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Earth Crust:
THE CRUST
1. Continental crust (25-40 km)
2. Oceanic crust (~6 km)
3. Mantle
1. Upper mantle (650 km)
2. Lower mantle (2235 km)
4. Core
1. Outer core: liquid (2270 km)
2. Inner core: solid (1216 km)
The crust is much thinner than any of the other layers, and is composed of the least dense
calcium (Ca) and sodium (Na) aluminum-silicate minerals. Being relatively cold, the crust is
rocky and brittle , so it can fracture in earthquakes .
The shell of the earth, the crust, can be said to have two different thicknesses.
Under the oceans, it is relatively thin. It varies in thickness from 5 to 8 km. Under the land
masses, it is relatively thick. The thickness of the continental crust varies from 10 to 65 km.
The eggshell analogy for the crust is not an exaggeration. It is paper thin compared with the
radius of the earth which is approximately 6400 km.
The total weight of the continental crust is less than 0.3% of the weight of the earth.
Variations in the crust thickness are compensated by the weight of the water and the
differences in the specific gravities of the crust under the oceans (3.0 to 3.1) and under the
continents(2.7 to 2.8).
If one thinks of the crust as virtually floating on the mantle, one is less likely to wonder why
the earth does not wobble as it rotates about its axis.
The weight of the crust plus the mantle has a reasonably uniform distribution over the globe.
THE MOHO
The Moho, or the Mohorovicic Discontinuity, refers to a zone or a thin shell below the crust
of the earth that varies in thickness from 1 to 3 km.
In seismology, the term "discontinuity" is used in its general sense. It refers to a change over
a short distance of a material property. In this case, the "short distance" may be as long as 3
km, a trifle compared with the radius of the earth.
In that zone, the P-wave velocity has been observed to increase from approximately 6 to
approximately 8 km/sec.
The Moho is considered to be the boundary between the crust and the mantle.
The increase in P-wave velocity is ascribed to change in composition of the medium. Rocks
of the mantle are poorer in silicon but richer in iron and magnesium
THE MANTLE
The mantle can be thought of having three different layers. The separation is made because of
different deformational properties in the mantle inferred from seismic wave measurements.
THE CORE
It is known that the pressure increases toward the center of the earth. So does the temperature.
The liquid outer layer versus the solid inner layer is rationalized by recognizing that the
melting point of the material increases (with pressure) at a faster rate than the temperature as
the center of the earth is approached.