LECTURE 2:

The Earth System

D r. A m e T h ato S e l e p e n g
B S c ( G e o l o g y ) , M . E n g , D r. E n g ( g e o p h y s i c s )
selepengat@biust.ac.bw
 Earth Systems Overview
The Earth is a system consisting of four
major interacting components:

• the atmosphere,
• the biosphere,
• the hydrosphere,
• the geosphere
 The Atmosphere

The Earth is surrounded by a blanket of air, which we

call the atmosphere.
 The Biosphere

The biosphere is the “life zone” of the Earth,

 Hydrosphere
The hydrosphere contains all the water found on our planet.
 Geosphere

The geosphere is the solid part of the earth,

from the core to the surface.
 Earth System Science

Earth System Science is

the study of how the four
spheres of the Earth system
interact continually, each
affecting the others.

Example: A scientist that

studies global warming is
an Earth System Scientist.
 System Interactions
Volcanoes erupt, sending ash and
gases into the air and sending
lava and ash down onto
surrounding forests and human
habitations.

Geosphere

Atmosphere Biosphere
 System Interactions
Hurricanes sweep across the
ocean and onto the land,
damaging the dwellings of people
who live along the coast.

Hydrosphere

Atmosphere Geosphere

Biosphere
The Sun’s Effect on
Earth

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Electric currents inside the sun generate
a magnetic field that spreads throughout
the solar system.

The sun's magnetic field has two poles, like a

bar magnet. The poles flip at the peak of the
solar activity cycle, every 11 years. 11
 H e l i o s p h e re

The dark shape sprawling across the face of the

active Sun is a coronal hole, a low density region
extending above the surface where the solar
magnetic field opens freely into interplanetary
space. (Credit: SOHO EIT, ESA/NASA)

Heliosphere: is the outer reach of

the solar wind (highly energetic
electrons and protons released from
the upper atmosphere of the Sun).
 2 . T h e Ea r t h M a g n et i c F i e l d

Earth’s structure

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 Earth’s magnetic field

T h e N p o l e o f t h e b a r i s n e a r E a r t h ’s g e o g r a p h i c S p o l e .
A compass needle aligns with the field lines.
The N compass arrow points to the southern polarity(bar
magnet S pole).
 2 . T h e Ea r t h Sy ste m
Earth’s magnetic field

Earth’s magnetic field is like a giant

dipole bar magnet. A magnetic field,
produced by a dipole, generates
invisible lines of flux
(magnetosphere). Magnetosphere is
distorted by the solar wind and it is
shaped like an almond.
 2 . T h e Ea r t h Sy ste m
Earth’s magnetic field

• A Van Allen radiation belt is a zone of energetic charged particles, most of which
originate from the solar wind, that are captured by and held around a planet by
that planet's magnetosphere.

• Earth has two such belts, and sometimes others may be temporarily created. The
belts are named after James Van Allen, who is credited with their discovery
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• WHAT CAUSES THE NORTHERN LIGHTS?

• The Northern Lights are formed when particles emerging from the sun collide
with the Earth’s magnetic field.

• These particles are dragged towards the poles by the magnetosphere

as if they were magnets, and in their wake, they collide with oxygen
and nitrogen atoms producing flashes of light.

• The solar activity that forms the Northern Lights causes the sun to emit
these constantly charged particles, flares, and sunspots.

• This plasma travels from the sun to space through the solar wind. If
solar activity increases and the sun expels more particles than usual,
what we call solar storms are produced.

• During solar storms, we can see strong displays of Northern Lights

made of large groups of solar particles, or Coronal Mass Ejections.

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ATMO-SPHERE

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 Atmosphere
• The atmosphere of Earth or air is the layer of gases retained by Earth's gravity that
surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere.

• The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for liquid
water to exist on the Earth's surface, absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the
surface through heat retention (greenhouse effect), and reducing temperature
extremes between day and night (the diurnal temperature variation).

• Without the Atmosphere, Others Sphere processes are not possible

… and other gases such

as argon, carbon dioxide,
neon, methane, ozone,
carbon monoxide, sulfur
dioxide…

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 2 . T h e Ea r t h Sy ste m
Earth’s structure: the atmosphere.

1.04 kg/cm2
1 atm

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HYDRO-SPHERE

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 Hydrosphere
The hydrosphere contains all the water
found on our planet.
• Surface Water: Includes the ocean as well
as water from lakes, rivers and creeks.
• Ground Water: Includes water trapped in
the soil and groundwater.
• Atmosphere: water vapor.
• Frozen water: Includes ice caps and
glaciers. Also called the cryosphere.
• Only about 3% of the water on Earth is
“fresh” water, and about 70% of the fresh
water is frozen in the form of glacial ice.
(0.9% in liquid form)
 Earth’s structure

Mount
Everest

30%
Mariana
70% trench

M a r i a n a t re n c h = d e e pest a bys s o f t h e Wo r l d → 1 0 , 9 9 4 m d e pt h
M o u nt Eve rst = “ t h e ro o f ” o f t h e Wo r l d → 8,848 m high
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 H yd ro s p h e re i n N u m b e rs

• Earth's hydrosphere has been around for about 4 billion years

• It has been estimated that there are 1.386 billion cubic kilometres (333 million
cubic miles) of water on Earth.

• Saltwater accounts for 97.5% of this amount, whereas fresh water accounts for
only 2.5%.

• Of this fresh water, 68.9% is in the form of ice and permanent snow cover in
the Arctic, the Antarctic and mountain glaciers; 30.8% is in the form of fresh
groundwater; and only 0.3% of the fresh water on Earth is in easily accessible
lakes, reservoirs and river systems.

• The total mass of Earth's hydrosphere is about 1.4 × 1018 tonnes, which is
about 0.000023% of Earth's total mass.

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 2 . T h e Ea r t h Sy ste m
Earth’s structure

Small changes in sea level may change drastically the

amount of dry land
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BIO-SPHERE

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 The Biosphere
The biosphere is the “life zone” of the Earth, and
includes all living organisms (including humans), and all
organic matter that has not yet decomposed.
• The biosphere is structured into a hierarchy known as a
food chain.
• Energy and nutrients, like carbon, are transferred from
one level of the food chain to the next.
Biosphere

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Goldilocks Zone

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Search for Life

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 GEO-SPHERE

The geosphere includes all the rocks that make up

Earth, from the partially melted rock under the crust, to
ancient, towering mountains, to grains of sand on a
beach.

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G EO S P H E R E

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2 . T h e Ea r t h Sy ste m
Earth’s materials

• ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
• MINERALS
• METALS
• VOLATILES

SiO2 QUARTZ CaMgSi2O6 DIOPSIDE

TRIGONAL MONOCLINIC

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 2 . T h e Ea r t h Sy ste m
Earth’s materials

• ORGANIC COMPOUND: CARBON –BASED MOLECULES

• MINERAL: COBINATION OF ELEMENTS WITHIN A GEOMETRIC
STRUCTURE

• METAL: SOLID COMPOSED OF METAL ATOMS (Fe,Ni,Cu,...)

OUTERN ELECTRONS ARE FREE

• VOLATILE: ELEMENTS STABLE AS GAS AT GIVEN TEMPERATURE

AND PRESSION

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 2 . T h e Ea r t h Sy ste m
Earth’s materials
• ORGANIC COMPOUNDS IGNEOUS
• MINERALS
• GLASSES RO C KS SEDIMENTARY
• METALS
• VOLATILES METAMORPHIC

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 2 . T h e Ea r t h Sy ste m
Earth’s materials: definitions

•GLASS: AGGREGATES OF MINERALS

WITHOUT GEOMETRIC STRUCTURE
(AMORPHOUS)

•SEDIMENT: ACCUMULATION OF
MINERAL GRAINS, ORGANIC COPOUNDS,
BIOLOGICAL REMAINS, ETC.

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 2 . T h e Ea r t h Sy ste m
Earth’s materials: definitions

• 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 THE

SURFACE (H2O, CO2, CH4 …)

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 2 . T h e Ea r t h Sy ste m
Earth’s materials

PRESSION
HEATING
IGNEOUS ROCKS
VOLCANISM
METAMORPHIC
ALTERATION ROCKS
WEATHERING
TRANSPORT

PRESSION
HEATING
SEDIMENTARY
SEDIMENTS
ROCKS

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 2 . T h e Ea r t h Sy ste m
The layered structure of the Earth
The issue of the anomalous density?!

Nevil Maskelyne found an average

density of 4.5 g/cm3 which is much
greater than the average density of
the most common silicate rocks
(2.5-3.0 g/cm3)…

…should be something more…

Emil Wiechert postulated that the core of our planet must include
metals… and its density is around 13 g/cm3.

But how can we unravel the inner structure of a planet?

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 2 . T h e Ea r t h Sy ste m
The layered structure of the Earth

Perhaps studying earthquakes and propagation of waves through the

Earth’s layers

EARTHQUAKES
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 2 . T h e Ea r t h Sy ste m
The layered structure of the Earth

Crust geothermal gradient ranges

between 20° and 30° per km and
decrease at higher depths… it may
depend from the tectonic setting…

Pressure increases with depth

CHANGE IF PHYSICAL
PROPERTIES!!!
Heat is generated in Earth’s interior

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 2 . T h e Ea r t h Sy ste m
The layered structure of the Earth
… W H AT ’ S I N S I D E ? … t h e C R U ST …

We stand on the outermost layer:

the crust.

How thick is the crust?

Up to 70 km under the continents,
while ocean crust ranges between
7-10 km.

How do we know it?!

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 2 . T h e Ea r t h Sy ste m
The layered structure of the Earth

v1

v2

V2 > V1
Adrija Mohorovičić discovered that, at a given depth (between 10 and 70 km), the velocity
of earthquake waves suddenly increases.

This is due to an increase of density of the rock below 10-70 km. That boundary, called the
Moho unconformity, is the boundary between the crust and the mantle.

The crust represents the 0.1 to 1.0 % of the Earth’s radius (6,371 km).
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 2 . T h e Ea r t h Sy ste m
The layered structure of the Earth

Continental crust: Oceanic crust:

• Average density of ~2.7 g/cm3
• Average thickness 35–40 km
• Felsic (granitic) to
intermediate in composition.
• Average density of ~3.0 g/cm3
• Average thickness 7–10 km
• Mafic (basaltic and gabbroic)
in composition.
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 2 . T h e Ea r t h Sy ste m
The layered structure of the Earth

Moho is a boundary
between rocks of
different
composition!
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 2 . T h e Ea r t h Sy ste m
The layered structure of the Earth
… W H AT ’ S I N S I D E ? …the MANTLE…

2,885 km

660 km 2,900 km

Mantle is made of solid rock: PERIDOTITE. Few percent

MOHO of the mantle is made of molten rock.
Rock in the mantle are soft enough to flow (ca. 15
cm/y)… it is viscous.
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 2 . T h e Ea r t h Sy ste m
The layered structure of the Earth

The distribution of temperatures within the mantle is all but homogeneous. This
induce convective movements of the viscous rocks…
… within the mantle there are convective currents (like water in a simmering pot!)

Convection takes place when moving fluid carries heat with it.
Hot rises, cold sinks!
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 2 . T h e Ea r t h Sy ste m
The layered structure of the Earth
CO N C E P T S : L i t h o s p h e re a n d A st h e n o s p h e re

RIGID
1,280 °C 1,280 °C
1,280 °C
1,280 °C
SOFT

LITHOSPHERE :
RIGID/BRITTLE is 100-150 Km thick → made up by CRUST+LITHOSPHERIC MANTLE

Asthenosphere SOFT or PLASTIC (100% MANTLE)

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 2 . T h e Ea r t h Sy ste m
The layered structure of the Earth

RIGID
1,280 °C 1,280 °C
1,280 °C
1,280 °C
SOFT

Lithosphere-Asthenosphere
boundary is due to different
mechanical properties!
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 2 . T h e Ea r t h Sy ste m
The layered structure of the Earth

Crust = Felsic
+
Lith. Mantle = Mafic

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 2 . T h e Ea r t h Sy ste m
The layered structure of the Earth
… W H AT ’ S I N S I D E ? … t h e CO R E …
..is an iron-rich sphere with a radius of 3,471 km. It is divided in the
outer core is liquid; inner core solid:
• Outer core
– Liquid iron-nickel-sulfur
– 2,255 km thick
– Density is 10–12 g/cm3
• Inner core
– Solid iron-nickel alloy
– Radius of 1,220 km
– Density is 13 g/cm3

Outer core flow generates Earth’s magnetic field!

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 CHAPTER 2 of the TEXTBOOK:
Journey to the center of the Earth
pp. 36-57

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QUESTIONS?

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