Geology 11 Handout 2: The Planet Earth 1st sem.

AY 12-13

Formation of the Universe: Big Bang Theory

- contends that the Universe originated from a cosmic explosion (origin unknown) that hurled matter in all
directions 15 and 20 billion years ago
- first proposed by the Belgian priest Georges Lemaître in the 1920s

EVIDENCES:
•Galaxies seem to be moving away from us at speeds proportional to their distance. “Hubble’s Law”
•Cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB)
If the universe was originally very hot, we must find some remnant of this heat
•Abundance of primordial elements: H and He

Formation of the Solar System: Nebular Hypothesis

- the solar system originated from a single rotating cloud of gas and dust, starting 4.6 billion years ago, which
contracted due to gravity
- the idea was first proposed by Immanuel Kant and Pierre Simon de Laplace in the 18th century
- chondrites

THE SOLAR SYSTEM: leftover from the Big Bang

THE SUN
- mostly made up of hydrogen, the principal product of the Big Bang
- sun’s center became compressed enough to initiate nuclear reactions, consequently emitting light and
energy (sun became a star)
- a middle-aged star

THE PLANETS
- composition depended on distance from the sun planets nearest the sun contained high-temp
minerals (e.g., iron) while those that are far away contained lower-temp materials (e.g., methane and
ammonia, and some that contained water locked in their structures)

Mercury,Venus,Earth,Mars
- inner or terrestrial planets (nearest the sun)
- rocky composition: largely silicate rocks and metals (Si, Fe, O)

Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,Neptune
- lack solid surfaces: in gaseous or liquid form
- giant or Jovian planets (outer planets; far from the sun)
- composition: light elements (H, He, Ar, C, O, Ni)

1 Mendoza, J.A.
Geology 11 Handout 2: The Planet Earth 1st sem. AY 12-13

The Earth
- Started as a dust ball from nebular gas and dust brought together by gravity (accretion), heated
(heating), and eventually segregated into layers (differentiation).

Layers of the Earth

- Crust
- Mantle
- Core
- *Lithosphere
- *Asthenosphere

Boundaries/Discontinuities
- Mohorovicic
crust-mantle
- Gutenberg
matle-core
- Lehmann
outer core-inner core

CONSEQUENCES OF THE HEATING & DIFFERENTIATION OF THE EARTH

1. Layered internal structure
2. formation of atmosphere (mostly gases from volcanic activity)
3. formation of oceans

EARTH'S VITAL STATISTICS

 Equatorial diameter: 7,928 mi
 Polar diameter: 7,899 mi
 Shape: Oblate Spheroid
 Equatorial Radius: 6378 km
 Polar Radius: 6357 km
 Equatorial Circumference: 40,076 km
 Polar Circumference: 40,008 km
 Density: 5.52 g/cm3

EARTH'S LARGE-SCALE FEATURES

 7 continents  Ocean Basins

o Mountains o Oceanic ridges

o Mountain ranges o Trenches
o Mountain belts o Seamounts/guyots
o Abyssal hills/plains

2 Mendoza, J.A.
Geology 11 Handout 2: The Planet Earth 1st sem. AY 12-13

INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH

CRUST
 Continental Crust: granitic, Si - O - Al, 3-15 km
 Oceanic: Basaltic, Gabbro. Si - O - Mg, 20-60 km

MANTLE
- extends to a depth of ~2900 km (Fe, Mg), made up of mostly olivine and spinel
Upper mantle
extends from the base of the crust
Mesosphere
lower mantle; from 660 km depth to the core-mantle boundary
CORE
- Cores: iron rich sphere with small amounts of Ni and other elements
1. Inner Core: iron, Nickel (solid sphere with a radius of 1216 km)
2. Outer Core: Iron, Sulfur, Oxygen, Alloys (2270 km thick; liquid)

MECHANICAL LAYERS
• Lithosphere
Upper crust – brittle; 4-15 km depth
Lower crust/uppermost mantle – ductile; 15 to 100 or 200 km depth
• Asthenosphere – weak sphere; beneath the lithosphere and within the upper mantle
• Mesosphere – solid, rocky layer

ISOSTASY: "Same Standing"

 Buoyancy of the blocks of the Earth's Crust
 Lithosphere adjusts until isostatic equilibrium is reached

Airy's theory
" Mountains have “roots” which extend down into the mantle. Thus, elevation is proportional to the
depth of the underlying “root”. "

Pratt's theory
"Elevation is inversely proportional to density. Thus, the higher the mountain, the lower the density.
That is, light rocks float higher."

3 Mendoza, J.A.