Crust

In geology, the crust is the outermost solid shell of a rocky planet, dwarf planet,

or natural satellite. It is usually distinguished from the underlying mantle by its chemical
makeup; however, in the case of icy satellites, it may be distinguished based on its phase
(solid crust vs. liquid mantle).
The crusts of Earth, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Io, the Moon and other planetary
bodies formed via igneous processes, and were later modified by erosion, impact
cratering, volcanism, and sedimentation.
Most terrestrial planets have fairly uniform crusts. Earth, however, has two
distinct types: continental crust and oceanic crust. These two types have different
chemical compositions and physical properties, and were formed by different geological
processes.
Planetary geologists divide crust into three categories, based on how and when
they formed.
Primary crust / primordial crust
This is a planet's "original" crust. It forms from solidification of a magma ocean.
Toward the end of planetary accretion, the terrestrial planets likely had surfaces that were
magma oceans. As these cooled, they solidified into crust. This crust was likely destroyed
by large impacts and re-formed many times as the Era of Heavy Bombardment drew to a
close.
The nature of primary crust is still debated: its chemical, mineralogic, and
physical properties are unknown, as are the igneous mechanisms that formed them. This
is because it is difficult to study: none of Earth's primary crust has survived to
today. Earth's high rates of erosion and crustal recycling from plate tectonics has
destroyed all rocks older than about 4 billion years, including whatever primary crust
Earth once had.
However, geologists can glean information about primary crust by studying it on
other terrestrial planets. Mercury's highlands might represent primary crust, though this is
debated. The anorthosite highlands of the Moon are primary crust, formed
as plagioclase crystallized out of the Moon's initial magma ocean and floated to the
top; however, it is unlikely that Earth followed a similar pattern, as the Moon was a
water-less system and Earth had water. The Martian meteorite ALH84001 might
represent primary crust of Mars; however, again, this is debated. Like Earth, Venus lacks
primary crust, as the entire planet has been repeatedly resurfaced and modified. [8]
Secondary crust
Secondary crust is formed by partial melting of silicate materials in the mantle,
and so is usually basaltic in composition.
This is the most common type of crust in the Solar System. Most of the surfaces
of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars comprise secondary crust, as do the lunar maria. On
Earth, we see secondary crust forming primarily at mid-ocean spreading centers, where
the adiabatic rise of mantle causes partial melting.
Tertiary crust
Tertiary crust is more chemically-modified than either primary or secondary. It
can form in several ways:

● Igneous processes: partial-melting of secondary crust, coupled with differentiation or

dehydration[5]
● Erosion and sedimentation: sediments derived from primary, secondary, or tertiary
crust
The only known example of tertiary crust is the continental crust of the Earth. It
is unknown whether other terrestrial planets can be said to have tertiary crust, though the
evidence so far suggests that they do not. This is likely because plate tectonics is needed
to create tertiary crust, and Earth is the only planet in our Solar System with plate
tectonics.
The Earth's crust is a thin shell on the outside of the Earth, accounting for less
than 1% of Earth's volume. It is the top component of lithosphere: a division of Earth's
layers that includes the crust and the upper part of the mantle. The lithosphere is broken
into tectonic plates that move, allowing heat to escape from the interior of the Earth into
space.

Upper mantle
The upper mantle of the Earth is a very thick layer of rock inside the planet,
which begins just beneath the crust (at about 10 km (6.2 mi) under the oceans and about
35 km (22 mi) under the continents) and ends at the top of the lower mantle at 670 km
(420 mi). Temperatures range from approximately 200 °C (392 °F) at the upper boundary
with the crust to approximately 900 °C (1,650 °F) at the boundary with the lower mantle.
Upper mantle material which has come up onto the surface is made up of about
55% olivine, 35% pyroxene and 5 to 10% of calcium oxide and aluminum oxide minerals
such as plagioclase, spinel or garnet, depending upon depth.

The density profile through Earth is determined by the velocity of seismic

waves. Density increases progressively in each layer largely due to compression of the
rock at increased depths. Abrupt changes in density occur where the material composition
changes.
The upper mantle begins just beneath the crust and ends at the top of the lower
mantle. The upper mantle causes the tectonic plates to move.

Lower Mantle
The lower mantle, historically also known as the mesosphere, represents
approximately 56% of the Earth's total volume, and is the region from 660 to 2900 km
below the Earth's surface; between the transition zone and the outer core. The Preliminary
reference Earth model (PREM) separates the lower mantle into three sections, the
uppermost (660–770 km), mid-lower mantle (770–2700 km), and the D layer (2700–
2900 km). Pressure and temperature in the lower mantle range from 24-127 GPa and
from 1900-2600 K. It has been proposed that the composition of the lower mantle
is pyrolitic, containing three major phases of bridgmanite, ferropericlase and calcium-
silicate perovskite. The high pressure in the lower mantle has been shown to induce a
spin transition of iron-bearing bridgmanite and ferropericlase, which may affect
both mantle plume dynamics and lower mantle chemistry.
 The upper boundary is defined by the sharp increase in seismic wave velocities
and density at a depth of 660 kilometers (410 mi). At a depth of 660 km, ringwoodite (γ-
(Mg,Fe)2SiO4) decomposes into Mg-Si perovskite and magnesiowüstite. This reaction
marks the boundary between upper mantle and lower mantle. This measurement is
estimated from seismic data and high-pressure laboratory experiments. The base of the
mesosphere includes the D″ zone which lies just above the mantle–core boundary at
approximately 2,700 to 2,890 km (1,678 to 1,796 mi). The base of the lower mantle is at
about 2700 km.

Outer Core
The outer core is the third layer of the Earth. It is the only liquid layer, and is
mainly made up of the metals iron and nickel, as well as small amounts of other
substances. The outer core is responsible for Earth's magnetic field. As Earth spins on its
axis, the iron inside the liquid outer core moves around. Earth's outer core is a fluid layer
about 2,400 km (1,500 mi) thick and composed of mostly iron and nickel that lies above
Earth's solid inner core and below its mantle. Its outer boundary lies 2,890 km (1,800 mi)
beneath Earth's surface. The transition between the inner core and outer core is located
approximately 5,150 km (3,200 mi) beneath the Earth's surface. Unlike the inner
(or solid) core, the outer core is liquid.
Inner Core

The inner core is a hot, dense ball of (mostly) iron. It has a radius of about 1,220
kilometers (758 miles). Temperature in the inner core is about 5,200° Celsius (9,392°
Fahrenheit). The pressure is nearly 3.6 million atmosphere (atm).

The temperature of the inner core is far above the melting point of iron.
However, unlike the outer core, the inner core is not liquid or even molten. The inner
core’s intense pressure—the entire rest of the planet and its atmosphere—prevents the
iron from melting. The pressure and density are simply too great for the iron atoms to
move into a liquid state. Because of this unusual set of circumstances, some geophysicists
prefer to interpret the inner core not as a solid, but as a plasma behaving as a solid.

The liquid outer core separates the inner core from the rest of the Earth, and as a
result, the inner core rotates a little differently than the rest of the planet. It rotates
eastward, like the surface, but it’s a little faster, making an extra rotation about every
1,000 years.