Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Layers of the Earth: Planet Earth has many distinct layers. The layers are organized by DENSITY – the atmosphere is the least dense layer and the inner core is the most dense. Layer Sub-divisions Thermosphere Mesosphere Stratosphere Atmosphere Troposphere Hydrosphere Crust Mantle Rigid Mantle Plastic Mantle (Asthenosphere) Stiffer Mantle Outer Core Inner Core Composition & Important notes Ozone (O3) Mostly Nitrogen gas (78%) & Oxygen gas (21%). Some Water vapor. Oceans, Lakes, Rivers, etc. – 70% Earth’s surface Continental & Oceanic crust – 30% of Earth’s surface Very similar to oceanic crust. Putty-like properties. Hot rocks that can flow This zone also flows on a much longer time frame. Liquid Iron – responsible for magnetism of Earth Solid Iron ESRT INFO See ESRT p.14 – Selected Properties of Earth’s Atmosphere and ESRT p.11 – Chemical Composition of Earth’s Crust, Hydrosphere, and Troposphere Crust & Rigid Mantle combine to form the LITHOSPHERE – Brittle outer shell of rock surrounding Earth. See ESRT p.10 –Inferred Properties of Earth’s interior for details. Information obtained by studying seismic (earthquake) waves. Earth’s Interior: All the layers can be identified on this chart. Note that the density changes for each zone. The four zones: Crust (pink): very thin! Mantle (light orange): thickest layer; 3 parts, rigid or upper most part, asthenosphere (plasticputty like, molten rock), and stiffer Outer Core (aqua): Liquid iron! Generates Earth’s magnetic field Inner Core (plum): Solid Iron and Nickel. Meteorites have similar composition. Notice that DENSITY, PRESSURE, & TEMPERATURE all INCREASE WITH DEPTH! Earth’s Atmosphere: Temperature is what really distinguishes one layer from the next. In the TROPOSPHERE the temperature decreases with altitude from 15ºC at sea level to -55ºC at the tropopause (~12km altitude). In the STRATOSPHERE the temperature rises with altitude from -55ºC at the tropopause to 0ºC at the stratopause (~51km altitude). Then in the MESOSPHERE the temperature drops again from 0ºC to -90ºC at the mesopause (~82km altitude). Finally, in the THERMOSPHERE the temperature increases. Pressure consistently decreases with altitude. The only layer of the atmosphere that has any water vapor is the Troposphere and that concentration decreases with altitude. Obviously, the closer the air is to the surface of the ocean the more water vapor it would contain.