191CE305 - ENGINEERING

GEOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
II YEAR / III SEM
EARTH STRUCTURE & COMPOSITION
COMPONENTS OF THE EARTH
 Earthis made up of several different layers, each with
unique properties. The different layers of the earth are as
follows
 CRUST
a) Continental Crust
b) Oceanic Crust

 MANTLE
 CORE

Crust
It is the uppermost solid shell of the earth which has
varying thickness in different areas as follows
(a) Under the oceans 5 - 6 km
(b) Under the continents 30 - 40 km
(c) Under the mountains : 60 - 70 km
Crust
It is separated from mantle by Mohorovic discontinuity.
It is divided into two types:
 The Continental Crust
The continental crust is made up of 3 layers
 A layer or upper layer
• 2 – 10 km thick, density 2.2 g/cc, mostly made
up of sedimentary rocks.
 B layer or middle layer
• Thickness 20 km or more, density 2.4 to 2.6
g/cc.
• It is made of igneous and metamorphic rocks.
• Rich in silica and aluminium and so called as
SIAL layer.
Crust
 C layer or lower layer
• Lower most layer of the crust.
• 25 – 40 km thick, density 2.8 – 3.3 g/cc.
• Rich in silica and magnesium and so called as
SIMA layer.
 The Oceanic crust:
• It is the extension of C layer and density is 3
g/cc.
Mantle:
• The mantle is the layer of the Earth right below the crust.
• It extends up to a depth of 2900 km.
• Density 3.3 – 5.7 g/cc
• It is divided into 2 layers, upper and lower mantle
• The continental and oceanic plates include both the crust
and this uppermost solid layer of the mantle. Together this
mass makes up the Lithosphere.
• Another part of the upper mantle is in plastic state known
as Asthenosphere.
• The lower mantle is in solid state.
• The mantle is separated from the core by Guttenberg
discontinuity.
Core:
• It is the inner most layer of the earth. It begins from 2900
km and extends to the centre of the earth 6371 km.
• The Earth's core is made of solid iron and nickel, and is
about 5000–6000oC.
• Outer core is a liquid layer below the mantle,
• Inner core is the very center of the Earth. It is very hot
and, due to the high pressure, it is solid.
• Density 10 – 12 g/cc.
 CONTINENTAL DRIFT & TECTONIC PLATES
Continental Drift Theory
 Continental drift was a theory that explained how
continents shift position on Earth's surface. It was
set forth by Alfred Wegener in 1912.
 A large super-continent PANGEA split into
smaller fragments about 200-300 million years
ago. These then drifted apart to form the present
arrangement of continents.
 He published his evidence in a book called Origin
of Continents and Oceans in 1915.
Continental Drift Theory
Continental Drift Theory
Wegener provided Four main pieces of evidence to
support his theory that the continents had been drifting
over time.
1) Geologic
2) Fossil
3) Perfect Fit
4) Glacial Scar

Geologic:
 Rocks of same age and similar characteristics on
different continents.
Continental Drift Theory
 Close match between the rocks in north western coast
of Africa and Eastern Brazil, South America.
 Appalachian Mountains trend northeast along the east
coast of US and Scandanavia.
Continental Drift Theory
Fossil
 Wegener also found fossils of the same plants and
animals on different continents now separated by vast
oceans.
Continental Drift Theory
Perfect Fit
 Wegener noticed that if we could move present day
continents around, several continents look like they
would fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
Continental Drift Theory
Glacial Scars
 Wegener found evidence of glacial scars left behind
by giant ice sheets from the same time period in
Southern Africa, India, Australia and South America.
Plate Tectonics
 The word ‘tectonics’ means to build

 The theory of plate tectonics tells us that the Earth's rigid outer
shell (lithosphere) is broken into a mosaic of oceanic and
continental plates that can slide over the plastic Aesthenosphere
(uppermost layer of the mantle).
 The plates are in constant motion.

 There are seven major crustal plates, subdivided into a number

of smaller plates.
 They are about 80 kilometers thick, moving relative to one
another at rates varying from 1 to 13 centimeters per year.
 Their pattern is neither symmetrical nor simple. Several
different landform features found on our planet - mountains, rift
valleys, volcanoes, earthquakes, faulting – are the result of
geologic processes that occur where plates interact.
Plate Tectonics
Plate Tectonics
Major Plates
 Indo-
 Antarctic  Eurasian
 African Plate Australian
Plate Plate
Plate
 North  South
American  Pacific Plate American
Plate Plate

Minor Plates
 Caribbean  Juan De Fuca
 Arabian Plate  Cocos Plate
Plate Plate

 Philippine
 Nazca Plate  Scotia Plate
Sea Plate
Plate Tectonics
Movement of Plates
 Plates are moved by the Convention Current in the
Mantle.
 A cycle of rising and sinking causes the plates on top
of the mantle to eventually move.
Plate Tectonics
Plate Boundaries
There are three main types of plate boundaries:
a) The Divergent plate boundary or Extensional movement.
b) The Convergent boundary or Compressional movement.
c) The Transform boundary or the Transform movement.
The Divergent plate boundary or Extensional
movement:
 Two adjoining plates pull away from each other.
 New crust begins to form in the newly created
space between the two plates.
Plate Tectonics
Plate Boundaries
 It creates shallow earth quakes with magnitude less
than 8.
 Eg: Movement of North American plate and the
Eurasian plate forming mid Atlantic ridge.
Plate Tectonics
The Convergent boundary or Compressional
movement:
 Two adjoining plates moving close to each other.
 Convergent boundaries are often noted by the
presence of volcanoes or mountains at the boundary
site. 
 It creates shallow earth quakes with magnitude less
than 8.5.
 Eg: formation of Himalayas, due to the collision
between Eurasian and Indian plate.
Plate Tectonics

The Transform boundary or the Transform movement:

 The zones where the adjoining plates slide with each
other in horizontal direction.
 They are also known as fault lines.
Plate Tectonics
The Transform boundary or the Transform movement:
 They creates earth quake of magnitude more than 9.
 Eg: San Andres fault boundary in California.