003 Earth Interior

Earth
Interior
Noni Banunaek
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GEOLOGI FISIK TBG UNDANA 2009, 11/7/2011 1
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Earth
§ Internal Heat
ú Produces changes in the Earth’s features
ú Sources of internal heat
Radioactive decay
Decay releases heat energy
Accretionary heat from Earth’s

formation
§ External Heat From Sun
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Energy Sources
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Earth’s Outermost Layers
§ The most dynamic portion of the Earth
ú Atmosphere
Thin gaseous envelope surrounding Earth
ú Hydrosphere
Water layer dominated by the oceans
ú Biosphere
All living things on the planet

ú Lithosphere
Rocky outer shell

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The Earth System
§ Geology
§ Biology
§ Oceanography
§ Atmospheric Science
§ Hydrology
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The Atmosphere
§ Composition is unique in solar system
ú 78% nitrogen
ú 21% oxygen (not present in early atmosphere)
ú Minor amounts of carbon dioxide, argon and water vapor

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The Atmosphere
The ocean and early atmosphere probably formed from volcanoes.

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Earth’s Internal Structure
§ Solid Earth has a layered structure
ú Layers defined by composition and physical properties
ú Compositional layers
crust - mantle - core
ú Physical layers
lithosphere - asthenosphere - mesosphere - outer core - inner core

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The Hydrosphere
§ Total mass of water on or near the

Earth’s surface
ú Covers 71% of Earth’s surface
ú ~98% in oceans
ú 2% in glaciers, groundwater, lakes and streams (fresh water)

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Hydrosphere
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The Hydrosphere
Antarctic Larsen Ice Shelf
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The Biosphere
§ All life on Earth
ú Animals & plants on land, in the sea and air
ú Microorganisms-the most common form of life
ú Evolved within narrow zone near the

Earth’s surface
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The Differentiation of Early Earth
Perhaps the most significant event in Earth history,
the ‘settling’ of material according to density resulted in a layered Earth. This concentric arrangement of
material led to the formation of continents, oceans,
and the atmosphere.

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Earth’s Outermost Layers Mass
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Internal Structure of the Earth
the most wildly speculative topic in

geology
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§ Stony meteorites have a composition like that of the sun with volatile elements removed. (Ratios
of refractory elements is similar to the sun's).
§ Earth is believed to have a bulk composition similar to that of a stony chondrite meteorite with most of the
volatile elements boiled off.
§ The earth is a bunch of concentric shells, with inner shells denser than outer shells.
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Physical
Chemical
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Physical Layers
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Compositional Layers
§ Crust
q Outermost compositional layer
q Definite change in composition at the base of the crust
q 2 types:
Ø Continental crust
Ø Oceanic crust
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§ Mantle
qLargest layer in the Earth
Ø2900 km thick Ø82% by

volume Ø68% by mass
qComposed of silicate rocks with abundant iron and magnesium
3
ØDensity ranges from 3.2 to 5 g/cm
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11/7/2011 21
§ Core
q Central mass about 7000km in diameter
3
q Average density of 10.8 g/cm
q 16% by volume, 32% of mass
q Indirect evidence of composition
q Metallic iron
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Physical Layers
§ Lithosphere
q Crust + upper portion of the mantle
q Solid & rigid
q Thickness ranges from 10 km beneath oceans to 300 km in continental areas

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Crust: Continental crust
q Thick - up to 75 km
3
q Lower density - 2.7 g/cm
q Strongly deformed
q Much older - may be billions of years old

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Crust: Oceanic crust
q Thinner - about 8 km
3
q More dense - 3.0 g/cm
q Comparatively undeformed
q Much younger - < 200 million years old

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Internal Structure of the Earth: Crust
q The crust is rigid and comes in two flavors:
q Oceanic is about 7 km thick
q is basaltic (pyroxene + plagioclase)

q has a density around 3.0 g/cc
q oceanic crust is elastic-brittle all the way through
q Continental is about 35 km thick
q is granodioritic (Granodiorite has intermediate-to-sodic plagioclase + K- spar +assorted mafics [mainly

amphibole]+ minor quartz)
q has a density around 2.7 g/cc
q continental crust below 15km is plastic
q under mountains, crust can be much thicker
q Crustal columns usually have the same total mass: they float like blocks of wood in the liquid-like mantle
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Internal Structure of the Earth: Mantle
q The mantle is a thick section that has a peridotite

(olivine + pyroxene) composition.
q Part of it is gushy and flows (the asthenosphere) and the outer 100 km is rather rigid.
q It is 2900 km thick and makes up most of the earth's volume
q has density ranging from 3.3 to 5.5 at the bottom due to compression and phase changes.
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Internal Structure of the Earth: Core
q The core is made largely of iron with nickel, sulfur, and possibly other elements.
q The outer part is liquid, the inner part is solid.
q The density is around 10 to 13 g/cc.
q It is 2250 km thick, but accounts for much mass.

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How Do We Know The Earth Interior?
Fig. 17.5
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1. Geophysics
a. Seismology, mainly. b.
Gravity.
c. Magnetics Earth.
d. Moment of Inertia.
2. Meteorites Analysis
3. Heat flow.
4. Speculation and Extrapolation are the main tools in most discussions of
earth’s interior.

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1.a. By study Seismology, mainly:
q By studying arrival times of seismic waves , we can determine the velocity structure of the earth. It is consistent with
a radial organization, except for the crust, which varies from place to place.
q Seismic waves come in several flavors.
q Among the important ones here are P (Primary, compressional) and S (Secondary, shear) waves.
q Only solids can transmit S-waves.
q Solids and liquids transmit P waves.
q This is how we know the mantle has a liquid outer core and a solid inner core.
q The velocity of a seismic wave depends on the density and elastic properties of the medium through which it travels.
q Velocities can vary sharply (easy to detect, usually at a compositional interface) or gradually (hard to detect, often
due to phase changes or a gradual changes in composition).

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Seismic Observations
Fig. 17.7
Secondary Wave
Primary Wave

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Seismic Interpretation
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1.b. By study Gravity:
q By using very sensitive measuring scales, geophysicists measure the strength of gravity, usually for exploration
or missile-lobbing.
q These measurements have shown that most areas have nearly the same mass below them (roots under
mountains and holes under basins).
1.c. By study Magnetics Earth:
q Magnetics Earth, for reasons that are very poorly understood, has a magnetic field.
q It is a dipole, kind of parallel to the spin axis.
q Measurements on orientation of magnetic field frozen into volcanic rocks indicates that the earth's magnetic field flips
from time to time, which we understand even less.
q 1.d. By study Moment of Inertia:

q The rate at which the earth wobbles on its axis can be used to estimate its moment of inertia.
q The values found indicate that the core must be very dense.

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2. Meteorites Analysis of meteorites and various rock samples suggests that the earth has a bulk composition similar to
carbonaceous chondrites, one of the more commonly found types of meteorites, except that most of the light
elements (carbon, hydrogen) have boiled off. Carbonaceous
chondrites also have composition similar to the sun (based on ratios of heavy
elements)
3. Heat flow can be measured, and indicates that the continents have rather high heat flow, trenches and ocean floor have
very low heat flow, and mid-ocean ridges have high heat flow rates that are rather spotty.
4. Speculation and Extrapolation are the main tools in most discussions of earth’s interior.
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Geophysics: a Quick Introduction
§ Geophysics is the use of physical measurements to deduce the distribution and identity of earth features.
§ It is a lot like radiology in medicine.
§ Geophysics is divided into specialties, largely along the lines of the physical phenomena used.
§ In most geophysical techniques, there is a model of how the property varies, and deviations from this are called anomalies.
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§ For example, in gravity, the earth can be treated as a rotating ellipsoid, so the modeled gravity at a point can be calculated based
on
ú distance from the center of the earth and speed of rotation which both depend on latitude
ú elevation above sea level moving the point away from center of mass (free air)
ú a correction for the mass between the observer and sea level, treated as an infinite slab (Bouguer correction)
ú a correction to the last correction accounting for hills above and valleys below, both reducing gravity (terrain correction)
ú correction for tides and instrumental drift (usually done by measuring at a fixed location)
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This would look similar for gravity, in these cases.

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§ In addition to the effects from the sources of interest, there are effects due to larger features, which we call regional
variations, and smaller features and instrumental errors, which we call noise (e.g., if I am looking for stream valleys that cut
into bedrock and are covered by later sediments, variations due to crustal thickness associated with ancient mountain-
building are the regional [and I'll correct for them]
and variations due to individual boulders are noise, and I'll ignore them)
§ In conducting a gravity survey, you would measure gravity (with a fixed mass on a very accurate scale) recording (for the
corrections) at each station the latitude, elevation, time, and maybe local topography and any other information deemed
relevant. For each station, you calculate modeled/expected gravity (involving whatever level of detail), and observed gravity.
§ The difference is the anomaly. From the anomaly, you might look for structures like folds and faults, figure out whether a
mountain chain is has a root, etc. …
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Seismic Observations
Fig. 17.7
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Earth Interior layers
§ Compositional (Density) Structure
ú Crustal composition is based on direct observations, mantle is based on seismic velocities, xenoliths, and indirect
observations, and the core is based on seismology, indirect observations, and moment of inertia.
ú Crust
ú Continental: granodiorite/granitic
ú Oceanic: Basaltic
ú Mantle: Peridotite
ú Core: Iron-Nickel-Sulfur, some other elements

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§ Mechanical Layers
ú This is based on our observation of density structures, laboratory experiments determining mechanical properties of
certain rocks at various pressure-temperature conditions, and on estimates of the variation of temperature with depth
ú Lithosphere is solid and includes the crust and the rigid, outermost part of the mantle.
Crust has P-wave velocities <8 km/sec (usually 5.5-7.2 km/sec) BY DEFINITION
Continental crust is granodiorite-like and usually about 35 km thick, going up to 70-100 in collision zones. In
areas of extension, it can be thinner. The lower part of continental crust is plastic.
Oceanic crust is basaltic and usually about 0-7 km thick. At ocean ridges it is thinner. It is less dense than the
mantle when hot (recently-extruded=young) and slightly denser when cold (old). This may be one of the main
driving forces behind plate tectonics.
The strange density situation is due to partial melting of peridotite. Generally, partial melts are more iron-rich than
the source rock: the restite is typically more magnesium-rich. The liquids are less dense than the solids, but as
they cool, they contract and the denser, more easily melted iron-rich product becomes denser. When the overlying
solid is denser, it
tends to sink.

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§ Mechanical Layers
ú The Moho is the boundary between >8km/s rock and slower rock above, and is as the crust-mantle border.
ú Mantle has P-wave velocities >8 km/sec
Uppermost mantle has fast P-waves and S-waves
Asthenosphere has fast P-waves and slow, attenuated S-waves, indicating partial melting or plastic state
Lower mantle has fast P-wave and S-waves, indicating solid behavior.
There are at least two important phase changes in the mantle, one where olivine goes to a denser spinel structure
and one where it goes to an even denser perovskite structure.
ú Core
Outer Core has lower P-wave speeds than the mantle and results in a shadow zone of
P-waves and loss of direct S-waves. No S-waves indicates definitely liquid behavior.
Inner Core transmits both P and S waves, and is solid.
11/7/2011 43
GEOLOGI FISIK TBG UNDANA 2009,
NBANUNAEK

003 Earth Interior

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003 Earth Interior

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Earth

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ú Produces changes in the Earth’s features

ú Sources of internal heat

Decay releases heat energy

Accretionary heat from Earth’s

§ The most dynamic portion of the Earth

Thin gaseous envelope surrounding Earth

Water layer dominated by the oceans

All living things on the planet

Rocky outer shell

GEOLOGI FISIK TBG UNDANA 2009, 11/7/2011 4

§ Composition is unique in solar system

ú 21% oxygen (not present in early atmosphere)

ú Minor amounts of carbon dioxide, argon and water vapor

GEOLOGI FISIK TBG UNDANA 2009, 11/7/2011 7

§ Solid Earth has a layered structure

ú Layers defined by composition and physical properties

crust - mantle - core

lithosphere - asthenosphere - mesosphere - outer core - inner core

§ Total mass of water on or near the

ú Covers 71% of Earth’s surface

ú 2% in glaciers, groundwater, lakes and streams (fresh water)

§ All life on Earth

ú Animals & plants on land, in the sea and air

ú Microorganisms-the most common form of life

ú Evolved within narrow zone near the

GEOLOGI FISIK TBG UNDANA 2009, 11/7/2011 13

the most wildly speculative topic in

q Outermost compositional layer

q Definite change in composition at the base of the crust

qLargest layer in the Earth

Ø2900 km thick Ø82% by

GEOLOGI FISIK TBG UNDANA 2009, NBANUNAEK

q Central mass about 7000km in diameter

q 16% by volume, 32% of mass

q Indirect evidence of composition

q Crust + upper portion of the mantle

q Solid & rigid

q Thickness ranges from 10 km beneath oceans to 300 km in continental areas

q Much older - may be billions of years old

q Much younger - < 200 million years old

q The crust is rigid and comes in two flavors:

q Oceanic is about 7 km thick

q is basaltic (pyroxene + plagioclase)

q Continental is about 35 km thick

q is granodioritic (Granodiorite has intermediate-to-sodic plagioclase + K- spar +assorted mafics [mainly

q The mantle is a thick section that has a peridotite

q It is 2900 km thick and makes up most of the earth's volume

q The outer part is liquid, the inner part is solid.

q The density is around 10 to 13 g/cc.

q It is 2250 km thick, but accounts for much mass.

GEOLOGI FISIK TBG UNDANA 2009, 11/7/2011 30

1.a. By study Seismology, mainly:

q Seismic waves come in several flavors.

q Only solids can transmit S-waves.

q Solids and liquids transmit P waves.

GEOLOGI FISIK TBG UNDANA 2009, 11/7/2011 31

GEOLOGI FISIK TBG UNDANA 2009, 11/7/2011 32

1.b. By study Gravity:

1.c. By study Magnetics Earth:

q It is a dipole, kind of parallel to the spin axis.

q 1.d. By study Moment of Inertia: