Life - The origin and evolution of life is the last
phase in the evolution of the earth. Initially the earth or even the atmosphere
of the earth was not conducive for the development of life.
Chemical Origins of Life - Modern scientists refer to the origin of life as
a chemical reaction, which first generated complex organic molecules and
assembled them.
Duplication and Transition to Life - This assemblage could duplicate
themselves converting inanimate matter into living substance.
Record of Life in Fossils - The record of life that existed on earth in
different periods is found in rocks in the form of fossils.
Ancient Evidence of Life - The microscopic structures closely related to
the present form of blue algae have been found in geological formations
much older than some 3,000 million years. So, it can be assumed that life
began to evolve sometime 3,800 million years ago.