The Earth’s Spheres

The Lithosphere
• Layer exposed to weathering (wind, rain, snow, tornadoes, etc).
• Considered also to be the rocky outermost layer of the lithosphere.

Continental Crust
• 20 – 70 km thick
• Predominantly granite rocks
• Less dense 2.7g/cm3
Oceanic Crust
• Predominantly volcanic basalt overlain with sediments.
• Experience intense heat and pressure of the mantle. Compared with
continental crust
• Dense 3g/cm3.
• 7 – 10 km thick
Lithosphere
• Solid and rigid outer layer of the earth.
• Crust + upper solid part of the mantle = Lithosphere
Types of Lithosphere:
1. Oceanic Lithosphere
2. Continental Lithosphere
CRUST
MOHORIVICIC DISCONTINUITY
• Boundary between the crust and the mantle
• 5 – 10 km thick below the ocean floor
• Average of 20 – 90 km thick beyond
continents
• Discovered by a Croatian seismologist ,
Andrija Mohorivicic in 1909
Divided into:
1. Upper mantle or Asthenosphere
2. Lower mantle
MANTLE - ASTHENOSPHERE
• Soft, weaker layer
• Rocks are close enough to their
melting point that they are easily
deformed.
• Because of too much pressure
and heat the rocks can flow like
a liquid.
• Allows lithosphere to “float “ on top.
MANTLE – REPITTI DISCONTINUITY
• Transition zone between the upper
and lower mantle.
• Named after William C. Repitti,
investigated the boundary with
seismological method as part of his
Doctoral dissertation.
MANTLE
MESOSPHERE: LOWER MANTLE
• 56% of the earth’s total volume
• Roughly 66o km below earth’s surface.
• Magma circulation (source of magma)
GUTTENBURG DISCONTINUITY
• Boundary between the mantle and the
outer core
• Named after beno Guttenburg
• Reflects a change between a solid to
liquid phase and a change in composition
(seismic wave velocity discontinuity)
CORE
• Very hot, dense , center of he planet
• Accounts fo 1/6 of the earth’s volume
and 1/3 of its mass
• 2,900 km below the earth’s surface.
• Radius 3,485kms
• Density : 9.6 – 9.9 g/cm3
• Temperature : 4000 degrees Centigrade
and 7000 degrees Centigrade
Divided into
• outer core – solid
• Inner core - liquid
OUTER CORE
• About 2,200 km thick mostly composed of
liquid iron and nickel
• Very hot, between 4,500 degrees centigrade
and 5,500 degrees Centigrade.
• Very low viscosity, easily deformed and malleable
• Site of violent convection, which creates and
sustains earth’s magnetic field.
LEHMANN’S DISCONTINUITY
• Hottest part about 6000 degrees Centigrade – as
hot as the surface of the sun
• Boundary between the inner and outer core
• Discovered by Inage Lehmann through careful
measurement of seismic waves.
INNER CORE
• Hot, dense ball mostly of iron
• Radius is about 1,200km
• Temperature is about 5200 degrees centigrade
• Pressure is nearly 2.6 million atm
• Pressure and density are simply too great for the iron atoms to move into a
liquid state – solid state
• The lithosphere is divided into large plates called Tectonic Plates, that are
constantly moving
• Solid mass called Pangea then broke into smaller plates – individual
continents
• The major plates include the following
Pacific Plate
North American Plate
Eurasian Plate
African Plate
Antarctic Plate
Indo-Australian Plate
South American Plate
TECTONIC PLATES
• The place where tectonic plates meet are called boundaries.
• Movements of these place are made possible by the
thermal energy from the mantle part of the lithosphere
TYPES OF PLATE TECTONIC BOUNDARIES
• Convergent – where plates collide as in volcanoes and
mountains, earthquakes and tsunamis.
• Transform – where plates slide past one another;
earthquakes and tsunamis
• Divergent – where plates move away from each other,
• fissure, cracks, rifts and sea floor spreading.
 CONVERGENT BOUNDARIES
• Plates are moving towards one another.
• It has two phenomenon:
1. A zone called subduction zone, where the heavier plate dives under the
other pate.
 Pacific Ring of Fire – active ring of volcanoes encircling the Pacific Ocean.
2. Plate will be lifted up or folded forming mountains
Himalayas, Everest
• An increase in the under ground pressure results into earthquakes.
TRANSFORM BOUNDARIES
• Plates are sliding past each other in opposite directions resulting to a
crack called fault line.
• Friction of the two plates ------ build up of pressure----- released ------
earthquakes.
Ex. St. Andreas Fault System – kargest transform boundaries in the
world
Divergent Boundaries
• Plates are moving away from one another.
• Space between the plates widen resulting into a rift or crack.
Ex. East African Rift Valley
• If under the ocean: magma oozes up----- fills spaces ----- sea floor
spreading
Ex. Mid Atlantic Ridge
Mid Atlantic Ridge(Map) Sea Floor Spreading
• St. Andreas Fault
 CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY

• Proposed by Alfred Wegener in the 1990s.

• The continental land masses were “drifting” across the Earth, sometimes
plowing thru oceans and into each other. He called this theory as the
“Continental Drift Theory”.
• Wegener’s theory are the basis of the modern day Plate Tectonics Theory, which
states that:
The Earth’s outer layer mechanical layer, lithosphere is divided into large plates
that are constantly moving ( 1 – 2 inches per year)
Evidences of the Continental Drift Theory
1. Continents seemed to fit together.
Ex. West Coast of Africa ----- East Coast of
South America
2. Ancient fossils of the same species found
on rocks of the same age on separate
continents.
3. Identical rock types and ages found on
both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
4. Mountain ranges with identical rock type,
age and structure found in the opposite of
the Atlantic Ocean.
5. Grooves and rock deposits left by ancient
glaciers are found on different continents very close to the equator.
 MINERALS
• Naturally occurring , inorganic solid with a definite chemical
composition and an ordered internal
structure.
• Over 4000 minerals are known.
• Not always large crystals.
• Mineralogy is the study of crystals
and their properties.
MINERALS
General Characteristics:
1. Naturally occurring.
2. Inorganic – formed by inorganic processes.
3. Solid – Ice formed in the glaciers.
4. Definite chemical composition - should have exact chemical formula with the
elements and compounds in a specific ratios.
5. Ordered internal structure – organized in a regular repetitive geometric
structure.
COMPOSITION OF MINERALS

Minerals are classified according to their chemical composition:

• Silicates ---------- SiO4 2- ---------- rock forming minerals
• Oxides ---------- O2 ------------- Magnetite , Hematite
• Sulfides ---------- S2- -------------- Pyrite , Galena
•
•

Magnetite Hematite Pyrite Galena

Identification by Inspection – simple
observations made by just looking

• Color ------ most easily observed, but least useful.

• Luster ----- way a mineral shines
• Crystal System (shape) ----- shape of he crystal
COLOR
1. impurities change mineral’s color.
2. Minerals color are similar.
3. Colors change / react in air.
 Crystal Structure
Dependent on the mineral chemical composition.
Outer form of the minerals inner order.

• HH. Halite, Galena

• Chalcopyrite, Zircon
• Zircon,
• Quartz, Calcite

•
• Sulfur, Staurolyte

• Mica, Gypsum

Feldspar, Rhodonite
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS

• Fracture or Cleavage
 Fracture/ Cleavage
• Tendency of a minerals to break
along plates of weakness.
• Minerals break along flat surfaces,
some do not bcleave but they
break.
• Cleavage – if a mineral breaks or
splits apart with smooth surfaces in certain directions.
• Fracture – If a mineral breaks with
a rough or jagged surface.
HARDNESS – minerals resistance to being scratched
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS
Density - measured by specific gravity
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS

Acid Test
Weak acid will release bubbles of CO2
• Calcium carbonate fizzes in acid (HCl).
CLASSIFICATION OF ROCKS
1. IGNEOUS ROCKS – formed by cooling and solidification of magma
or lava
Types of Igneous Rocks:
a. Crystalline Igneous rocks
• Intrusive or Plutonic Rocks
• Extrusive or Volcanic Rocks
b. Pyroclastic Igneous Rocks
Crystalline Intrusive/ Plutonic Rocks
• Slowly cooled and solidified magma.
• Have large crystals because of slow cooling.
• Texture :
Phaneritic ( large granules)
Pegmatitic
• Longer cooling time, larger crystals.

Gabbro
Gabbro. Pegmatite. Graphite Diorite
Crystalline Extrusive / Volcanic
• Rapidly cooled and solidified lava.
• Has small or no crystals because of fast cooling.
• Texture
Aphanitic ( fine granules)
 Glassy
Vesicular
 Porphyritic



Basalt. Rhyolite. Pumice. Obsidian

Igneous Rocks
Based on Composition: identified through
color index
• Felsic – light colors
• Intermediate – equal parts of light and
dark colors
• Mafic/Ultramafic – dark colors
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
• Formed from the compaction
and cementation of
sediments and or biological
materials.
Types of Sedimentary Rocks:
1. Clastic Sedimentary Rocks
2. Chemical Sedimentary Rocks
3. Bioclastic Sedimentary Rocks
 SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
CLASTIC SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
• Formed through lithification of rock and mineral fragments.
Quartz
Feldspar
Clay

Breccia. Sandstone. Conglomerate. Shale

Clastic Sedimentary Rock)
• Based on Sizes
1. Clay (1/16mm)
2. Silt (1/16mm)
3. Sand (bet 1/16 & 2mm)
4. Gravel ( more than 2mm)
 SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

Chemical Sedimentary Rocks

Formed by precipitation out of solution
1. Dolomite
2. Calcite. Chert
3. Halite
4. Gypsum. Dolostone
Chcert

Calcite Gypsum
 SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

Bioclastic Sedimentary Rocks

Formed by the accumulation of organic material or biological activity
1. Plants
2. Corals
3. Shells
4. Fossils

LiL
Limestone Coal Peat
 CLASSIFICATION OF ROCKS
Metamorphic Rocks
Formed from the
exposure to
intense heat and
pressure.
1. Contact Metamorphism
2. Regional Metamorphism
Mostly composed of index
minerals
Metamorphic Rocks
Types of metamorphic Rocks

1. Foliated Metamorphic Rocks

2. Non – Foliated metamorphic Rocks
 Metamorphic Rocks
Foliated Metamorphic Rocks
Caused by regional Metamorphism.
Platy mineral alignment and banding
Ex. 1. Slaty
2. Phyllitic
3. Schistose
4. Gneissic
 METAMORPHIC ROCKS

Non Foliated Metamorphic Rocks

Caused by contact metamorphism
• Crystalline

Marble
ROCK CYCLE
Processes and Products of the Rock Cycle
WHAT IS A SOIL?
• Ii is a mixture of minerals, water, air
and organic matter and
countless organisms that
are decaying remains of of once –
living things.
• Forms the pedosphere – foundation of
terrestrial life on Earth.
“Pedon” – soil; “sfaira” - sphere
• Skin of the Earth.
SOIL FORMATION
• weathering may result from physical or chemical change.
• Soil formation maybe a slow or rapid process depending of different factors.
Factors affecting soil formation:
1. Composition of parent material.
2. Climate
3. topography
4. Biological factors
1. Parent material
Important in soil formation, chemistry and typr will determine the soil
formed.
a. Residual – parent material
is the bedrock.
b. Transported soil – parent
material has been
transported from
elsewhere and
deposited.
2. Climate
a. Temperature and precipitation
b. Indirect controls ( kinds of plants)
c. Weathering rates – greater rainfall
amount higher rate of weathering
and erosion.
3. Topography
• Ground slope and elevation
• Downslope transport of soil is a function of slope.
- the steeper the surface slope , the more likely any eroded material is
to be transported out of the system.
4. Biological factors
• Animals mix soils through burrowing.
• Plants aid in weathering process and stabilizes soil profile.
• Microorganisms aid in nutrient and chemical changes.
• Humans and other animals increase erosion.

5. Time
• Important in all geologic processes.
• The longer the soil has been forming , the thicker it becomes.
SOIL TE XTURE

• Refers to the proportions of different particles

sizes:
a. Sand ( .005 – 2nm) largest
b. Silt (.002 - .005)
c. Clay (less that .002)
d. Gravel / rock (more than 75)
e. Loam = ideal soil for agriculture

Soil Triangle determine soil type

based on particle size.
SOIL PROFILE
• Product of soil formation creating zones or soil horizons.
• Each horizon has distinct physical, chemical and biological
characteristics.
• Vary depending on the factors on soil formation
Soil Horizons represented by letters O,A,B, C and E.
There are three major
horizons:
1. A horizon
2. B horizon
3. C horizon
O – organic horizon
• Loose partly decayed organic matter.(humus)
A – surface horizon
• Mineral matter with dark organic humus (zone of leaching)
B – subsoil
• Accumulated clay and other nutrients above it.
• (Zone of salt accumulation)
C - Substratum
• Partially altered parent material.
E – significant loss of minerals (eluviation) and leaching
R – bedrock
• Rigolith
• Superficial material covering the bedrock
• Subsoil

BB
• ( zone of leaching)
 TYPES OF SOIL

1 Gelosols - frozen soils found in the coldest parts of the Earth.

2 Histosols – high organic content and no permafrost.
3 Spodosols – sandy and acidic soils found in moist climates.
4 Andisols – volcanic ash
5 Oxisols – very weathered and found on tropical climates
6 Vertisols - clay like soil that shrink and swell.
7 Aridisols – very dry soils in arid regions
8 Ultisols – weathered soils
9 Mollisols – deep and fertile soils.
10 Alfisols – moderately weathered productive soils found in temperate and humid
regions.
11 Inteptisols – slightly developed young soils found on steep slopes and mountain rages
12 Entisols – newly formed soils found in steep rocky lands
HUMAN IMPACT
1. Agriculture
 fertilizers, chemical fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides – soil contamination
2. Deforstation
Damaging quality of land
3. Overgrazing
Reduces the usefulness, productivity and biodiversity of the land.
4. Mining
Contaminates the water, the soil,increases erosion, massive sinkholes and
deforestation
HUMAN IMPACTS ON EARTH’S
LITHOSPHERE
1. Urbanization – reduce the beauty of nature
2. Oil Drilling – build up of pollutants
3. Desertification – loss of water and plant life
4. Dry land salinity – erosion and nutrient loss