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Transcript
How The Earth Works Earth: Basic Facts • 150 million km from Sun (93 million miles) • Diameter, just under 13,000 km (8,000 mi.) • Density: 5.5 g/cc (5500 kg/m3) – About twice as dense as surface rocks – Earth has a dense core • Unique Features – Liquid Surface – Plate Tectonics – Life Earth Systems Earth Systems Earth Systems Earth Systems Earth Systems Earth Systems Earth Systems Earth Systems The Solid Earth Earth Systems • • • • • • External Effects (Astronomical) Atmospheric Circulation Oceanic Circulation Hydrologic Cycle Rock Cycle Plate Tectonics Convection Earth and the Universe • • • • • • Rotation (Day-Night) Lunar (Tides) Annual (Seasons) Precession and Orbit Variations (Ice Ages?) Galactic (250 m.y. period) Unpredictable Events – Nearby Supernovae – Meteor Impacts • Long-Term Evolution of Sun The Atmosphere • 79% Nitrogen, 20% Oxygen, 1% Argon • Oxygen made by life – Example: glucose C6H12O6 – 6H2O + 6CO2 C6H12O6 + 6O2 • Greenhouse effect – Infrared absorbed by molecular vibrations – 90% of earth’s greenhouse effect due to water vapor – Without a greenhouse effect, earth would be frozen Atmospheric Circulation • Unequal Solar Heating – Equator to Pole – Day - Night – Different Surfaces • Buoyancy • Adiabatic Heating and Cooling • Coriolis Effect • High and Low Pressure • Fronts and Air Masses Not a Manifestation of the Coriolis Effect! • Too small scale for the Coriolis Effect to be significant Atmospheric Circulation Oceanic Circulation • Surface Currents - Driven by Winds • Thermohaline - Deep Circulation – Evaporation makes water more saline and denser – Freezing makes water more saline and denser – Cold water is denser than warm water Surface Currents Thermohaline Circulation Hydrologic Cycle • Evaporation from Oceans • Precipitation on Land – Infiltration into Ground (Ground Water) – Runoff (Erosion) Hydrologic Cycle Water • Principal Agent in Modifying Earth’s Surface • Medium for Storing and Distributing Global Heat • The Universal Solvent – Essential for Life – Destructive to Rocks • Lowers Melting Point of Rocks • Reduces Strength of Rocks Under Pressure The Rock Cycle • New Rocks Exposed by Erosion • Rocks Broken Down Mechanically and Chemically (Weathering) • Components Transported by Erosion • Components Cemented into Sedimentary Rocks • Burial and Heating creates Metamorphic Rocks • Melting Creates Igneous Rocks The Rock Cycle Plate Tectonics • Outer Crust of Earth Moves a Few cm/yr • Driven by Convection in Earth’s Interior • Accounts For: – Earthquakes – Volcanoes – Mountain-Building (Orogeny) • Configuration of Continents Convection In The Earth Convection In The Earth Plate Tectonics Plate Tectonics The Carbonate-Silicate Cycle Configuration of Continents • Oceanic Circulation • Weather and Climate Patterns – Deserts – Mountains and Rain Shadows • Pathways for Migration • Ecological Niches Configuration of Continents