Earth: A System
Igneous-Magmatic
Metamorphic-Hydrothermal
Sedimentary
The Earth- a unique planet
Present outlook is to view the Earth as a system
Our dynamic planet features several interconnected subsystems
that profoundly influence one another
Subsystems:
Solid Earth
Oceans
Atmosphere
Biosphere
Major Themes
Scale Processes in the Earth system act on length scales of microns
to thousands of kilometers, and on time scales of milliseconds to
millions of years.
Energy The Earth system is powered by one external source (the
Sun) and two internal ones: radioactive decay, and gravitational
energy (heat still being lost from planetary formation).
Cycles Material in the Earth system is continually recycled in
numerous overlapping cycles.
Scale (Time)
Scale (Length)
Energy
Cycles
Global Carbon Cycle: Global Warming
Cycles
The
Rock
Cycle
1. Earth Science research studies an enormous range of complex
processes
Earth Science examines processes that occur over spatial scales ranging
from subatomic to planetary and over time scales ranging from nearly
instantaneous to gradual over billions of years.
2. Most of Earth’s interior is inaccessible to direct observation
Earth Scientists must use complex remote methods to examine the structure,
Composition and dynamics of Earth’s interior. These investigations include
data from Seismic waves, gravitational and magnetic fields, radar, sonar and
laboratory Experiments on the behavior of materials at high pressures.
Seismic waves: How it works
• Seismic waves are the vibrations from earthquakes
that travel through the Earth
• They are the waves of energy suddenly created by
rock fracture within the earth or an explosion.
• They are the energy that travels through the earth
and is recorded on seismographs
History
Seismology - the Study of Earthquakes and
Seismic Waves
Dates back almost 2000 years
Around 132 AD, Chinese scientist
Chang Heng invented the first
seismoscope, an instrument that
could register the occurrence of an
earthquake.
Types of Seismic Waves
• Body waves
Travel through the earth's interior
• Surface Waves
Travel along the earth's surface - similar
to ocean waves
Seismic Waves
P
(6 km/sec in the crust)
Body waves
(3.6 km/sec in the crust)
Love
Surface Waves
(cannot move
through liquid)
Rayleigh
“Ground Roll”
P WAVES S WAVES
Compressional Waves, longitudinal Shear waves
waves
1st to arrive at seismic stations 2nd to arrive at seismic stations
Travel at 1.5-8 km/sec in the 1.7 times slower than P waves
Earth's crust
shake the ground in the direction Shake the ground perpendicular to
they are propagating the direction in which they are
propagating
Travel through the Earth's core Do not travel through liquid (ie.
water, molten rock, the Earth's
outer core)
After Earth formation……
The process of forming the Earth was complete by about 4.5 billion
years ago.
Earth experienced a period of
internal melting (due to initial
high temperatures and heat
from radioactive decay).
And Also by Giant Impact
Dense elements (especially iron and
nickel) sank to the centre of the
Earth, forming the metallic core.
Widespread mixing and burial of Earth’s
Hadean crust by asteroid impacts
Nature, v. 511, p. 578–582 (31 July 2014)
SiAl
SiMa
Movie
The Crust
• This is where we live!
• The Earth’s crust is made
of:
Continental Crust Oceanic Crust
- thick (10-70km) - thin (~7 km)
- buoyant (less dense - dense (sinks under
than oceanic crust) continental crust)
- mostly old - young
Upper mantle
0 4000 8000 12000 Crust (0-50 km)
Crust Inner core 0
Upper mantle (50-700 km)
Depth below surface (km)
Lower mantle 1000
-3
Density (kg m ) Lower mantle
2000 (400-2900 km)
3000
Temperature (C)
Outer core
4000 (2900-5100 km)
Outer core
5000
Inner core
6000 (5100-6371 km)
0 4000 8000 12000
How Seismic Waves helps to understand Earth’s Interior
4-6 km/s 2-3 km/s
P (primary) and S (secondary) waves travel through Earth’s interior
info about the mantle and core (density, composition)
Surfaces waves (Love, Rayleigh) travel through the crust
info about the crust
Reflection and Refraction
Refraction
Reflection
This is what happens to seismic
waves in the Earth.
Waves BEND or REFRACT
when they move through
different mediums.
Seismic Wave Reflection
P-Wave Shadow Zone S-Wave Shadow Zone
Indicates depth to the Indicates that the outer
core-mantle boundary core is liquid
Meteorites and Earth’s Interior
MOHO
What is the Lithosphere?
• The crust and part of the upper
mantle = lithosphere
–100 km thick
–Less dense than the material
below it so it “floats”
What is the Asthenoshere?
• The plastic layer below the
lithosphere = asthenosphere
• The plates or the lithosphere
float on the asthenosphere
Isostasy: Discovery
The deflection of plumb bob
near mountain chains is less
than expected. Calculations
show that the actual deflection
may be explained if the excess
mass is canceled by an equal
mass deficiency at greater
depth.
A plumb-bib
Picture from wikipedia
The Concept of Isostasy
Isostasy is the principle
of buoyancy applied to
the Earth’s crust.
Isostasy: a state of gravitational equilibrium in which an
area of crust “floats” in a balanced way on the denser rock
of the mantle below.
The elevation of any part of the Earth’s crust is a
function of the THICKNESS and DENSITY of the crust.
The Concept of Isostasy
These figures show how either thickness differences
or density differences determine how high the wood
blocks will float.
Isostasy: the Airy hypothesis (application of Archimedes’ principal)
• Two densities, that of the rigid h1
upper layer, u, and that of the d
substratum, s. u
• Mountains therefore have deep r3
roots. A mountain height h1 is
underlain by a root of thickness: r1
s
h1 u
r1 .
s u
• Ocean basin depth, h2, is underlain by an anti-root of
thickness: d( )
r3 u w
.
s u
[Link]
Isostasy: the Pratt’s hypothesis
• The depth to the base of the
upper layer is constant.
• The density of rocks beneath
mountains is less than that
beneath valleys.
• A mountain whose height is h1
is underlain by a root whose
density 1 is: D
1 u .
h1 D
• Ocean basin whose depth is h2 is underlain by a high
density material, 2, that is given by:
uD w d
d .
D d
How Earth looks like from space
Tectonic Plates
2 Types of Plates
• Ocean plates - plates below
the oceans
• Continental plates - plates
below the continents
What is Plate Tectonics
• The Earth’s crust is divided into 12 major
plates which are moved in various directions.
• This plate motion causes them to collide, pull
apart, or scrape against each other.
• Each type of interaction causes a
characteristic set of Earth structures or
“tectonic” features.
• The word, tectonic, refers to the deformation of
the crust as a consequence of plate
interaction.
What is Plate Tectonics
• The Earth’s crust and upper
mantle are broken into sections
called plates (Lithosphere)
• Plates (Lithosphere) move
around on top of the mantle
(Asthenosphere) like rafts
Plate Movement
“Plates” of lithosphere are moved around by the
underlying hot mantle convection cells
subducted slabs
large-scale
convection
CMB
mantle
plumes
Continental Drift
Continental Drift
Alfred Wegener 1900’s
Continents were once a single
land mass that drifted apart.
Fossils of the same plants and
animals are found on different
continents
Called this supercontinent
Pangea, Greek for “all Earth”
245 Million years ago
Split again – Laurasia &
Gondwana 180 million years
ago
[Link]
Evidence of Pangea
Discovery of Sea-Floor Spreading
1. How we know plate tectonics happens
Sea-Floor
Spreading
1. How we know plate tectonics happens
The Plate Tectonics Model
Age of Oceanic Crust
Divergent Boundary –
Arabian and African Plates
Divergent Boundary –
Iceland
[Link]
Divergent Boundary - Oceanic
[Link]
Convergent Boundary – Indian and Eurasian
Plates
Convergent Boundary – Oceanic & Continental
Partial Melting
Qtz ~6000C
Px ~1200 0C
[Link] & [Link]
Convergent Boundary – Oceanic & Oceanic
[Link] & [Link]
Convergent Boundaries - Continental
[Link] & [Link]
Transform Boundary – San Andreas Fault
What Drives It: Convection
How Plates Move
