CHAPTER 3:

The Structure & Composition

of The Earth
Earth’s Atmosphere Distinct layers of
gas surround the solid portion of
the earth.
O Composition is ~uniform
regardless of altitude
O 78% N2
O 21% O2
O All others ~1%
O Ar, CO2, CH4, H2O, Ne, CO, SO2
O Some other Planets have
atmospheres too!
O None have N2 & O2 as dominant
gasses
O Earth was oxygen-free until ~2.5
Ga
Earth’s Atmosphere
O Pressure decreases with
increasing altitude
O Reflects # of molecules/volume
O Lower pressure = less
molecules/volume
O Air pressure @ sea level = 14.7
lb/in2 = 1 bar
O Pressure is caused by the
weight of overlying material
O Upper atmosphere has less
material above it
O Pressure is lower
O 99% of atmosphere is below 50
km, the rest is between 50 and
500 km.
Earth’s Atmosphere
O Earth’s Atmosphere is divided into
distinct layers based on altitude
O Exosphere (very thin ~500 km)
O Atmosphere merges with space
O Thermosphere (>90 km)
O Where space shuttles orbit
O Mesosphere (50-90 km)
O Meteors burn up here
O Stratosphere (12-50 km)
O Stable air; good for jets
O Tropopause (11-12 km)
O Troposphere (0-11 km)
O Mixing layer
O All weather is limited to this layer
O “Tropo” = Greek for “turning”
Earth’s Components
O Earth’s surface = ~30% land, ~70%
water
O unlike any other known planet
O Hydrosphere = includes oceans,
lakes, seas, rivers, & groundwater
O Cryosphere = glaciers, snow, and sea
ice

O Earth’s surface is not flat; it has

topography
O Ignoring oceans, Earth’s surface is
dominated by two distinct elevations:
O Most land is 0-2 km above sea level
O Most of the sea floor is 3-5 km below
sea level
Earth’s Components
O Earth’s elemental composition reflects mostly
heavier elements not blown away by solar wind
during formation of the solar system
O Most abundant elements
O Fe, O, Si, Mg
O Most common minerals consist of silica (SiO2) 35%
mixed in varying proportions with other elements
such as Fe, Mg, Al, Ca, K, Na
O Felsic = more silica (less Fe/Mg) & less dense
O E.g. Granite 10%
O Mafic = less silica (more Fe/Mg) 30%
& more dense
O E.g. Gabbro / Basalt 10%
O Range: Felsic / Intermediate / Mafic / Ultramafic
15%

Bulk Earth composition

Earth Materials
• Elements combine in a variety of Earth materials.
–Organic compounds – Carbon-containing
compounds.
• Most are residue from once-living creatures.
• Include wood, peat, lignite, coal, and oil.
• Geologically rare (decomposes in contact with
oxygen).
Earth Materials
•Elements combine in a variety of Earth materials.
–Minerals – Inorganic crystalline solids.
•Comprise rocks and, hence, most of the Earth.
•Most rocks on Earth are silicates (based on Si and O).
–Glasses – Non-crystalline mineral-like matter.
•Cool too quickly to form structure
–Rocks – Aggregates of minerals. There are many types.
•Igneous – Cooled from a liquid (melt).
•Sedimentary – Debris cemented from pre-existing rock.
•Metamorphic – Rock altered by pressure and temperature.
Earth Materials
•Metals – Solids made of metallic elements.
•Melts – Rocks that have been heated to a liquid.
–Magma – Molten rock beneath the surface.
–Lava – Molten rock at the surface.
•Volatiles – Materials that turn into gas at surface
temps.
–H2O, CO2, CH4, and SO2
–Volatiles are released from volcanic eruption
Earth’s Layers
Earth’s shape as a clue to the layering of the earth
•If the Earth consisted of a thin solid shell over a
thick liquid center, then the surface would rise
and fall with tides like the ocean – This does not
happen; only the oceans rise and fall.

•Thus, the Crust does not float over a liquid interior

Earth’s Interior Layers
–Crust
•Continental
•Oceanic
–Mantle
•Upper
•Lower
–Core
•Outer – Liquid
•Inner – Solid
The Crust
•The outermost “skin” of Earth with variable thickness.
–Thickest under mountain ranges (70 km – 40 miles).
–Thinnest under mid-ocean ridges (3 km – 2 miles).
•The Mohorovičić discontinuity or “Moho” is the lower
boundary.
–Separates the crust from the upper mantle.
–Discovered in 1909 by Andrija Mohorovicic.
–Marked by a change in the velocity of seismic P waves.
Two Types of Crust
•Continental crust – Underlies the continents.
–Avg. rock density about 2.7 g/cm3.
–Avg. thickness 35-40 km.
–Felsic composition. Avg. rock type = Granite
•Oceanic crust – Underlies the ocean basins.
–Density about 3.0 g/cm3.
–Avg. thickness 7-10 km.
–Mafic composition
Avg. rock type =
Basalt/Gabbro
Two Types of Crust
•Crustal density controls surface
position.
–Continental crust
•Less dense; “floats higher.”
–Oceanic crust
•More dense: “floats lower.”
Crustal Composition
•98.5% of the crust is comprised of just 8 elements.
•Oxygen is (by far!) the most abundant element in the crust.
–This reflects the importance of silicate (SiO2-based) minerals.
–As a large atom, oxygen occupies ~93% of crustal volume.
 Earth’s Mantle
•Solid rock layer between the crust and the core.
•2,885 km thick, the mantle is 82% of Earth’s volume.
•Mantle composition = ultramafic rock called peridotite.
•Below ~100-150 km, the rock is hot enough to flow.
•It convects: hot mantle rises, cold mantle sinks.
•Three subdivisions: upper, transitional, and lower.
 The Core
•An iron-rich sphere with a radius of 3,471 km.
•2 components with differing seismic wave behavior.
•Flow in the outer core generates the magnetic field.

–Outer core
•Liquid iron-nickel-sulfur
•2,255 km thick
•Density – 10-12 g/cm3
–Inner core
•Solid iron-nickel alloy
•Radius of 1,220 km.
•Density – 13 g/cm3
Lithosphere-Asthenosphere
•The Crust, Mantle, Core boundaries
–defined by composition

…but sometimes we want to divide the layers of the Earth by their behavior
or physical properties
•Lithosphere – The brittle portion of Earth’s interior.
–Behaves as a non-flowing, rigid material.
–The material that moves as tectonic plates.
–Made of 2 components: crust and upper mantle.
•Asthenosphere – The ductile portion of Earth’s interior.
–Shallower under oceanic lithosphere.
–Deeper under continental lithosphere.
–Flows as a soft ductile solid.
–Contains a small percentage of melt (< 2%)
Boundaries Between Layers
•The Crust-Mantle boundary = Moho
–defined by seismic discontinuity indicating significant change in
composition.
•Brittle-ductile transition
–Defined by a significant change in rock physical properties (viscosity)
–Also defined as the depth below which earthquakes do not occur.
•Lithosphere ≠ Crust
 Earth’s Magnetic Field
Geodynamo
-The Earth’s magnetic field is
produced by the geodynamo
-Flow in the liquid iron outer core
creates a magnetic field

Magnetic field
- region affected by force
emanating from a magnet - grows
stronger as separating distance
decreases - attracts or repels
magnetically charged or moving
electrically charged objects -
compasses work because Earth is
a large magnet
 Earth’s Magnetic Field
Magnetic field - Like a bar magnet, Earth’s magnetic field is a dipole,
(has both a N and S pole)
-Solar wind contains electromagnetic particles that are deflected by
earth’s field. These particles distort the shape of earth’s magnetic field
in space
-Van Allen belts – two belts in the inner magnetic field where high
energy cosmic rays are trapped. Protects us from solar radiation!