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CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

FLEX Course Material

Discuss theories on the
formation of the earth.
Introduce the different
parts that make up the
earth.

GEOLOGY FOR
ENGINEERS

THE EARTH STRUCTURE AND

COMPOSITION

ENGR. FRANZ D. SANTOS

FACULTY, COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
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THE BIG BANG THEORY
➢ states that the universe began as an
infinitely hot and dense point.
➢ Only a few millimeters wide it was just
like a supercharged blackhole.

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RADIATION ERA
✓ dominance of radiation right after the big bang.
✓ Divided into epochs.

Planck Epoch

Grand Unification Epoch

Inflationary epoch
Electroweak epoch

Quark epoch
Hadron Epoch

Lepton and Nuclear Epoch

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PLANCK EPOCH
✓ no matter existed only energy and the four forces of
nature called the super forces.
✓ Super forces: Gravity, Strong Nuclear, Weak Nuclear
and Electromagnetic
✓ By the end of this era, gravity split away from the
super force.

GRAND UNIFICATION EPOCH

✓ Named after the three remaining unified forces of
nature.
✓ Ended when the strong nuclear, broke away.

INFLATIONARY EPOCH
✓ The universe rapidly expanded and was hot at this time.

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ELECTROWEAK EPOCH
✓ electromagnetic and weak finally split off.

QUARK EPOCH
✓ the ingredients of the universe were present, but the
temperature is still too hot for subatomic particles to
form.

HARDRON EPOCH
✓ universe cooled down and the ingredients fused to
produce Protons and Neutrons.

LEPTON AND NUCLEAR EPOCH

✓ protons and neutrons fused and created the nuclei and
created the first chemical element – helium.

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MATTER ERA
✓ The ability of the universe to produce matter marked
the start.
✓ Divided into three epochs that marked the beginning
of other theories on the formation of planets such as
the earth.

• the universe’s temperature cooled down for electrons

to attach to nuclei this is called recombination
ATOMIC • produced the second chemical element which was
Hydrogen
EPOCH

• Hydrogen and helium dotted the universe with atomic

clouds.
• Due to hydrogen and helium, the universe may have had
GALACTIC enough gravity to cause atoms to collect and this paved
EPOCH the way for the creation of galaxies.

• Stars began to form from these galaxies.

• Heat within these stars caused the conversion of
STELLAR Hydrogen and Helium to the remaining elements in
the universe.
EPOCH

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CORE ACCRETION MODEL

✓ Gravity was the driver coalescing earth out of dust

and the earth was still so hot in addition to the
massive meteorites and asteroids that hit the surface
of the earth.
✓ The earth got so hot it began melting, heavier
material sank to the bottom and lighter elements
rose to the top. Some elements evaporated.
✓ This transformation created core, mantle crust,
atmosphere, and magnetic field.

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DISK INSTABILITY MODEL

✓ This mechanism requires no direct interactions

between solids whatsoever, just the condensing of
gas and dust in the planetary disk.
✓ During the very early stages of a protoplanetary
disk’s formation, if rapid cooling occurs in the order
of an orbital timescale, material is thought to
fragment into bound objects.
✓ These fragments would then condense further into
the gaseous planets we observe.

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CORE ACCRETION MODEL VS
DISK INSTABILITY MODEL

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ATMOSPHERE
✓ The outer gaseous part of the Earth starting from the
surface and extending as far as 700 km and even
beyond is termed atmosphere.

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ATMOSPHERE
✓ Distinct layer of gasses that surround the solid
portion of the earth.
✓ The composition of these gasses are uniform
regardless of the altitude.

OTHER GASSES:

𝑨𝒓, 𝑪𝑶𝟐 , 𝑪𝑯𝟒 , 𝑵𝒆, 𝑪𝑶, 𝑺𝑶𝟐 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝟐 𝑶

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TROPOSPHERE
✓ It is 4 to 12 miles (7 to 20 km) thick and contains half
of Earth's atmosphere.
✓ Air is warmer near the ground and gets colder higher
up. The water vapor and dust in the atmosphere are
in this layer and that is why clouds are found here.
✓ Its upper boundary called tropopause about 9km
above the poles and at 18 km above the equator.

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STRATOSPHERE
✓ It is the second layer of the atmosphere starting from
the tropopause and extending up to an average
height of 50 km.
✓ The temperature becomes constant for a height of
20km (above tropopause) and then starts increasing.
✓ The Ozone Layer starts at a height of 9 km above
the surface and continues up to 35 km.
✓ Ozone is abundant here and it heats the atmosphere
while also absorbing harmful radiation from the sun.

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MESOSPHERE
✓ This is the third thermal zone of atmosphere which begins
at stratopause at about 50km above the surface and
continues up to a height of about 85 km.
✓ It is characterized with a steep fall in temperature that may
go to as low levels as—100 °C at the upper limit of
mesosphere.
✓ The top of the mesosphere, called the mesopause, is the
coldest part of Earth's atmosphere, with temperatures
averaging about -130 ℉ (-90 ℃).

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THERMOSPHERE
✓ The fourth and the last zone of the atmosphere
starts at about 85 km and extends up to 690 km.
✓ In this zone, temperature starts rising once again
and reaches 1000°C and above.
✓ Atmospheric gases at these heights absorb a great
part of solar radiation coming to the Earth.

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EXOSPHERE
✓ This the uppermost region of Earth's atmosphere as
it gradually fades into the vacuum of space.
✓ Air in the exosphere is extremely thin - in many
ways it is almost the same as the airless void of
outer space.

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✓ Earth’s surface = 30% land, 70% water.
✓ Composed of Surface Components:
BIOSPHERE, HYDROSPHERE, and
CRYOSPHERE

✓ The biosphere includes the bio-geo-physical processes of land

surfaces including living species, and in particular the
vegetation ecosystem.

✓ The main natural water flows are precipitation, evaporation,

and runoff.
✓ Includes oceans, lakes, seas, rivers, & groundwater

✓ Snow and ice (marine and continental) are important energy

reservoirs that can delay the warming or cooling of the
atmosphere and ground by releasing or absorbing latent heat.

✓ Earth’s elemental composition reflects mostly heavier

elements not blown away by solar wind during
formation of the solar system
✓ Most abundant elements Fe (35%) , O (30%), Si (15%),
Mg (10%).

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✓ It is the uppermost solid shell of the earth which has
varying thickness in different areas as follows:
1. Under the oceans 5 - 6 km
2. Under the continents 30 - 35 km
3. Under the mountains : 60 - 70 km

✓ The outermost “skin” of Earth with variable thickness.

✓ Thickest under mountain ranges (70 km – 40 miles) and
thinnest under mid-ocean ridges (3 km – 2 miles).
✓ The Mohorovičić discontinuity or “Moho” is the lower
boundary.

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CONTINENTAL CRUST
✓ crust that forms the continents
✓ Avg. rock density about 2.7 g/cm3.
✓ Avg. thickness = 35-40 km.
✓ Felsic composition. Avg. rock type = Granite

OCEANIC CRUST
✓ Crust beneath oceans.
✓ Consist mainly of dense rock (basalt - dark in color)
✓ Density about 3.0 g/cm3.
✓ Avg. thickness = 7-10 km.
✓ Mafic composition

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✓ 98.5% of the crust is comprised of just 8 elements.
✓ Oxygen is (by far!) the most abundant element in the
crust.
✓ This reflects the importance of silicate (SiO2-based)
minerals.
✓ As a large atom, oxygen occupies ~93% of crustal
volume.

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✓ layer of rock between crust and core 2900km thick, 67%
of Earth’s mass
✓ Composition - silicon, oxygen, iron and magnesium
✓ Physical conditions in mantle change because pressure
and temperature increase with depth.
✓ Temperature ranges from 870 ºC to 2,200ºC
✓ Mantle composition = ultramafic rock called peridotite.

✓ Can generally be divided into two regions:

1. LITHOSPHERE
2. ASTHENOSPHERE

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LITHOSPHERE
✓ Derived from Greek word “Lithos” meaning rock/stone.
✓ Behaves as a non-flowing, rigid material.
✓ The material that moves as tectonic plates.
✓ Made of 2 components: crust and upper mantle.

ASTHENOSPHERE
✓ From the Greek Word “Asthenos” meaning “without
strength” is the highly viscous, mechanically weak and
ductile region of the upper mantle of the Earth.
✓ Shallower under oceanic lithosphere.
✓ Deeper under continental lithosphere.
✓ Flows as a soft ductile solid.
✓ Contains a small percentage of melt (< 2%)

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 ✓ Innermost layer of the Earth
✓ 6800 km in diameter (3,500 km from outside edge of core
to center of core)
✓ 1/3 of Earth’s mass, 15%of its volume
✓ Temperature ranges from 2,000 ºC to 7,000ºC
✓ Consist of 2 parts; Inner Core and Outer Core

OUTER CORE
✓ layer of molten (Liquid)
metal (iron and nickel)
beneath the mantle
✓ Liquid iron-nickel-sulfur
(2,255 km thick)
✓ Density = 10-12 g/cm^3

INNER CORE
✓ dense ball of solid metal
(iron and nickel)
✓ extreme pressure from
layers above 1200 km,
from outside edge of
inner core to center
✓ Density = 13 g/cm^3

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✓ The Earth’s magnetic field is produced by the
“geodynamo”
✓ Flow in the liquid iron outer core creates a magnetic
field.
✓ Magnetic field - region affected by force emanating
from a magnet.
✓ Flow in the outer core generates the magnetic field.

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✓ Magnetic field - Like a bar magnet, Earth’s magnetic field
is a dipole (has both a N and S pole).
✓ Solar wind contains electromagnetic particles that are
deflected by earth’s field. These particles distort the
shape of earth’s magnetic field in space.
✓ Van Allen belts – two belts in the inner magnetic field
where high energy cosmic rays are trapped.

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✓ As the particles pass through the Earth's magnetic shield, they
mingle with atoms and molecules of oxygen, nitrogen and
other elements that result in the dazzling display of lights in
the sky.
AURORA BOREALIS AURORA AUSTRALIS

References:
Bindusara TS – Engineering Geology, Civil Engineering Department,
Sreenidhi Institute of Science and Technology, Hyderabad

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