The structure of the Earth Page 1 of 3

The structure of the Earth • The Rock Cycle

• Plate Tectonics
Imagine a Scotch egg...... • Earth Structure
• Earth Origin
1. The outer shell of the Earth is called the CRUST
(breadcrumbs) • Volcanoes
2. The next layer is called the MANTLE • Earth's Atmosphere
(sausagemeat)
• Fossil Fuels
3. The next layer is the liquid OUTER CORE (egg
white) • Polymers
4. The middle bit is called the solid INNER CORE • home
(egg yolk)
Moorland School
Clitheroe,
DEAD EASY !
Lancashire
BB7 2AJ
The deepest anyone has drilled into the earth is around 12 England
kilometres, we've only scratched the surface. How do we email
know what's going on deep underground?
There are lots of clues:

 The overall density of the Earth is much higher than the density of the rocks we find in
the crust. This tells us that the inside must be made of something much denser than
rock.
 Meteorites (created at the same time as the Earth, 4.6 billion years ago) have been
analysed. The commonest type is called a chondrite and they contain iron, silicon,
magnesium and oxygen (Others contain iron and nickel). A meteorite has roughly the
same density as the whole earth. A meteorite minus its iron has a density roughly the
same as Mantle rock (e.g. the mineral called olivine).
 Iron and Nickel are both dense and magnetic.
 Scientists can follow the path of seismic waves from earthquakes as they travel
through the Earth. The inner core of the Earth appears to be solid whilst the outer
core is liquid (s waves do not travel through liquids). The mantle is mainly solid as it is
under extreme pressure (see below). We know that the mantle rocks are under
extreme pressure, diamond is made from carbon deposits and is created in rocks that
come from depths of 150-300 kilometres that have been squeezed under massive
pressures.
The Earth is sphere (as is the scotch egg!) with a diameter of about
12,700Kilometres. As we go deeper and deeper into the earth the temperature and
pressure rises. The core temperature is believed to be an incredible 5000-6000°c.
The crust is very thin (average 20Km). This does not sound very thin but if you were
to imagine the Earth as a football, the crust would be about ½millimetre thick. The
thinnest parts are under the oceans (OCEANIC CRUST) and go to a depth of roughly
10 kilometres. The thickest parts are the continents (CONTINENTAL CRUST) which
extend down to 35 kilometres on average. The continental crust in the Himalayas is
some 75 kilometres deep.
The mantle is the layer beneath the crust which extends about half way to the
centre. It's made of solid rock and behaves like an extremely viscous liquid - (This is
the tricky bit... the mantle is a solid which flows????) The convection of heat from
the centre of the Earth is what ultimately drives the movement of the tectonic plates
and cause mountains to rise. Click here for more details
The outer core is the layer beneath the mantle. It is made of liquid iron and nickel.
Complex convection currents give rise to a dynamo effect which is responsible for
the Earth's magnetic field.

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The inner core is the bit in the middle!. It is made of solid iron and nickel.
Temperatures in the core are thought to be in the region of 5000-6000°c and it's
solid due to the massive pressure.

THAT'S ALL WE REALLY NEED TO KNOW!

(If you haven't seen a solid that flows then go back here and have a look)

EARTH STRUCTURE TEST

HERE IS SOME EXTRA STUFF (IN A LOT MORE DETAIL THAN WE NEED FOR GCSE):

This diagram shows a detailed

picture of the Earth's interior.
Crust is being created at the mid
ocean ridges and being eaten at
the subduction zones. The
movement processes are driven by
the convection currents created by
the heat produced by natural
radioactive processes deep within
the Earth.

Inner core: depth of 5,150-6,370 kilometres

The inner core is made of solid iron and nickel and is unattached to the mantle,
in the molten outer core. It is believed to have solidified as a result of pressure
which occurs to most liquids under extreme pressure.

Outer core: depth of 2,890-5,150 kilometres

The outer core is a hot, electrically conducting liquid (mainly Iron and Nickel). This
conductive layer combines with Earth's rotation to create a dynamo effect that maintains a
system of electrical currents creating the Earth's magnetic field. It is also responsible for the
subtle jerking of Earth's rotation. This layer is not as dense as pure molten iron, which
indicates the presence of lighter elements. Scientists suspect that about 10% of the layer is
composed of sulphur and oxygen because these elements are abundant in the cosmos and
dissolve readily in molten iron.

D" layer: depth of 2,700-2,890 kilometres

This layer is 200 to 300 kilometres thick. Although it is often identified as part of the lower
mantle, seismic evidence suggests the D" layer might differ chemically from the lower
mantle lying above it. Scientists think that the material either dissolved in the core, or was
able to sink through the mantle but not into the core because of its density.

Lower mantle: depth of 650-2,890 kilometres

The lower mantle is probably composed mainly of silicon, magnesium, and oxygen. It
probably also contains some iron, calcium, and aluminium. Scientists make these deductions
by assuming the Earth has a similar abundance and proportion of cosmic elements as found
in the Sun and primitive meteorites.

Transition region: depth of 400-650 kilometres

The transition region or mesosphere (for middle mantle), sometimes called the fertile layer
and is the source of basaltic magmas. It also contains calcium, aluminium, and garnet,
which is a complex aluminium-bearing silicate mineral. This layer is dense when cold
because of the garnet. It is buoyant when hot because these minerals melt easily to form
basalt which can then rise through the upper layers as magma.

Upper mantle: depth of 10-400 kilometres

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Solid fragments of the upper mantle have been found in eroded mountain belts and volcanic
eruptions. Olivine (Mg,Fe)2SiO4 and pyroxene (Mg,Fe)SiO3 have been found. These and
other minerals are crystalline at high temperatures. Part of the upper mantle called the
asthenosphere might be partially molten.

Oceanic crust: depth of 0-10 kilometres

The majority of the Earth's crust was made through volcanic activity. The oceanic ridge
system, a 40,000 kilometre network of volcanoes, generates new oceanic crust at the rate
of 17 km3 per year, covering the ocean floor with an igneous rock called basalt. Hawaii and
Iceland are two examples of the accumulation of basalt islands.

Continental crust: depth of 0-75 kilometres

This is the outer part of the Earth composed essentially of crystalline rocks. These are low-
density buoyant minerals dominated mostly by quartz (SiO2) and feldspars (metal-poor
silicates). The crust is the surface of the Earth. Because cold rocks deform slowly, we refer
to this rigid outer shell as the lithosphere (the rocky or strong layer).

Back to the Earth Science zone

file://F:\Net files\The structure of the Earth.htm 3/23/2007