THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA

In Association With

ZAMBIA FORESTRY COLLEGE

OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING

DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION

GEOMORMORLOGY AND SOIL GEOOGRAPHY

Assignment 1

Question: With the aid of a well labeled diagram explain the formation of the internal
structure of the earth

NAME: MASIKINI LUSHINGA MASIKINI

STUDENT NUMBER: EDG201804003

DUE DATE: 30 MARCH 2021

Planets like Earth have their structure of different layers of density, referring to the
Terrestrial planets which are Rocky, usually with large iron cores and Thin Carbon Dioxide
or Nitrogen atmospheres. Unlike the Jovian planets (outer planets) consisting of Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. Large about 10 times the size of the Earth, no solid surface also
known as Gas giants and Compositing of Hydrogen and Helium with traces of clouds of
Methane, Water, Ammonia, and other complex molecules (University of Virginia, 2021).
Without going any further, this essay will explain the formation of the internal structure of
the earth but first a background and origin of the formation of the internal structure will be
looked at first.
Today, with all of our modern technology, we’ve only been able to drill about a third of the
way through Earth’s crust. Humankind has insufficient first-hand information regarding
what is below; most of what we know is pieced together from models, seismic waves, and
assumptions based on meteorite material, and the Earth’s tendency to violently shake and
occasionally burp up some of its insides, that has taught us a lot about our planet’s guts
without having to go down there (It's Okay to Be Smart, 2021).
We’re used to seeing density at work. That’s the same reason that the atmosphere, the least
dense part of our planet is on the outside, and the crust, the second least dense part of Earth,
is beneath our feet. Because we as humans are less dense than the dirt, we don’t sink into the
ground. And even though there’s about one ton of atmosphere above my head, it’s not dense
enough to send humans or animals floating. The main layers of Earth are organized in the
same way. Depending on whether they’re divided up by how they squish around or what they
are made of, geologists give different names to the different layers of the Earth. (It's Okay to
Be Smart, 2021). Which will be explained later in the essay.
To really understand why Earth is organized the way it is, we need to go back to before our
planet even existed. In the very young universe, hydrogen and helium were pretty much the
only elements around. They condensed into stars, began the process of nuclear fusion, and
eventually died, spitting heavier elements, from carbon and oxygen to things like nickel and
gold, back out into the universe. One of those heavy elements, iron, is the most stable
element produced outside of a supernova. The early universe produced a lot of iron. (It's
Okay to Be Smart, 2021). That will be important in a second.
Fresh hydrogen and helium went on to form new stars like our sun, and the heavier elements
collided to form the dust and debris that would become our solar system’s planets, moons,
asteroids and everything else. High temperatures in the early inner solar system meant that
light, volatile elements could only condense further out, which is why the four inner planets
of our solar system are dense and rocky, while outer gas giants like Saturn could
hypothetically float in a really, really, really big swimming pool (It's Okay to Be Smart, 2021).
After proto-Earth grew larger, radioactivity, gravity and violent collisions aided in melted the
messy mixture of rocks and minerals. And this is where things started to get organized, the
heaviest materials like iron and nickel worked their way to the core, and the lighter materials
like aluminium and silicon stayed near the surface (It's Okay to Be Smart, 2021).
The inner core experiences pressures more than three million times what we do on Earth’s
surface, which means that despite being as hot as the surface of the sun, the iron in our
planets inner sphere is likely solid, not liquid. The outer core is most likely liquid because it’s
hot, but not under as much pressure as the inner core. We know that’s the case because of
earthquakes on the surface. as certain, kinds of seismic waves travel through the Earth, the
liquid outer core either refracts them, or blocks them altogether, creating seismic shadows
on the opposite side of the planet.
Planet Mercury being denser than earth, is so close to the sun that its atmosphere has long
since blown away, but luckily the earths liquid metal outer core lets earth have an
atmosphere. Deep metallic convection currents create a magnetic field that shields Earth
from the solar wind. Otherwise life on earth would be pounded with deadly radiation, the
atmosphere would be blown away, and Earth wouldn’t be a very “lifey” place (It's Okay to Be
Smart, 2021).
Over time, Earth continues to cool, so more and more of its liquid outer core is turning solid,
and we’re shrinking little by little. Every earthquake that we feel is Earth taking one step
closer to cooling off, and becoming a real third rock from the sun (It's Okay to Be Smart,
2021). That covers the background and origin of the formation of the structure of the earth.
Now to dive in detail, in how the geologist give different names to the different layers of the
earth. In general, the Earth can be divided into layers based on chemical composition and
physical characteristics. (2 Plate Tectonics – An Introduction to Geology, n.d.)

Image: (Surachit,2007)

The Earth has three main divisions based on their chemical composition, which means
chemical makeup. Indeed, there are countless variations in composition throughout the
Earth, but only two significant changes take place, leading to three distinct chemical layers
(Dastrup, 2021)
Image: (Kelvinsong, 2013)

The outermost chemical layer and the layer humans currently reside on is known as the
crust. The crust has two types: continental crust, which is relatively low density and has a
composition similar to granite, and oceanic crust, which is relatively high density (especially
when it is cold and old) and has a composition similar to basalt. In the lower part of the
crust, rocks start to be more ductile and less brittle, because of added heat. Earthquakes,
therefore, generally occur in the upper crust (Dastrup, 2021).
At the base of the crust is a substantial change in seismic velocity called the Mohorovičić
Discontinuity, or Moho for short, discovered by Andrija Mohorovičić (pronounced mo-ho-
ro-vee-cheech) in 1909 by studying earthquake wave paths in his native Croatia. It is caused
by the dramatic change in composition that occurs between the mantle and the crust.
Underneath the oceans, the Moho is about 5 km down. Under continents, the average is
about 30-40 km, except near a sizeable mountain-building event, known as an orogeny,
where that thickness is about doubled (Dastrup, 2021).
The mantle is the layer below the crust and above the core. It is the most substantial layer by
volume, extending from the base of the crust to a depth of about 2900 km. Most of what we
know about the mantle comes from seismic waves, though some direct information can be
gathered from parts of the ocean floor that are brought to the surface, known as ophiolites.
Also, carried within magma are xenoliths, which are small chunks of lower rock carried to
the surface by eruptions. These xenoliths are made of the rock peridotite, which on the scale
of igneous rocks is ultramafic. We assume the majority of the mantle is made of peridotite
(Dastrup, 2021).
The core of the Earth, which has both liquid and solid components, is made mostly of iron,
nickel, and oxygen. First discovered in 1906 by looking into seismic data, it took the union of
modeling, astronomical insight, and seismic data to arrive at the idea that the core is mostly
metallic iron. Meteorites contain much more iron than typical surface rocks, and if meteoric
material is what made the Earth, the core would have formed as dense material (including
iron and nickel) sank to the center of the Earth via its weight as the planet formed, heating
the Earth intensely (Dastrup, 2021).
The Earth can also be broken down into five distinct physical layers based on how each layer
responds to stress. While there is some overlap in the chemical and physical designations of
layers, precisely the core-mantle boundary, there are significant differences between the two
systems. (2 Plate Tectonics – An Introduction to Geology, n.d.)

Image: (KDS4444, 2016)

The lithosphere, with ‘litho’ meaning rock, is the outermost physical layer of the Earth.
Including the crust, it has both an oceanic component and a continental component. Oceanic
lithosphere, ranging from a thickness of zero (at the forming of new plates on the mid-ocean
ridge) to 140 km, is thin and rigid. The continental lithosphere is more plastic (especially
with depth) and is overall thicker, from 40 to 280 km thick. Most importantly, the
lithosphere is not continuous. It is broken into several segments that geologists call plates. A
plate boundary is where two plates meet and move relative to each other. It is at and near
plate boundaries where plate tectonics’ real action is seen, including mountain building,
earthquakes, and volcanism (Dastrup, 2021).
The asthenosphere, with ‘astheno’ meaning weak, is the layer below the lithosphere. The
most distinctive property of the asthenosphere is movement. While still solid, over geologic
time scales, it will flow and move because it is mechanically weak. In this layer, partly driven
by convection of intense interior heat, movement allows the lithospheric plates to move.
Since certain types of seismic waves pass through the asthenosphere, we know that it is solid,
at least at the short time scales of the passage of seismic waves. The depth and occurrence of
the asthenosphere are dependent on heat and can be very shallow at mid-ocean ridges and
very deep in plate interiors and beneath mountains (Dastrup, 2021).
The mesosphere, or lower mantle as it is sometimes called, is more rigid and immobile than
the asthenosphere, though still hot. This can be attributed to increased pressure with depth.
Between approximately 410 and 660 km depth, the mantle is in a state of transition, as
minerals with the same composition are changed to various forms, dictated by increasing
pressure conditions. Changes in seismic velocity show this, and this zone also can be a
physical barrier to movement. Below this zone, the mantle is uniform and homogeneous, as
no significant changes occur until the core is reached (Dastrup, 2021).
The outer core is the only liquid layer found within Earth. It starts at 2,890 km (1,795 mi)
depth and extends to 5,150 km (3,200 mi). Inge Lehmann, a Danish geophysicist, in 1936,
was the first to prove that there was an inner core that was solid within the liquid outer core
based on analyzing seismic data. The solid inner core is about 1,220 km (758 mi) thick, and
the outer core is about 2,300 km (1,429 mi) thick (Dastrup, 2021).
It seems like a contradiction that the hottest part of the Earth is substantial, as hot
temperatures usually lead to melting or boiling. The solid inner core can be explained by
understanding that the immense pressure inhibits melting, though as the Earth cools by heat
flowing outward, the inner core grows slightly larger over time. As the liquid iron and nickel
in the outer core moves and convects, it becomes the most likely source for Earth’s magnetic
field. This is critically important to maintaining the atmosphere and conditions on Earth that
make it favorable to life. Loss of outer core convection and the Earth’s magnetic field could
strip the atmosphere of most of the gases essential to life and dry out the planet, much like
what has happened to Mars (Dastrup, 2021).
The fundamental unifying principle of geology and the rock cycle is the theory of Plate
Tectonics. Plate tectonics describes how the layers of the Earth move relative to each other.
Specifically, the outer layer divided into tectonic or lithospheric plates. As the tectonic plates
float on a mobile layer beneath called the asthenosphere, they collide, slide past each other,
and split apart. Significant landforms are created at these plate boundaries, and rocks
making up the tectonic plates move through the rock cycle (Dastrup, 2021).
The oldest continental rocks are billions of years old, so the continents have had much time
to happen to them. Constructive forces cause physical features on Earth’s surface known as
landforms to grow. Crustal deformation – when crust compresses, pulls apart, or slides past
other crust – results in hills, valleys, and other landforms. Mountains rise when continents
collide when one slab of ocean crust plunges beneath another or a slab of continental crust to
create a chain of volcanoes. Sediments are deposited to form landforms, such as deltas.
Volcanic eruptions can also be destructive forces that blow landforms apart. The destructive
forces of weathering and erosion modify landforms. Water, wind, ice, and gravity are
essential forces of erosion. The ocean basins are all younger than 180 million years. Although
the ocean basins begin where the ocean meets the land, the continent extends downward to
the seafloor, so the continental margin is made of continental crust (Dastrup, 2021).
The ocean floor itself is not flat. The most distinctive feature is the mountain range that runs
through much of the ocean basin, known as the mid-ocean ridge. The ocean trenches are the
deepest places of the ocean, many of which are found around the edge of the Pacific Ocean.
Chains of volcanoes are also found in the center of the oceans, such as around Hawaii. Flat
plains are found on the ocean floor with their features covered by mud (Dastrup, 2021).
In conclusion, the following is a summary of the Earth’s layers based on chemical
composition (or the chemical makeup of the layers). Earth has three main geological layers
based on chemical composition – crust, mantle, and core. The outermost layer is the crust
and is composed of mostly silicon, oxygen, aluminum, iron, and magnesium. There are two
types of crust, continental and oceanic crust. Continental crust is about 50 kilometers (30
miles) thick, represents most of the continents, and is composed of low-density igneous and
sedimentary rocks. Oceanic crust is approximately 10 kilometers (6 miles) thick, makes up
most of the ocean floor, and covers about 70 percent of the planet. Oceanic crust is high-
density igneous basalt-type rocks. The moving tectonic plates are made of crust, and some of
the next layers within the earth called the mantle. The crust and this portion of the upper
mantle are rigid and called the lithosphere and make up the tectonic plates.
Reference:
Dastrup, R.A. (2021) Internal Structure of Earth: Physical Geography and Natural Disasters,
Available at: https://slcc.pressbooks.pub/physicalgeography/chapter/3-3/, Accessed date:
29.03.2021
It's Okay to Be Smart (2014) Why Does the Earth Have Layers? Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwiiOjyfvAU&t=16s, Accessed date: 29.03.2021

KDS4444 (2016) Diagram of the geological process of subduction, Available at:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Subduction-en.svg, Accessed date:
29.03.2021

Kelvinsong (2013) Internal Structure of the Earth, Available at:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Earth_poster.svg, Accessed date: 29.03.2021

Salt Lake community college (n.d) 2 Plate Tectonics – An Introduction to Geology, viewed
29.03.2021, <URL> https://opengeology.org/textbook/2-plate-tectonics/
Surachit (2007) Earth and atmosphere cutaway. Available at:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Earth-crust-cutaway-english.svg. Accessed at:
30.03.2021.

University of Virginia (2021) Jovian vs. Terrestrial Planets, viewed 29.03.2021, <URL>
https://faculty.virginia.edu/skrutskie/ASTR1210/notes/jovter.html