Grotzinger • Jordan

Understanding Earth
Seventh Edition

Chapter 1:
THE EARTH SYSTEM

© 2014 by W. H. Freeman and Company

Chapter 1
The
Earth
System
 About the Earth System

• All parts of our planet and all of the

interactions of those parts comprise
the Earth System.
• The Earth system is an open system.
• Geosystems include: climate, plate
tectonics, and the geodynamo.
 Lecture Outline
1. The scientific method
2. Geology as a science
3. Earth’s shape and surface
4. Discovery of a layered Earth
5. Earth as a system of interacting
components
6. Overview of geologic time
1. The Scientific Method

The goal:

explain how the

universe works
 1. The Scientific Method
Observation and experimentation
Development of an hypothesis or multiple
hypotheses as tentative explanation(s)
Testing (challenging) and experimentation to
eliminate hypotheses or revise them
Scientific theory – a coherent set of hypotheses
that explains some aspect of nature
Scientific model – based on many hypotheses
and theories
Thought questions for this chapter

How does science differ from religion as a way to

understand the world?

If no theory can be proved true, why do almost all

geologists believe strongly in Darwin’s theory?
 2. Geology as a Science

Major questions in geology involve processes that

operate on large scales and over long time
periods.
Field observations are supplemented by
laboratory experiments.
There are many subfields of geology, including:
Oceanography, Ecology, Geophysics,
Geochemistry, and Geobiology.
In addition, there are others, including Planetary
Science.
2. Geology as a Science

A special aspect:

probing Earth’s long

history – studying
the geologic record
2. Geology as a Science

Principle of
uniformitarianism:

The present is the key

to understanding the
past.
 2. Geology as a Science
Process comparison: slow versus rapid
The most recent layer The explosive impact of a
of sediment is about meteorite created this
250 million years old. 1.2-km-wide crater in just
a few seconds.

W ID
O P
L A
S R

The rocks at the bottom of

the Grand Canyon are 1.7–2.0
billion years old.
 3. Earth’s Shape and Surface

Geodesy – study of Earth’s shape and surface

• Ancient Greek scholar Eratosthenes’ work showed

that Earth was spherical.

• Modern research shows that Earth is not a perfect

sphere.

• Earth’s topography (surface elevation) ranges nearly

20 km from highest to lowest.

• Sea level – reference level for all Earth surface and

seafloor elevations.
Eratosthenes’ work
Topography
 4. Discovery of a Layered Earth
Seismic waves – illuminate Earth’s interior
• Compression and shear waves behave
differently and are bent or absorbed at layer
boundaries within Earth.

Earth’s interior is layered according to density

• Surface rock density is less than 3.5 g/cm3.
• Whole Earth density is 5.5 g/cm3.
• Core density must be about 8 g/cm3.
4. Discovery of a Layered Earth
Crust
 Mantle
Crust
 Mantle
Crust Liquid iron
outer core
 Mantle
Crust Liquid iron
outer core

Solid iron
inner core
 4. Discovery of a Layered Earth
The crust: continents are made of lighter
rock and thus literally “float” on material
of higher density.

0 (km)
10 Oceanic crust Continental crust
(3.0 g/cm3) (2.8 g/cm3)
20
30 Mantle Moho
40 (3.4 g/cm3)
discontinuity
50
Horizontal distance not to scale
 Less dense continental
crust floats on denser
mantle.

0 (km)
10 Oceanic crust Continental crust
(3.0 g/cm3) (2.8 g/cm3)
20
30 Mantle Moho
40 (3.4 g/cm3)
discontinuity
50
Horizontal distance not to scale
 Less dense continental Continental crust
crust floats on denser is less dense than
mantle. oceanic crust.

0 (km)
10 Oceanic crust Continental crust
(3.0 g/cm3) (2.8 g/cm3)
20
30 Mantle Moho
40 (3.4 g/cm3)
discontinuity
50
Horizontal distance not to scale
4. Discovery of a Layered Earth
Abrupt changes in
density between
Earth’s major interior
layers are caused by
changes in the
chemical composition
of those layers.
4. Discovery of a Layered Earth
Thought questions for this chapter

Imagine you are a tour guide on a journey from Earth’s

surface to the center. How would you describe the
material that your tour group encounters on the way
down? Why is the density of material always increasing as
you go down?
 5. Earth as a System of Interacting
Components

Earth is an open system.

• exchanges mass and energy with the
rest of the cosmos
Earth system – all parts of Earth and the
interactions of the parts
• climate system
• plate tectonics system
• geodynamo system
 Earth is an open system.

Sun
The Sun drives
Earth’s external
engine.

Sun
The Sun drives Solar energy is
Earth’s external responsible
engine. for our climate
and weather.

Sun
The Sun drives Solar energy is Earth’s internal
Earth’s external responsible engine is powered
engine. for our climate by trapped heat …
and weather.

Sun
The Sun drives Solar energy is Earth’s internal … and radioactivity
Earth’s external responsible engine is powered in its interior.
engine. for our climate by trapped heat …
and weather.

Sun
The Sun drives Solar energy is Earth’s internal … and radioactivity
Earth’s external responsible engine is powered in its interior.
engine. for our climate by trapped heat …
and weather.

Sun

Heat radiating from Earth

balances solar input and
heat from interior.
The Sun drives Solar energy is Earth’s internal … and radioactivity
Earth’s external responsible engine is powered in its interior.
engine. for our climate by trapped heat …
and weather.

Sun

Heat radiating from Earth Meteors move mass from

balances solar input and the cosmos to Earth.
heat from interior.
The Earth
system:

Interactions
of the climate,
plate tectonic,
and
geodynamo
systems.
The plate tectonic system: How does the
heat energy inside Earth move and thus
affect the crustal plates?
Convection causes
hot water to rise …

... where it cools,

moves laterally,
sinks, …
Hot matter from the … causing plates to
mantle rises, … form and diverge.

Where plates
converge, a
Plate Plate cooled plate
is dragged
under …

… warms … sinks,
and rises warms,
again. and rises again.
The geodynamo system: Rapid motion of
the liquid outer core stirs up electrical
flow in the solid (iron) inner core, causing
Earth’s magnetic field.
Thought questions for this chapter

How does viewing Earth as a system of interacting

components help us to understand our planet? Give an
example of an interaction between two or more
geosystems that could affect the geologic record.

In what general ways are the climate system, the plate

tectonic system, and the geodynamo system similar? In
what ways are they different?
Thought questions for this chapter

Not every planet has a geodynamo. Why not? If Earth

did not have a magnetic field, what might be different
about our planet?

Based on the material presented in this chapter, what

can we say about how long ago the three major global
geosystems began to operate?
6. Overview of Geologic Time
 6. Overview of Geologic Time
4.6 billion years ago – formation of solar system
3.5 billion years ago – formation of geodynamo;
first known fossils (bacteria)
2.7 billion years ago – oxygen begins to build up
in atmosphere
2.5 billion years ago – large continents in crust
2.0 to 1.0 billion years ago – more complex life,
such as algae, evolved
6. Overview of Geologic Time
 6. Overview of Geologic Time

600 million years ago – first animals

542 million years ago – evolutionary “big bang”
443 million years ago – first mass extinction of
life
420 million years ago – first land mammals
359, 251, and 200 million years ago – mass
extinctions of life
125 million years ago – first flowering plants
 6. Overview of Geologic Time
65 million years ago – last mass extinction
(death of the dinosaurs and many other species)
5 million years ago – appearance of first
hominids
200,000 years ago – appearance of Homo
sapiens
6. Overview of Geologic Time
Key terms and concepts
Asthenosphere
Climate
Climate system
Convection
Core
Crust
Earth system
Fossil
Geodesy
Geodynamo
Geologic record
Geology
Geosystem
Inner core
Key terms and concepts
Lithosphere
Magnetic field
Mantle
Outer core
Plate tectonic system
Principle of uniformitarianism
Scientific method
Seismic wave
Topography