ST01502 Earth Science (Sains Bumi)
ST01502 Earth Science (Sains Bumi)
ST01502 Earth Science (Sains Bumi)
EARTH SCIENCE
(SAINS BUMI)
THE EARTH
*ZI – DR ZULHERRY ISNAIN
*MAY : MR MOHAMED ALI YUSOF MOHD HUSIN
• This is because most of the mass of the Earth occurs within the
mantle which is composed largely of the ferromagnesium silicate
minerals olivine and pyroxenes.
• the solid earth composed principally of rock at and below the Earth surface.
• Consists of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks
– Igneous - formed by cooling of magma
– Sedimentary - formed by consolidation of loose sediment or by chemical
precipitation from water
– Metamorphic - igneous or sedimentary rocks that have been subjected to
high temperature and/or pressure
The Earth's Internal Structure
• Evidence from seismology tells us that the Earth
has a layered structure.
• Seismic waves generated by earthquakes travel
through the Earth with velocities that depend on the
type of wave and the physical properties of the
material through which the waves travel.
▪ Surface waves differ from body waves in that they do not travel
through the Earth, but instead travel along paths nearly
parallel to the surface of the Earth.
▪ Surface waves behave like S-waves in that they cause up and
down and side to side movement as they pass, but they travel
slower than S-waves and do not travel through the body of the
Earth.
▪ Thus they can give us information about the properties of rocks
near the surface, but not about the properties of the Earth deep
in the interior.
▪ Once we know the seismic wave velocities throughout the Earth,
then we can perform experiments on different possible materials
and make estimates of what the chemical composition. Thus,
we can also divide the Earth into layers of differing chemical
composition
This table of depths, densities, and composition is derived mostly from information in a textbook by
Don L. Anderson (see Suggested Reading). Scientists are continuing to refine the chemical and
mineral composition of the Earth's interior by laboratory experiments, by using pressures 2 million
times the pressure of the atmosphere at the surface and temperatures as high as 20000 C.
The Crust
• The crust makes up only 0.5 % of the Earth's total mass
• Can be subdivided into two main parts, continental and oceanic.
• Both differ in thickness, density and composition.
• The oceanic crust covers approximately 61 % of the Earth's
surface, but only comprises some 30 % of the crustal mass,
• The continental crust is much thicker, up to 70 km.
• Because the crust is accessible to us, its geology has been
extensively studied, and therefore much more information is
known about its structure and composition compare to the mantle
and core.
• Within the crust, intricate patterns are created when rocks are
redistributed and deposited in layers through the geologic
processes of eruption and intrusion of lava, erosion, and
consolidation of rock particles, and solidification and
recrystallization of porous rock.
The Mantle
• As seismic velocity change through the mantle, we can subdivide it into an
upper mantle, transition zone, and lower mantle.
• There is also a zone in the upper mantle that we call the low velocity
zone (located at depths of 70 km to 250 km) where S-wave speeds
decrease rapidly to a minimum and then gradually increase again.
• We believe that most magmas (molten rock) are generated in this zone.
– Upper mantle (measured from the base of the crust down to 400 km).
10 % of the Earth's total mass.
• Density of 3.25 gm/cm3 to 3.40 gm/cm3
• Composition:
– Peridotite (e.g. olivine + pyroxene) along with plagioclase (< 30
km depth),
– spinel (30 km - 70 km depth) and garnet (> 70 km depth).
• In tectonically active regions, eclogite (amphibole + garnet) is a
major component.
• Although it is thought that almost all basalts are derived from the
upper mantle, experiments have shown that their compositions
cannot be formed by the partial melting of peridotite alone.
• The upper mantle therefore is probably composed of two main
zones: an upper peridotite zone and an underlying primitive
mantle or pyrolite zone composed of pyroxene, olivine, and/or
garnet and/or plagioclase, where basaltic magmas are generated.
– Transition zone (400 km - 1000 km below the Earth's surface). 17 % of the
Earth's total mass.
• The top of the transition zone is marked by the phase transformation of
normal olivine to a proto-spinel structure polymorph of olivine which is a
higher pressure phase and is 9 % denser than normal olivine and by the
phase transformation of normal pyroxene to a garnet-structure polymorph of
pyroxene.
• Within the transition zone itself, there are a number of irregular seismic
velocity changes including a major one at 680 km which is marked by the
breakdown of olivine into its constituent oxide components of periclase
(MgO) and stishovite (SiO2).
• Also, garnet is broken-down to its component oxides from 680 km - 1000
km.
– Lower mantle (1000 km - 2900 km below the Earth's surface). 41 % of the
Earth's total mass.
• The lower mantle is a region of relatively low seismic velocity gradients.
• It most likely consists of mixed oxides of pyrolite composition but with an
increased iron content.
Core
• The core was the first internal structural element to be identified by R.D. Oldham in
1906 from his study of earthquake records, and it helped to explain Newton's
calculation of the Earth's density.
• The outer core is presumed to be liquid because it does not transmit shear (S)
waves and because the velocity of compressional (P) waves that pass through it is
sharply reduced.
• The inner core is considered to be solid because of the behavior of P and S waves
passing through it.
• The earthquake waves paths curve because the different rock types found at
different depths change the speed at which the waves travel.
• Solid lines marked P are compressional waves; dashed lines marked S are shear
waves. S waves do not travel through the core but may be converted to
compressional waves (marked K) on entering the core (PKP, SKS).
• Waves may be reflected at the surface (PP, PPP, SS).
• The core is presumed to be composed principally of iron, with about 10 percent alloy
of oxygen or sulfur or nickel, or perhaps some combination of these three elements.
• Outer core (2900 km - 5000 km below the Earth's surface). 30 % of the Earth's total
mass.
• Inner core (5000 km - 6370 km below the Earth's surface). 2 % of the Earth's total
mass.