Earth as a Planet

• The Global Perspective

• Earth’s Crust
• Earth’s Atmosphere
Our goals for learning:
What is Earth like on the inside?
Why does Earth’s interiors create magnetic fields?
 Vibrations
that travel
through
Earth’s
interior tell
us what
Earth is like
on the
inside.
 Core: highest
density; nickel and
iron (7000 km)
 Mantle: moderate
density 3.5-5 g/cm;
silicon, oxygen, etc.
(2900 km depth)
 Crust: lowest
density 3 g/cm;
granite (45% 20-70
km), basalt (55%
6km).
 Gravity pulls
high-density
material to
center.
 Lower-density
material rises to
surface.
 Material ends up
separated by
density.
 A planet’s outer
layer of cool,
rigid rock is
called the
lithosphere.
 It “floats” on the
warmer, softer
rock that lies
beneath.
 Rock stretches when
pulled slowly but
breaks when pulled
rapidly.
 The gravity of a large
world pulls slowly
on its rocky content,
shaping the world
into a sphere.
What is necessary for differentiation to occur in a
planet?

a) It must have metal and rock in it.

b) It must be a mix of materials of different density.
c) Material inside must be able to flow.
d) All of the above
e) b and c
What is necessary for differentiation to occur in a
planet?

a) It must have metal and rock in it.

b) It must be a mix of materials of different density.
c) Material inside must be able to flow.
d) All of the above
e) b and c
 Earth’s Crust. This computer-generated image shows the surface of Earth’s crust as determined from satellite images and
ocean floor radar mapping. Oceans and lakes are shown in blue, with darker areas representing depth. Dry land is shown in
shades of green and brown, and the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are depicted in shades of white. (credit: modification of
work by C. Amante, B. W. Eakins, National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA)
 Accretion and
differentiation
when planets
were young

 Radioactive
decay is most
important
heat source
today.
 Convection
transports heat
as hot material
rises and cool
material falls.
 Conduction
transfers heat
from hot
material to cool
material.
 Radiation
sends energy
into space.
 Motions of
charged particles
are what create
magnetic fields.
 A world can have a
magnetic field if
charged particles
are moving inside.
 Three
requirements:
 Molten interior
 Convection
 Moderately rapid
rotation
 Earth’s Magnetosphere. A cross-sectional view of our magnetosphere (or zone of magnetic influence), as revealed
by numerous spacecraft missions. Note how the wind of charged particles from the Sun “blows” the magnetic field
outward like a wind sock.
 Magnetic field of Earth’s atmosphere protects us from
charged particles streaming from Sun (the solar wind).
 Charged particles from solar wind energize the upper
atmosphere near magnetic poles, causing an aurora.
 What are terrestrial planets like on the
inside?
 All terrestrial worlds have a core, mantle, and
crust.
 Denser material is found deeper inside.
 What causes geological activity?
 Interior heat drives geological activity.
 Radioactive decay is currently main heat source.
 Why do some planetary interiors create
magnetic fields?
 Requires motion of charged particles inside a
planet
Our goals for learning:
Primary types of rock that constitute Earth’s crust
Plate Tectonics
Volcanoes
 Igneous rock – cooled from a molten state
 oceanic basalt and continental granite

 Sedimentary rock – fragments of igneous rock or shells cemented

together without melting

 Metamorphic rock – high temperature or pressure physically or

chemically alters rock

 Primitive rock – original rock that planetary system is made of

 Impact cratering
 Impacts by asteroids or comets
 Volcanism
 Eruption of molten rock onto surface
 Tectonics
 Disruption of a planet’s surface by internal
stresses
 Erosion
 Surface changes made by wind, water, or ice
 Convection of the mantle creates stresses in the
crust called tectonic forces.
 Compression of crust creates mountain ranges.
 Valley can form where crust is pulled apart.
 Motion of the continents can be measured
with GPS.
 The idea of
continental drift
was inspired by
the puzzle-like
fit of the
continents.
 Mantle material
erupts where
the seafloor
spreads.
 Major geological features of North America
record the history of plate tectonics.
 The Himalayas
formed from a
collision
between plates.
 The Red Sea is
formed where
plates are
pulling apart.
 The San
Andreas fault in
California is a
plate boundary.

 Motion of
plates can
cause
earthquakes.
 Volcanism happens
when molten rock
(magma) finds a
path through
lithosphere to the
surface.
 Molten rock is called
lava after it reaches
the surface.
Runny lava makes Slightly thicker Thickest lava makes
flat lava plains. lava makes broad steep stratovolcanoes.
shield volcanoes.
 Volcanism also releases gases from Earth’s
interior into the atmosphere.
 The Hawaiian islands have formed where a
plate is moving over a volcanic hot spot.
 Most cratering
happened soon
after the solar
system formed.
 Craters are about
10 times wider
than object that
made them.
 Small craters
greatly outnumber
large ones.
Meteor Crater (Arizona) Tycho Crater (Moon)
 Most cratering
happened in the
first billion
years.

 A surface with
many craters
has not changed
much in 3 billion
years.
Our goals for learning:
What is an atmosphere?
How does the greenhouse effect warm a planet?
Why do atmospheric properties vary with altitude?
An atmosphere is a layer of gas that surrounds a world.
 About 10
kilometers thick

 Consists mostly of
molecular
nitrogen (N2) and
oxygen (O2).
Gas pressure Adding air Heating the air
depends on both molecules also increases
density and increases the the pressure.
temperature. pressure in a
balloon.
 Pressure and
density decrease
with altitude
because the weight
of overlying layers
is less.
 Earth’s pressure at
sea level is:
 1.03 kg per sq.
meter
 14.7 lb per sq. inch
 1 bar
 There is no clear
upper boundary.
 Most of Earth’s gas is
less than 10
kilometers from
surface, but a small
fraction extends to
more than 100
kilometers.
 Altitudes less more
than 60 kilometers
are considered
“space.”
 Small amounts of gas are present even above 300
kilometers.
 They create pressure that determines
whether liquid water can exist on surface.
 They absorb and scatter light.
 They create wind, weather, and climate.
 They interact with the solar wind to create
a magnetosphere.
 They can make planetary surfaces warmer
through the greenhouse effect.
 Visible light passes
through the
atmosphere and
warms a planet’s
surface.

 The atmosphere
absorbs infrared
light from the
surface, trapping
heat.
 A planet’s surface
temperature is
determined by the
balance between
energy from
sunlight it absorbs
and energy of
outgoing thermal
radiation.
 A planet’s distance from the Sun
determines the total amount of
incoming sunlight.

 A planet’s rotation rate affects the

temperature differences between day
and night.
 A planet’s reflectivity (or albedo) is the fraction of
incoming sunlight it reflects.

 Planets with low albedo absorb more sunlight,

leading to hotter temperatures.
 Earth would be 31°C colder (below freezing on
average).
What would happen to Earth’s temperature if Earth
were more reflective?

a) It would go up.
b) It would go down.
c) It wouldn’t change.
What would happen to Earth’s temperature if Earth
were more reflective?

a) It would go up.
b) It would go down.
c) It wouldn’t change.
If Earth didn’t have an atmosphere, what would
happen to its temperature?

a) It would go up a little (less than 10°C).

b) It would go up a lot (more than 10°C).
c) It would go down a little (less than 10°C).
d) It would go down a lot (more than 10°C).
e) It would not change.
If Earth didn’t have an atmosphere, what would
happen to its temperature?

a) It would go up a little (less than 10°C).

b) It would go up a lot (more than 10°C).
c) It would go down a little (less than 10°C).
d) It would go down a lot (more than 10°C).
e) It would not change.
 Troposphere: lowest
layer of Earth’s
atmosphere

 Temperature drops
with altitude.

 Warmed by infrared
light from surface and
convection
 Stratosphere: layer
above the
troposphere
 Temperature rises
with altitude in lower
part, drops with
altitude in upper part.
 Warmed by
absorption of
ultraviolet sunlight
 Thermosphere: layer
at about 100
kilometers altitude

 Temperature rises
with altitude.

 X rays and ultraviolet

light from the Sun
heat and ionize gases.
 Exosphere: highest
layer in which
atmosphere gradually
fades into space

 Temperature rises
with altitude; atoms
can escape into space.

 Warmed by X rays and

UV light
Why is the sky blue?

a) The sky reflects light from the oceans.

b) Oxygen atoms are blue.
c) Nitrogen atoms are blue.
d) Air molecules scatter blue light more than red light.
e) Air molecules absorb red light.
Why is the sky blue?

a) The sky reflects light from the oceans.

b) Oxygen atoms are blue.
c) Nitrogen atoms are blue.
d) Air molecules scatter blue light more than red
light.
e) Air molecules absorb red light.
 Atmosphere scatters
blue light from Sun,
making it appear to
come from different
directions.

 Sunsets are red

because red light
scatters less.
 How do we know that Earth’s surface is
in motion?
 Measurements of plate motions confirm the
idea of continental drift.
 How is Earth’s surface shaped by plate
tectonics?
 Plate tectonics is responsible for
subduction, seafloor spreading, mountains,
rifts, and earthquakes.
 What is an atmosphere?
 A layer of gas that surrounds a world
 How does the greenhouse effect warm a
planet?
 Atmospheric molecules allow visible sunlight to
warm a planet’s surface but absorb infrared
photons, trapping the heat.
 Why do atmospheric properties vary with
altitude?
 They depend on how atmospheric gases interact
with sunlight at different altitudes.