Download Earth`s Structure notes 5/26/15 • Crust

Earth’s Structure notes 5/26/15
• Crust- thin outermost layer
– Continental crust is oldest, thickest, less dense and made of
granite
– Oceanic crust is younger, thinner, denser and made of basalt
• Mantle- 80 % 0f the volume of the earth.
– Upper mantle is rigid, below is the asthenosphere which is a
plastic like layer on which the tectonic plates float.
– There is a huge difference in temperature between the outer
mantle and the inner mantle.
– This difference in temperature sets up a convection current
which is responsible for the cracking and moving of the tectonic
plates.
• Outer Core- liquid layer directly below the mantle (Fe, Ni)
• Inner Core- solid innermost layer of earth( Fe, Ni)
– Inner core is solid because the pressure is too great to allow it
to be liquid
• MOHO discontinuity - Boundary b\w mantle and crust
Lithosphere
• Made of the crust and upper layer of the mantle
• Broken into 12 large pieces called Plates
Magnetosphere – A region of the Earth’s upper atmosphere in which
charged particles are trapped by the Earth’s magnetic field.