Universe

ScoreB
Byetter.in
Sunny Verma
● The Universe is all existing matter &
space.
● The Universe consists of both physical
(subatomic particles like electrons,
protons to galactic superclusters) and
non-physical (light, gravitation, space
etc.) components.
● Most cosmologists believe that the universe was
born about 13.8 billion years ago in an event called
as Big Bang (a gigantic explosion that caused matter
to expand in all directions to form galaxies, stars,
etc.)
● The universe, at present, is said to possess about
100 billion galaxies, each comprising an average of
100 billion stars.
● In comparison, Milky Way Galaxy is believed to
possess 100 billion to 400 billion stars.
The Big Bang Theory

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● The Big Bang theory is the prevailing
cosmological model for the birth of the
universe.
● It states that at some moment all of space
was contained in a single point of very
high-density and high-temperature state
from which the universe has been
expanding in all directions ever since.
Edwin Hubble
Hubble provided evidence that the recessional velocity of a
galaxy increases with its distance from the Earth, a property
now known as "Hubble's law", despite the fact that it had
been both proposed and demonstrated observationally two
years earlier by Georges Lemaître.The Hubble–Lemaître
law implies that the universe is expanding. A decade before,
the American astronomer Vesto Slipher had provided the
first evidence that the light from many of these nebulae was
strongly red-shifted, indicative of high recession velocities.
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● Modern measurements place this moment at approximately
13.8 billion years ago.
● The majority of atoms produced by the Big Bang were
hydrogen and helium along with trace amounts of lithium
and beryllium.
● Giant clouds of these primordial elements (hydrogen and
helium) later coalesced through gravity to form stars and
galaxies.
● According to this theory, the universe, ever since its birth, is
expanding in all directions.
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AU & Light year
● Light travels through vacuum at the speed of
…299,792.458 km per second.
● If a Calendar Year i.e. the Time of the Earth's
Completion of One Annual Trip around the Sun on her
Orbit and that duration is about 365.25 days
(approximately), then we can convert the Year into
Seconds… or
● 365.25 x 24 x 60 x 60 and multiply by 299,792.458 km,
or into Miles multiplying by 186,000 Instead of km).
This figure roughy works out to …
● 9.46 trillion kms or 6 trillion miles
or 63271.5 Astronomical Units
(A.U).
● A.U is the Distance between the
Earth and the Sun i.e.149.66 mn
km).
Galaxies
A galaxy is a vast collection of stars, gas, dust, and
dark matter that forms a cohesive gravitational unit in
the universe. In a way, galaxies are to the universe
what cells are to the human body: each galaxy has
its own identity, and it ages and evolves on its own,
but it also interacts with other galaxies in the
cosmos. Within the observable universe alone, there
exist an estimated 50 to 100 billion galaxies.
 Type of Galaxies
Galaxies are of various kinds mainly divided into four
types viz. elliptical, normal spirals, barred spirals
and irregular. Further, an irregular galaxy is a galaxy
that does not fit well into the standard categories of
elliptical, spiral, or barred spiral galaxies. Two examples
of irregular galaxies are the Large Magellanic Cloud
and Small Magellanic Cloud, which are visible from
Earth’s southern hemisphere.
● Galaxies range greatly in size and mass. The
smallest galaxies contain perhaps 10 to 100
million stars, whereas the largest galaxies contain
trillions of stars.
● The Large Magellanic Cloud, a galaxy that orbits
the Milky Way, is considered a large dwarf galaxy;
it contains, at most, about one billion stars.
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Group of Galaxies Group of Galaxies contains two
or more galaxies of bigger size and a dozen or
more smaller galaxies. The Milky Way and
Andromeda galaxies are the two large galaxies in
the Local Group. There are a few dozen smaller
galaxies in the group, including the Magellanic
Clouds, the dwarf elliptical Messier 32, the small
spiral galaxy Messier 33, and many small dwarf
galaxies.
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Basic Features of Milkyway
● Earth orbits the Sun, which is situated in the Orion Arm, one of
the Milky Way’s spiral arms. Earth and the Sun are about 25,000
light-years away from the galactic center. The Stellar disk of the
Milky Way is about 100,000 light-years across and 1,000
light-years thick.
● Within the local group, three largest galaxies viz. Milky Way,
Andromeda and Triangulum have their own system of satellite
small galaxies and clouds. For example, the satellite galaxies of
Milky way include Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy, Large Magellanic
Cloud, Small Magellanic Cloud, Canis Major Dwarf, Ursa Minor
Dwarf etc. Some of those galaxies, such as the Sagittarius dwarf
galaxy, are almost in physical contact with the Milky Way’s
outskirts.
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 Nebular Hypothesis:
● (Initial arguments were given by German philosopher
Immanuel Kant Mathematician Laplace revised it in 1796).
● The hypothesis considered that the planets were formed out
of a cloud of material associated with a youthful sun, which
was slowly rotating.
● A nebula is a cloud or collection of interstellar medium in one
location in space. When the free electrons recombine with
the free nuclei to become atoms again, the gas gives off light
of specific colors. What colors they emit depends on the
temperature, density, and composition of the gas. For
example the Orion Nebula glows mostly green and red.
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 Nebula
● A nebula is a cloud or collection of interstellar
medium in one location in space. Nebulae are
produced in different ways. For instance, they
can be gathered together by gravity, dispersed
by stars, or lit up by a powerful radiation source
nearby.
● When the free electrons recombine with the free
nuclei to become atoms again, the gas gives off
light of specific colors.
Stars
● A star is a mass of incandescent gas that produces energy
at its core by nuclear fusion. Most of the visible light in the
universe is produced by stars.
● The Sun is also a star. Stars shine because nuclear fusion
occurs in their core.
● Nuclear fusion changes lighter elements into heavier ones
and can release tremendous amounts of energy in the
process.
● Stars are mostly comprised plasma {gas that is electrically
charged}.
● A person with good eyesight can see about 2,000 stars on
any given night with naked eye.
Basic Facts About Stars
● A constellation is much more complicated
asterism, containing more stars or larger
areas of the sky. Constellations are mostly
named after mythological gods, legendary
heroes, creatures, or structures.
● The constellations encompass the entire
celestial sphere and provide a visual
reference frame
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● All stars have layers like a core, radiative zone, convective
zone, photosphere, chromosphere, and corona, but in
different ratios of thickness depending on the star’s
temperature, mass, and age.
● The Sun is the closest star to Earth. It is average 93 million
miles / 149.6 million km away from Earth.
● The closest star system to Earth is Alpha Centauri.
● Nearest start in this system isProxima Centauri.
● Proxima centaury is although closest star to Earth after
sun, yet it is very faint.
● The brightest star as seen from Earth is Sirius or Dog Star,
which is in a different constellation called Canis Major.
● It is 8.58 light years away from Earth.
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Stellar Evolution
● Stellar evolution is a complicated process. All stars go through the
continuous change and their life cycle is made of immature stage,
mature stage and final changes towards end of their lives.
● Stars pass through a definite evolutionary sequence, which can be
broadly divided into three parts viz. Pre-main sequence, Main
sequence and Post-main sequence stages.
● A star which is currently in its main mature period of its life cycle is
called Main Sequence Star. Main sequence stars convert hydrogen
into helium and are in an equilibrium state.
● The stars which are not yet in the main sequence are called
pre-main sequence or infant stars. The stars which have already
lived their main sequence life are called post-main sequence or
elderly stars
Pre-main sequence phases

● When it collapses, the molecular cloud breaks into smaller

fragments releasing gravitational potential energy as heat. Its
temperature and pressure increases and one of the fragments
condenses into a rotating sphere of superhot gas to be known as
Protostar.
● A Protostar is a highly condensed cloud of gases, mainly
hydrogen and helium. It continues to grow by accretion of gas
and dust from the molecular cloud. However, its further
development depends upon its mass. If it is of low mass, it
would turn into a brown dwarf, while if it is high mass, it would
further evolve into main sequence star.
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● A giant star phase ends in white dwarfs, nova or super
nova depending upon mass and some other factors.
● S. Chandrasekhar had proposed that only stars that
have a certain mass limit would end their life as white
dwarfs.
● He proposed that a star with mass above about 1.4
solar masses would collapse beyond the white dwarf
stage and turn into something far denser and more
compact.
● This upper mass limit is today called the
Chandrasekhar limit.
● The solar mass (M☉) is a standard unit of
mass in astronomy, equal to approximately
2×1030 kg.
● It is often used to indicate the masses of other
stars, as well as stellar clusters, nebulae,
galaxies and black holes. It is approximately
equal to the mass of the Sun.
● The solar mass is about 333000 times the
mass of Earth (MEarth), or 1047 times the mass
of Jupiter (MJ).
Composition of Sun
● The Sun’s mass is composed of 71 percent hydrogen, 27
percent helium, and 2 percent other elements.
● In terms of the number of atoms in the Sun, 91 percent are
hydrogen atoms, 9 percent are helium atoms, and less
than 0.1 percent are atoms of other elements. Most of the
stars in the universe have a similar chemical composition.
● The Sun has a mass of 1.99 million trillion trillion kilograms.
The most massive supergiant stars have about one
hundred times more mass than the Sun.
● The least massive dwarf stars and brown dwarfs contain
about one-hundredth the mass of the Sun.
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Inner Planets/ Terrestrial Planets
● The planets that are collectively thought of as
belonging to the inner solar system are Mercury,
Venus, Earth, and Mars.
● These four objects are called the terrestrial planets
because they resemble one another (specifically,
Earth) in their structure: a metallic core, surrounded by
a rocky mantle and thin crust.
● There are three moons in the terrestrial zone as well:
Earth’s moon, and the two moons of Mars: Phobos
and Deimos.
Outer Planets / Gas Giants
● Gas giant planets are so named because they are much
larger than the terrestrial planets and they have
atmospheres so thick that the gas is a dominant part of the
planets’ structure. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are
all categorized as gas giants.
● The gas giant zone is the part of the solar system roughly
between the orbit of Jupiter and the orbit of Pluto. It contains
the outer (gas giant) planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and
Neptune.
● Each of the gas giant planets has a host of moons and rings
or ringlets.
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Important Facts About Planets
Mercury
● At 58 million kilometers distance, Mercury is closest planet to
Sun.
● Mercury takes 88 Earth days to complete one revolution around
sun, however, it takes 59 Earth days to complete one rotation.
● Mercury’s very thin atmosphere is made primarily of sodium,
potassium, helium, and hydrogen. On its day side (the side
facing the Sun), temperatures reach 430°C ; on its night side, the
heat escapes through the negligible atmosphere, and
temperatures plunge to -170°C.
● NASA’s Mercury-orbiting probe, Messenger, has confirmed a vast
amount of ice at the north pole on Mercury, the closest planet to
the Sun.
Venus
● Venus is similar to Earth in many ways and is closer in distance to Earth than
any other planet, and it has a similar size and composition.
● Venus rotates on its polar axis backwards compared to Earth, so a Venus
sunrise occurs in the west and sunset in the east.
● Venus is blanketed by a thick atmosphere nearly 100 times denser than Earth;
it is made mostly of carbon dioxide, along with some nitrogen and trace
amounts of water vapor, acids and heavy metals. No terrestrial life is possible
on Venus.
● Venus’s clouds are laced with poisonous sulphur dioxide, and its surface
temperature is 500°C. Interestingly, this is even hotter than Mercury, which is
much closer to the Sun.These hostile conditions are because of a runaway
greenhouse effect on Venus.
● Since Venus is closer to the Sun than Earth, it is never up in the sky at
midnight. Rather, Venus is visible in the sky either just after dark or just before
sunrise, depending on the season, so it is called Morning or Evening Star
Mars
● Mars is known as the red planet because it looks red from
Earth. The reddish color comes from the high concentration of
iron oxide compounds—that is, rust—in the rocks of the
Martian surface.
● Martian year is of 687 days and Martian day is 24h 37m.
Martian atmosphere is very thin—only about 7000th the
density of Earth’s atmosphere.
● The atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide, with tiny fractions of
oxygen, nitrogen, and other gases.
● Moons of Mars are Phobos and Deimos which are irregularly
shaped rocky objects. They look very much like asteroids.
Jupiter
● Jupiter is the largest planet in solar system, twice as massive
as all the other planets, moons and asteroids in solar system
put together.
● More than 90 percent of Jupiter’s mass consists of swirling
gases, mostly hydrogen and helium; in this incredibly thick,
dense atmosphere,storms of incredible magnitude rage and
swirl.
● The largest of these storms is the Great Red Spot, which is
often visible from Earth through even a small telescope. A day
on Jupiter is only 9 hours 56 minutes which makes it fastest
rotating planet / body in solar system. Jupiter is 1,300 times
Earth’s volume and 320 times Earth’s mass.
● As of now , there are 79 known moons of
Jupiter; may of which are only a few miles
across. However, four of them—Io, Europa,
Ganymede, and Callisto—are about the size
of Earth’s Moon or larger.
● Jupiter is the archetypal gas giant
planet—so much so that gas giants are
often called Jovian planets. Ganymede is
the largest moon in the solar system.
Saturn
● Saturn is similar to Jupiter, although about one-third the
mass. A day on Saturn is only 10 hours and 39 minutes
long; it spins so fast that its diameter at the equator is 10
percent larger than its diameter from pole to pole. However,
its day is longer than that of Jupiter.
● Saturn has 62 confirmed moons, and its largest moon is
Titan, which is larger than Earth’s own moon and has a
thick, opaque atmosphere.
● Titan is largest moon of Saturn and perhaps the most
complex moon in the entire solar system. This is the only
moon in solar system with a dense atmosphere.
Uranus
● Uranus is the seventh major planet in our solar system,
and the third of four gas giant planets. It is 51,200
kilometers in diameter, just under four times the diameter
of Earth.
● Like the other gas giant planets, Uranus consists mostly
of gas. Its pale blue-green, cloudy atmosphere is made
of 83 percent hydrogen, 15 percent helium, and small
amounts of methane and other gases.
● Uranus is orbited by some 27 known moons and several
thin rings.
Neptune
● Neptune is the eighth major planet in our solar system, 17 times
more massive than Earth and about four times its diameter. The
most remote of the four gas giant planets in our solar system,
Neptune takes 165 Earth years to orbit the Sun once.
● Similar to Uranus, Neptune’s cloud-top temperature is a frosty
–210°C Neptune is bluish-green in color, which might seem fitting
for a planet named after the Roman god of the sea.
● However, the color does not come from water; it is due to the gases
in Neptune’s atmosphere reflecting sunlight back into space.
● Neptune’s atmosphere consists mostly of hydrogen, helium, and
methane. Below the atmosphere, scientists think there is a thick
layer of ionized water, ammonia, and methane ice, and deeper yet
is a rocky core many times the mass of Earth.
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Kuiper Belt
● Kuiper Belt or the Kuiper-Edgeworth Belt is a
doughnut-shaped region that extends between about three
to eight billion miles (5 to 12 billion kilometers) out from the
Sun (its inner edge is about at the orbit of Neptune, while its
outer edge is about twice that diameter).
● Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) are objects that originate from or
orbit in the Kuiper Belt.Only one KBO was known for more
than 60 years: Pluto. Largest KBOs in solar system:
(Diameter: km)- Eris(2300-2400) Pluto(2,306) Sedna (1,500)
Quaoar(1,260) Charon(1,210) Orcus (940) Varuna(890)
Ixion(820) Chaos(560) Huya(500)
Asteroids
● Asteroids are relatively small, primarily rocky or
metallic chunks of matter that orbit the Sun.
● They are like planets, but much smaller; the largest
asteroid, Ceres, is only about 930 kilometers across,
and only ten asteroids larger than 250 kilometers
across are known to exist in the solar system.
● While most asteroids are made mostly of carbon-rich
rock, some are made at least partially of iron and
nickel.
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● The four largest asteroids are the dwarf planet
Ceres, Pallas, Vesta, and Hygiea.
● Other wellknown asteroids include Eros, Gaspra,
Ida, and Dactyl.

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Meteorite and meteors
● A meteorite is a large particle from outer space that lands on Earth.
A meteor is an object from outer space that enters Earth’s
atmosphere, but does not land on Earth.
● Instead, the particle burns up in the atmosphere, leaving a
short-lived, glowing trail that traces part of its path through the sky. If
a meteor is large enough to reach Earth, we call it a meteorite.
● Most meteors, especially those that fall during meteor showers, are
the tiny remnants of comets left in Earth’s orbital path over many,
many years.
● Most meteorites, which are generally larger than meteors, are pieces
of asteroids and comets that somehow came apart from their parent
bodies—perhaps from a collision with another body—and orbited in
the solar system until they collided with Earth.
Motions of Earth , Seasons and Eclipse
● There are four kinds of Earth’s motions as follows: Earth’s rotation on its
axis Earth’s precession movement which is very much similar to a
spinning top.
● Earth revolution around the Sun Earth along with the entire solar system
moves around the center of the Milky way Galaxy.
Sidereal Day
● The spinning of the earth on its polar axis is in fact takes 23 hours, 56
minutes and 4.09 seconds for rotation through the 360 degree. This is
called sidereal day.
● During the time needed by the Earth to complete a rotation around its axis
(a sidereal day), the Earth moves a short distance (approximately 1°) along
its orbit around the sun.
● So, after a sidereal day, the Earth still needs to rotate a small additional
angular distance before the sun reaches its highest point. A solar day is,
therefore, nearly 4 minutes longer than a sidereal day.
Earth’s Revolution
● The orbit of the Earth is the motion of the
Earth around the Sun every 365.242199 mean
solar days. The orbital speed of Earth around
the Sun averages about 30 kilometre per
second or 108,000 kilometers per hour.

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Solstice
The solstice refers to the events when the Sun’s apparent position in sky reaches
its northernmost or southernmost extremes.

Solstice happens twice a year, and twice a year happen the equinoxes.
Altogether, the four are considered to start 4 seasons.

At the time of northern solstice, sun is perceived to be directly overhead the

23.44° north known as Tropic of Cancer.

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● The Northern solstice happens at 20-21 June and Southern solstice
happens at 20-22 December. At Northern solstice, the places which
are located at Arctic circle, posited at latitude 66.56° north will see the
Sun just on the horizon during midnight.
● And all the places north of Arctic Circle will see Sun above horizon for
24 hours. This is called Midnight Sun or a Polar Day. At Northern
solstice which are located at Antarctic circle, posited at latitude 66.56°
south will see the Sun just on the horizon during midday.
● And all the places south of Antarctic Circle will NOT see at anytime of
the day. This is called Polar Night. At Southern solstice, Polar day
occurs at Southern Pole and Polar Night occurs at Northern Pole.

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Perihelion and Aphelion

● Earth travels 939,886,400 kms along its elliptical orbit in a single

revolution. The average distance is 150 million kms, but the orbit is
elliptical and there is the difference if 2.5 million kms.
● Perihelion is the point when Earth is closest to Sun and it occurs
around 3rd January. The distance is 147.5 million kms.
● Aphelion is the point when Earth is farthest from the Sun and it occurs
on July 4. The distance is 152.5 million Kms, Perihelion: On around
January 3rd, Earth is closest to sun and distance is around 147.5
million Kilometers. This is called Perihelion. Aphelion: On about July
4th earth is Farthest from Sun and this is called Aphelion.
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 Earth Structure
● Earth is located in the Solar System, which is located in the Orion
(or local) arm of Milky Way Galaxy, which is a part of Virgo Super
cluster.
● a part of the Milky Way Galaxy, the Earth is accelerating outward
toward the outer regions of the universe. The Earth and the other
members of the solar system are orbiting the galaxy at about 225
kilometers per hour.
● Earth is third planet from the Sun and Fifth largest planet. It is
largest among the Solar System’s four terrestrial planets (Mercury,
Venus, Earth, and Mars). Earth is also the densest planet of the
solar system.
Sources of earth’s heat

Radioactive decay
● The high temperature below the crust is attributed to the disintegration of the
radioactive substances.
● The nuclear decay happens primarily in the crust and the mantle.
● Scientists believe that uranium could become sufficiently concentrated at the
base of Earth’s mantle to ignite self-sustained nuclear fission, as in a
human-made reactor.
● The new measurements suggest radioactive decay provides more than half of
Earth’s total heat.
Nuclear fusion doesn’t occur inside the earth. For nuclear fusion to occur there must
be far more pressure and temperature inside the earth. The earth is not massive
enough to cause such conditions.
Primordial heat
● The rest is the heat left over from Earth’s formation known as the primordial heat.
● Primordial heat is the kinetic energy transferred to Earth by external impacts of comets
and meteorites and the subsequent effects (friction caused by sinking of heavy elements
like Fe, rising light elements like Si) and latent heat of crystallisation released as the core
solidified.
Tidal friction
● The ocean tides are not the only effect of tidal forces (gravitational influence of the moon
and the sun on earth; tides are explained in oceanography). The solid body of the Earth
also bulges slightly in this way.
● The daily flexing of the Earth (both solid body and the oceans) cause loss of energy of the
Earth’s rotation, due to friction.
● This energy goes into heat, leading to miniscule increase in the Earth’s internal
temperature.
● The loss of rotational energy means that the Earth is slowing down in its rotation rate,
currently by about 0.002 seconds per century.
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What is Atmosphere?

The envelope of gases

surrounding the earth is called
the atmosphere. It forms a
protective boundary between
the outer space and the
biosphere. It is a mixture of gases
that is odorless, colorless,
tasteless and formless mixed and
blended so thoroughly that it
acts as a single gas. ScoreBetter.in
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The atmosphere is a significant component of
the biospheric ecosystem because life on the
earth’s surface is because of this atmosphere
otherwise the earth would have become barren
like the moon.

The atmosphere contains living gases like

oxygen for man and animal and carbon dioxide
for plants(important for survival).

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It protects the earth
from the harmful
radiation from the sun.
It acts as a greenhouse
by allowing short-wave
radiation (from Sun)
and trapping
long-wave terrestrial
radiation (from Earth’s
surface).
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Composition of the atmosphere
The atmosphere is composed of –
● Gases
● Vapour
● Particulates

The atmosphere is a mixture of many gases. In

addition, it contains huge numbers of solid and
liquid particles, collectively called aerosols.
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● Nitrogen and oxygen make up nearly
99% of the clean, dry air. The
remaining gases are mostly inert and
constitute about 1% of the atmosphere.
● Oxygen, although constituting only 21%
of the total volume of the atmosphere,
is the most important component
among gases. All living organisms
inhale oxygen. Besides, oxygen can
combine with other elements to form
important compounds, such as oxides.
Also, combustion is not possible
without oxygen.
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Nitrogen accounts for 78% of
total atmospheric volume. It
is a relatively inert gas and is
an important constituent of
all organic compounds. The
main function of nitrogen is
to control combustion by
diluting oxygen. It also
indirectly helps in the
oxidation of different kinds.
● Carbon Dioxide which constitutes only about 0.038%
of the dry air and is a product of combustion. Green
plants, through photosynthesis, absorb carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere and use it to
manufacture food and keep other biophysical
processes going.
○ Being an efficient absorber of heat, carbon dioxide
is considered to be of great climatic significance.
Carbon dioxide is considered to be a very
important factor in the heat energy budget.
○ With the increased burning of fossil fuels – oil,
coal, and natural gas – the carbon dioxide
percentage in the atmosphere has been
increasing at an alarming rate.
○ More carbon dioxide in the atmosphere means
more heat absorption. This could significantly
raise the temperature at lower levels of the
atmosphere thus inducing drastic climatic
changes.
○ Carbon dioxide and water vapour are found
only up to 90 km from the surface of the
earth.
● Ozone (03) is another important gas in the atmosphere, which
is actually a type of oxygen molecule consisting of three,
instead of two, atoms. It forms less than 0.00006% by volume of
the atmosphere and is unevenly distributed. It is between 20
km and 25 km altitude that the greatest concentrations of
ozone are found. It is formed at higher altitudes and
transported downwards.
○ Ozone plays a crucial role in blocking the harmful
ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
○ Other gases found in almost negligible quantities in the
atmosphere are neon, helium, hydrogen, xenon, krypton,
methane, etc.
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Structure of the Atmosphere
The atmosphere can be divided into different layers
according to composition, density, pressure, and
temperature variations.
Based on Composition:

According to its composition, broadly it is divided into

two layers-
1. homosphere ScoreBetter.in
2. heterosphere
In the Homosphere, there are three regions: The
Troposphere, the Stratosphere, and the Mesosphere.
Although the composition of air is the same throughout
these three regions, the concentration of air decreases
significantly with increasing altitude.
● The Troposphere is the earth’s weather layer. It
contains nearly all weather conditions. As you go up in
altitude the temperature goes down. It is the
bottom-most layer of the
● The Stratosphere is the middle region of the
Homosphere.
● The Mesosphere is the top layer of the Homosphere.
In the Heterosphere, there are two
regions: The Thermosphere and the
Exosphere. These two regions are
considered outer space. The gases in
this layer are not evenly mixed. The
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Ionosphere overlaps the Mesosphere
and the Thermosphere.
● The thermosphere is the
bottom region of the
Heterosphere.
● The exosphere is the top
region of the Heterosphere.
Troposphere:
● It is the lowermost layer of the atmosphere. It extends up
to 18km at the equator, 13 km at mid-latitude and about
8km at poles.
● It contains approximately 90% of the total mass of the
atmosphere.
● The entire weather phenomenon takes place in this layer.
It contains all the water vapour, dust particles, clouds, etc.
● In the troposphere, the temperature decreases with an
increase in height.
● The average rate of decrease of temperature with height is
called a normal lapse rate and it is equal to 6.4 degrees
C/km. the rate of decrease of temperature is not constant
everywhere.
● The local rate of decrease is called the local lapse rate. The
minimum temperature attained in this layer is -57 degree C.
● Tropopause: It is the topmost layer of the troposphere. It
acts as a boundary between the troposphere and
stratosphere. This layer is marked by constant temperatures.
Q. What is/are the difference(s) between troposphere and
stratosphere?
1. Jet aircraft fly in the stratosphere, not in the
troposphere.
2. The stratosphere is the layer with auroras, not the
troposphere.
3. Most of the Weather patterns occur in the
troposphere, not in the stratosphere.
Select the correct answer code:
a) 1, 2
b) 2, 3
c) 1, 3
d) 1, 2, 3
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Solution: c)
Many jet aircraft fly in the stratosphere because it is
very stable.
Auroras are the result of disturbances in the
magnetosphere caused by the solar wind. These
particles, mainly electrons, and protons precipitate
into the upper atmosphere (thermosphere/exosphere).
The troposphere is the lowest layer of Earth’s
atmosphere and is also where nearly all weather
conditions take place.
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Q. Which of the following statements concerning the
atmosphere of the Earth is/are correct?
1. In the stratosphere, temperature increases with altitude.
2. In the mesosphere, temperature decreases with altitude.
3. The lowest temperature of the atmosphere is recorded in
the upper part of the mesosphere.
4. The tropopause is an isothermal zone.

Select the correct answer code:

a) 1, 2
b) 1, 2, 3
c) 3, 4
d) 1, 2, 3, 4
Solution: d)
The top of the mesosphere, called the mesopause, is
the coldest part of Earth’s atmosphere.
Temperatures
in the upper mesosphere fall as low as −101 °C (172 K;
−150 °F), varying according to latitude and season.
An isothermal layer is defined as a vertical column
of air having a constant temperature with height.
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Atmospheric Pressure: -
● Air expands when heated and gets compressed when
cooled. This results in variations in the atmospheric
pressure.
● The differences in atmospheric pressure causes the
movement of air from high pressure to low pressure, setting
the air in motion. Atmospheric pressure also determines
when the air will rise or sink.
● Air in horizontal motion is wind. The wind redistributes the
heat and moisture across latitudes, thereby, maintaining a
constant temperature for the planet as a whole.
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Air Pressure
● Since air has mass, it also has weight. The pressure
of air at a given place is defined as a force exerted in
all directions by virtue of the weight of all the air
above it.
● The weight of a column of air contained in a unit area
from the mean sea level to the top of the atmosphere
is called the atmospheric pressure. The atmospheric
pressure is expressed in various units.
Measurement of Air Pressure
● Atmospheric pressure is the weight of the column of air at any
given place and time. It is measured by means of an instrument
called barometer.
● The units used by meteorologists for this purpose are called
millibars (mb).
● One millibar is equal to the force of one gram on a square
centimeter. A pressure of 1000 millibars is equal to the
weight of 1.053 kilograms per square centimeter.
● In other words, it will be equal to the weight of a column of
mercury 75 cm high.
Horizontal Distribution of Pressure
● Small differences in pressure are highly significant in terms of
the wind direction and velocity. Horizontal distribution of
pressure is studied by drawing isobars at constant levels.
● Isobars are lines connecting places having equal pressure. In
order to eliminate the effect of altitude on pressure, it is
measured at any station after being reduced to sea level for
purposes of comparison.
● The spacing of isobars expresses the rate and direction of
pressure changes and is referred to as pressure gradient.
● Close spacing of isobars indicates a steep or strong
pressure gradient, while wide spacing suggests weak
gradient. The pressure gradient may thus be defined as
the decrease in pressure per unit distance in the
direction in which the pressure decreases most rapidly.
● There are distinctly identifiable zones of homogeneous
horizontal pressure regimes or ‘pressure belts’. On the
earth’s surface, there are in all seven pressure belts.

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The seven pressure belts are :
1. equatorial low,
2. the sub-tropical highs,
3. the sub-polar lows, and
4. the polar highs.

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The Tricellular Model
The tricellular model is made up of three different
air masses, these control atmospheric movements
and the redistribution of heat energy. The three air
masses, starting from the equator, are called the
Hadley cell, Ferrel cell and the polar cell.

The tricellular model also contains the ITCZ

(Inter-tropical convergence zone), this is the
meeting place of the trade winds from both the
northern hemisphere and the southern
hemisphere. The ITCZ is a low pressure area
where the trade winds, which have picked up
latent heat as they crossed oceans, are now
forced to rise by convection currents. These rising
convection currents are then cooled adiabatically
to form massive cumulonimbus clouds.
Equatorial Low Pressure Belt or ‘Doldrums’

● Lies between 10°N and 10°S latitudes.

● Width may vary between 5°N and 5°S and 20°N and 20°S.
● This belt happens to be the zone of convergence of trade
winds from two hemispheres from sub-tropical high pressure
belts.
● This belt is also called the Doldrums, because of the
extremely calm air movements.
● The position of the belt varies with the apparent movement of
the Sun.
Sub-Tropical High Pressure Belt or Horse Latitudes

● The sub-tropical highs extend from near the tropics to about 35°N
and S.
Formation
● After saturation (complete loss of moisture) at the ITCZ, the air
moving away from equatorial low pressure belt in the upper
troposphere becomes dry and cold.
● This dry and cold wind subsides at 30°N and S.
● So the high pressure along this belt is due to subsidence of air
coming from the equatorial region which descends after
becoming heavy.
● The high pressure is also due to the blocking effect of air at upper
levels because of the Coriolis force.
Climate
● The subsiding air is warm and dry, therefore, most of the deserts are
present along this belt, in both hemispheres.
● A calm condition (anticyclonic) with feeble winds is created in this high
pressure belt.
● The descending air currents feed the winds blowing towards adjoining low
pressure belts.
● This belt is frequently invaded by tropical and extra-tropical
disturbances.
Horse Latitudes
● The corresponding latitudes of sub-tropical high pressure belt are called
horse latitudes.
● In early days, the sailing vessels with cargo of horses found it difficult to
sail under calm conditions of this high pressure belt.
● They used to throw horses into the sea when fodder ran out. Hence the
name horse latitudes.
 Sub-Polar Low Pressure Belt
Located between 45°N and S latitudes and the Arctic and the
Antarctic circles (66.5° N and S latitudes).

Formation
These are dynamically produced due to

1. Coriolis Force produced by rotation of the earth on its axis,

and.
2. Ascent of air as a result of convergence of westerlies and
polar easterlies (we will more about these in next topic – wind
systems).
Climate
● The area of contrast between cold and warm air
masses produces polar jet streams which encircles
the earth at 60 degrees latitudes and is focused in
these low pressure areas.

Due to a great contrast between the temperatures of the

winds from sub-tropical and polar source regions, extra
tropical cyclonic storms or lows’ (temperate cyclones or
frontal cyclones) are produced in this region.

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Climatic Significance of Jet Stream
● At times, Jet Streams bring about some moisture to the stratosphere, leading to the formation of
Noctilucent clouds (tenuous cloudlike phenomena in the upper atmosphere which are made of ice
crystals visible in a deep twilight.)
● Plays a significant role in the onset and withdrawal of monsoon winds.
● Known to have brought some ozone depleting substances to stratosphere which result in ozone
layer depletion.
● Intensifies alternative cyclonic and anticyclonic conditions with the crust and trough formation in
its movement.
● When the air mass is moving, it undergoes alternate expansion and compression which means that
it is associated with alternative high pressure and low pressure.
Characteristics of Jet Streams
● Its genesis is associated with the thermal contrast of air cells, for example Hadley cell, Ferrel cell.
● The meandering or the whirl movement of the Jet Stream is called ‘Rossby Wave’.
● Equatorial extension of the Jet Stream is more in winter because of the southern shift of the
pressure belts.
● During winters, the thermal contrast increases and the intensity of the high pressure centre at the
pole increases. It intensifies the formation of Jet Streams, its extension as well as its velocity.
Sub tropical Jet streams
●The westerly Jet Stream, a cold wind
which pushes down wind to the surface
creating a high pressure on the surface.
●Dry winds from this high pressure area
(north western part of India) start blowing
towards the low pressure area (Bay of
Bengal).
●These winds in turn bring cold waves in
winter in the northern part of the country
including UP and Bihar.
●After reaching the Bay of Bengal, westerly
under the influence of Ferrel’s cell take the
form of north east monsoon.
●When this wind reaches the coast of Tamil
Nadu, it causes rainfall with the humidity
received from the Bay of Bengal.
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Type of winds
Sunny Verma
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Valley Breeze and Mountain Breeze

● In mountainous regions, during the day the slopes get heated up and air
moves upslope and to fill the resulting gap the air from the valley blows
up the valley. This wind is known as the valley breeze. During the night
the slopes get cooled and the dense air descends into the valley as the
mountain wind. The cool air, of the high plateaus and ice fields draining
into the valley is called katabatic wind.
● Another type of warm wind (katabatic wind) occurs on the leeward side
of the mountain ranges. The moisture in these winds, while crossing the
mountain ranges condense and precipitate. When it descends down the
leeward side of the slope the dry air gets warmed up by adiabatic
process. This dry air may melt the snow in a short time.
An anemometer is an
instrument that
measures wind speed
and wind pressure.
Anemometers are
important tools for
meteorologists, who
study weather
patterns. They are
also important to the
work of physicists,
who study the way air
moves.
What is Wind?
The wind is the horizontal movement of air caused by:
1. Heating by the Sun
2. Rotation of earth on its axis
The formation of the wind system begins with the sun’s radiation, which is absorbed
differently on the earth’s surface. The earth’s surface is heated differently because of
scenarios like cloud cover, mountains, valleys, water bodies, vegetation and desert lands.
As a result of this uneven heating, there are bound to be earth surfaces that vary a lot in
temperature. Air on surfaces with higher temperatures will then begin to rise because it is
lighter (less dense). As the air rises, it creates low atmospheric pressure. Air on surfaces
with cooler temperatures sink (do not rise). The sinking creates higher atmospheric
pressure. This behaviour or warm gases or liquids moving upward and being replaced by
cooler particles is called Convection. The energy moving during convection is called
convectional current.
Coriolis Force
It is an apparent force caused by the earth’s rotation. The Coriolis force
is responsible for deflecting winds towards the right in the Northern
Hemisphere and towards the left in the Southern Hemisphere. This is
also known as ‘Ferrel’s Law’.
As the winds blow from the north and south towards the equator, their
flow path is deflected by the earth’s rotation. When moving objects are
viewed in a reference frame, their path looks curved. This is the Coriolis
Effect, and it is simply caused by the earth’s rotation. This effect makes
wind systems in the southern side of the equator (southern hemisphere)
spin clockwise and wind systems in the northern side (north
hemisphere) spin counter-clockwise.
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Local Winds
Local winds are winds that blow over a limited
area. Local winds blow between small low and
high pressure systems. They are influenced by
local geography. Nearness to an ocean, lake, or
mountain range can affect local winds. Local winds
can affect the weather and climate of a region.

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1).The Buran wind blows across:
a. Eastern Asia b. Western Europe c. Southern Africa
d. Eastern Australia

2). Which among the following is correct about Sirocco?

a. It’s a warm & dry wind
b. b. It’s a warm & moist wind
c. It’s a cold & moist wind
d. It’s a winter wind that blows in pacific ocean
The winds which never change their direction are called?
A.Permanent Winds B.Trade winds C.seasonal Winds D.Local
winds

Aurorae are produced by the collision of charged particles

from Earth’s magnetosphere which arise due to __?
a. Solar winds
b. Ozone layer
c. Radio waves
d. Ionosphere
Which among the following is not a hot
wind?
A. Sirocco
B. Chinook
C. Mistral
D. Loo
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Geography Day 1- Cloud
Formation and it’s types
 What is a cloud?
● A cloud is an accumulation or grouping of tiny
water droplets and ice crystals that are
suspended in the earth atmosphere.
● They are masses that consist of huge density
and volume and hence it is visible to naked
eyes.
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● Clouds are formed when the air becomes saturated or
filled, with water vapour. The warm air holds more
water vapour than cold air.
● Being made of the moist air and it becomes cloudy
when the moist air is slightly cooled, with further
cooling the water vapour and ice crystals of these
clouds grew bigger and fall to earth as precipitation
such as rain, drizzle, snowfall, sleet, or hail.
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What role does
● There are different types of
cloud plays? Clouds. They differ from each
Apart from precipitation
other in size, shape, or colour.
● They play different roles in the
climate system like being the
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of the solar spectrum, they
efficiently reflect light to space
and thereby helps in the cooling
And how they are distinguished
of the planet.
from one another?
What are the different types of cloud?

● Clouds are classified primarily based on – their shape and their altitude.
● Based on shape, clouds are classified into three. They are:

1. Cirrus
2. Cumulus
3. Stratus
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Classification of clouds – based on their altitude (height):
Based on the height or altitude the clouds are classified into three. They are –
High Clouds
Middle Clouds
Low Clouds
Note: You should also note about the another type of
clouds here – ie. Clouds with great vertical extent.

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 High Clouds
● They can reach above 6000 metres or
20,000 feet.
● They are also known as Cirrus
Clouds.
● They are usually thin and are made up
of ice.
● They often indicate fair weather and
hence do not produce rain
 Types of High Clouds- Description

1. Cirrus-They are thin and often wispy cirrus clouds. Typically found at heights
greater than 20,000 feet (6,000 meters), they are composed of ice crystals that
originate from the freezing of supercooled water droplets.
2. Cirrostratus - They are high, very thin, comprises a uniform layer, and are
composed of ice-crystals. It is difficult to detect and is capable of forming halos
when the cloud takes the form of thin cirrostratus nebulosus.
3. Cirrocumulus- They are small rounded puffs shaped clouds, that usually appear in
long rows high in the sky and are usually white, but sometimes appear grey.

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 Middle Clouds

● They form between 6,500 feet and cirrus

level or from 2000 to 6000 metres.
● They are also known as “Alto” clouds.
● They frequently indicate an approaching
storm.
● They may sometimes produce Virga,
which is a rain or snow that does not
reach the ground.

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 Types of Middle Clouds-Description
1. Altostratus -These clouds are in the form of continuous sheet or veil,
grey or blue-gray in colour. They are composed of ice crystals and water
droplets. In its thinner areas, the sun can still be visible as a round, dim
disk. These clouds may often form ahead of storms with continuous rain
or snow.

2. Altocumulus-They are greyish sheet cloud, characterised by globular

masses or rolls in layers or patches, the individual elements being larger
and darker than those of cirrocumulus and smaller than those of
stratocumulus.
 Low Clouds
● They lie below 6,500 feet,
which means from the surface
to 2,000 meters.
● Low clouds are also known as
Stratus Clouds.
● They may appear dense, dark,
and rainy (or snowy) and can
also be cottony white clumps
interspersed with blue sky.

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 Types of Low Clouds-Description
1. Strato Cumulus Usually arranged in a large dark, rounded or
globular masses, usually in groups, lines, or waves.
2. Stratus Usually looks like a huge grey blanket that hangs low in the
sky that resembles fog, comprises uniform layer and appear dull, if these
clouds are warm it means rain and if it is cold it snows.
3. Nimbostratus They are known as ‘Rain Clouds’ and they are dark,
thick and accompanied by light to moderately falling precipitation.
Great Vertical Extent Clouds
● They are most dramatic types of
clouds.
● Great Vertical Extent Clouds are also
known as the Storm Clouds.
● They rise to dramatic heights, and
sometimes well above the level of
transcontinental jetliner flights.

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Types of Great Vertical Extent Clouds Description
1. CumulusThey are convection clouds, puffy, that sometimes look
like pieces of floating cotton. The base of each cloud is often flat and
may be only 1000 meters (3300 feet) above the ground. The top of the
cloud has rounded towers.
2. Cumulonimbus They are dense towering vertical cloud, it’s top
acquiring an ‘Anvil Shape’, associated with thunderstorms and
atmospheric instability, forming from water vapour carried by
powerful upward air currents.
 Colour of a cloud
Why clouds appear white in colour? Why do clouds darken at
● The clouds usually appear white because the time of rain?
the tiny water droplets and ice crystals
● The clouds appear
inside them are tightly packed, and they
reflect most of the sunlight that falls on dark or grey in colour
these masses (scattering). at the time of rain is
● The tiny cloud particles equally scatter all due to their particulate
colours of light, which make the viewer to density
perceive all wavelengths of sunlight mixed
together as white light.
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Cyclones are classified as: (i) extra tropical cyclones
(also called temperate cyclones); and (ii) tropical
cyclones. The word Cyclone is derived from the Greek
word Cyclos meaning the coils of a snake. It was
coined by Henry Peddington because the tropical
storms in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea
appear like coiled serpents of the sea.
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The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO, 1976) uses the term
'Tropical Cyclone’ to cover weather systems in which winds exceed
‘Gale Force’ (minimum of 34 knots or 63 kph). Tropical cyclones are
the progeny of ocean and atmosphere, powered by the heat from the
sea; and driven by easterly trades and temperate westerlies, high
planetary winds and their own fierce energy.
In India, cyclones are classified by:
● Strength of associated winds,
● Storm surges
● Exceptional rainfall occurrences.
Extra tropical cyclones occur in temperate zones and
high latitude regions, though they are known to originate
in the Polar Regions.
Cyclones that develop in the regions between the Tropics
of Capricorn and Cancer are called tropical cyclones.
Tropical cyclones are large-scale weather systems
developing over tropical or subtropical waters, where
they get organized into surface wind circulation.
1 knot - 1.85 km per hour
Cyclones are classified into five different levels on the basis of wind speed.
They are further divided into the following categories according to their capacity
to cause damage:-

Cyclone Category Wind Speed in Km/h Damage Capacity

1 120-150 Minimal

2 150-180 Moderate

3 180-210 Extensive

4 210-250 Extreme

5 250 and above Catastrophic

Storm surges (tidal waves) are defined as the rise in sea
level above the normally predicted astronomical tide. Major
factors include:
● A fall in the atmospheric pressure over the sea surface
● Effect of the wind
● Influence of the sea bed
● A funnelling effect
● The angle and speed at which the storm approaches the
coast
● The tides
The very high specific humidity condenses into exceptionally
large raindrops and giant cumulus clouds, resulting in high
precipitation rates. When a cyclone makes landfall, rain rapidly
saturates the catchment areas and the rapid runoff may
extensively flood the usual water sources or create new ones.
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How Cyclones are formed
The development cycle of tropical cyclones may be divided into three
stages:

1. Formation and Initial Development Stage

The formation and initial development of a cyclonic storm depends upon

various conditions. These are:

A warm sea (a temperature in excess of 26 degrees Celsius to a depth of

60 m) with abundant and turbulent transfer of water vapour to the overlying
atmosphere by evaporation.
Atmospheric instability encouraging formation of massive vertical cumulus
clouds due to convection with condensation of rising air above ocean
surface.
Mature Tropical Cyclones

When a tropical storm intensifies, the air rises in vigorous

thunderstorms and tends to spread out horizontally at the tropopause
level. Once air spreads out, a positive perturbation pressure at high
levels is produced, which accelerates the downward motion of air
due to convection. With the inducement of subsidence, air warms up
by compression and a warm ‘Eye’ is generated. Generally, the ‘Eye’
of the storms has three basic shapes: (i) circular; (ii) concentric; and
(iii) elliptical. The main physical feature of a mature tropical cyclone in
the Indian Ocean is a concentric pattern of highly turbulent giant
cumulus thundercloud bands.
Modification and Decay
A tropical cyclone begins to weaken in terms of its central low
pressure, internal warmth and extremely high speeds, as soon
as its source of warm moist air begins to ebb, or is abruptly cut
off. This happens after its landfall or when it passes over cold
waters. The weakening of a cyclone does not mean that the
danger to life and property is over.

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 Precipitation

● The process of continuous condensation in free air

helps the condensed particles to grow in size. When
the resistance of the air fails to hold them against the
force of gravity, they fall on to the earth’s surface. So
after the condensation of water vapour, the release of
moisture is known as precipitation. This may take
place in liquid or solid form.
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● Rainfall: drop size more than 0.5 mm.
● Virage: raindrops evaporate before reaching the earth.
● Drizzle: light rainfall; drop size less than 0.5 mm.
● Mist: evaporation occurs before reaching the ground leading
to foggy weather.
● Snowfall: fine flakes of snow fall when the temperature is less
than 0°C.
● Sleet: frozen raindrops and refrozen melted snow; mixture of
snow and rain or merely partially melted snow.
● Hail: precipitation in the form of hard rounded pellets is known
as hail; 5 mm and 50 mm.
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 Types of Rainfall
● On the basis of origin, rainfall may be classified
into three main types – the convectional,
orographic or relief and the cyclonic or frontal.

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Conventional Rainfall

● The, air on being heated, becomes light and rises up in

convection currents. As it rises, it expands and loses heat and
consequently, condensation takes place and cumulous clouds
are formed. This process releases latent heat of condensation
which further heats the air and forces the air to go further up.
● Convectional precipitation is heavy but of short duration,
highly localised and is associated with minimum amount of
cloudiness. It occurs mainly during summer and is common
over equatorial doldrums in the Congo basin, the Amazon
basin and the islands of south-east Asia.
● It occurs in the areas of intense heat and abundant
moisture. Solar radiation is the main source of heat
to produce convection currents in the air.
● The belt of doldrums and the equatorial region
generally record this type of rainfall.
● This type of rainfall is not much effective for crops as
most of the water is drained off in the form of surface
drainage.
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Orographic Rainfall

● When the saturated air mass comes across a mountain, it is

forced to ascend and as it rises, it expands (because of fall in
pressure); the temperature falls, and the moisture is condensed.
● This type of precipitation occurs when warm, humid air strikes an
orographic barrier (a mountain range) head on. Because of the
initial momentum, the air is forced to rise. As the moisture laden
air gains height, condensation sets in, and soon saturation is
reached. The surplus moisture falls down as orographic
precipitation along the windward slopes.
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The Wind Descending on the Leeward Side is heated
adiabatically and is called Katabatic Wind.

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Frontal Precipitation

● When two air masses with different temperatures

meet, turbulent conditions are produced. Along the
front convection occurs and causes precipitation (we
studied this in Fronts). For instance, in north-west
Europe, cold continental air and warm oceanic air
converge to produce heavy rainfall in adjacent areas.

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Fronts

● Fronts are the typical features of midlatitudes weather (temperate

region – 30° – 65° N and S). They are uncommon (unusual) in
tropical and polar regions.
● Front is a three dimensional boundary zone formed between two
converging air masses with different physical properties
(temperature, humidity, density etc.).
● The two air masses don’t merge readily due to the effect of the
converging atmospheric circulation, relatively low diffusion
coefficient and a low thermal conductivity.

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 Front Formation

● The process of formation of a front is known as Frontogenesis

(war between two air masses), and dissipation of a front is
known as Frontolysis (one of the air masses win against the
other).
● Frontogenesis involves convergence of two distinct air masses.
Frontolysis involves overriding of one of the air mass by another.
● In northern hemisphere Frontogenesis (convergence of air
masses) happens in anti-clockwise direction and in southern
hemisphere, clockwise direction. This is due to Coriolis effect.
● Mid-latitude cyclones or temperate cyclones or extra-tropical
cyclones occur due to frontogenesis.
Wind Shift: A change in wind direction of 45 degrees or more in less
than 15 minutes with sustained wind speeds of 10 knots or more
throughout the wind shift.
1 knot = 1.852 kmph
1 Nautical Mile = 1.852 km
● The frontal activity is invariably associated with cloudiness
and precipitation because of ascent of warm air which cools
down adiabatically, condenses and causes rainfall.
Cyclonic Rain

● Cyclonic Rainfall is convectional rainfall on a large scale. (we will see this in
detail later)
● The precipitation in a tropical cyclone is of convectional type while that in a
temperate cyclone is because of frontal activity.

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INDIA- overview
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Intro:-
● Ocean currents are continuous movements of water in the ocean that follow set
paths, kind of rivers in the ocean.
● There are two type of Ocean Currents, based on depth, viz. surface currents
(surface circulation- which make up about 10% of all the water in the ocean) and
deep water currents (thermohaline circulation- which make up the other 90% of the
ocean).
● Based on temperature, Ocean currents are classified into two types: cold currents
(Labrador Current) and warm currents (Kuroshio current)
Factors which impact the ocean current formations are:
● Planetary winds: The planetary winds are permanent winds (Trade winds, Westerlies and Polar Easterlies)
that blow from one pressure belt to the other. The oceanic circulation pattern roughly corresponds to the
earth's atmospheric circulation pattern. E.g.: There is a change in the direction of ocean currents with a
change in direction of the monsoon winds in the Indian Ocean.
● Temperatures: The differential heating of the Sun at the equator and the poles causes a difference in the
temperature of ocean water. Warm water from the equator slowly moves along the surface towards the
poles, while the cold water from the poles slowly creeps along the bottom of the sea towards the equator.
● Salinity: Waters of low salinity have lower density enabling them to flow on the surface of waters of high
salinity while waters of high salinity flow at the bottom.
● Earth's rotation: According to Ferrel’s law- Coriolis forces deflect winds and freely moving objects to the
right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere. Therefore, the movement of
ocean currents in the northern hemisphere is in the clockwise and in the southern hemisphere it is in the
anti-clockwise direction.
The general movement of the currents in the northern
hemisphere is clockwise and in the southern hemisphere,
anti-clockwise.

● This is due to the Coriolis force which is a deflective

force and follows Ferrel’s law.
● A notable exception to this trend is seen in the northern
part of the Indian Ocean where the current movement
changes its direction in response to the seasonal change
in the direction of monsoon winds.
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The ocean currents are very important in determining the climates of different
regions of the world, especially those regions bordering on the ocean.

Local Climate: Warm and Cold currents affect the local climate of a region.
E.g.: the North Atlantic Drift keeps the coasts of North Sea (western coast
of Europe) warm which is unusual for such high latitudes. Similarly, the
warm waters of the Kuroshio current in the North Pacific ocean keep the
ports of the Alaskan coast ice-free in winter.
Precipitation: Warm currents flow along the east coast of continents
resulting in warm and rainy climates while cold currents flow along the west
coast of continents.
Desert formation

● Cold ocean currents have a direct effect on desert formation in west coast regions
of the tropical and subtropical continents.
● There is fog and most of the areas are arid due to desiccating effect (loss of
moisture).

Fishing

● Mixing of cold and warm ocean currents bear richest fishing grounds in the world.
● Example: Grand Banks around Newfoundland, Canada and North-Eastern Coast of
Japan.
● The mixing of warm and cold currents help to replenish the oxygen and favor the
growth of planktons, the primary food for fish population. The best fishing grounds
of the world exist mainly in these mixing zones.
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Climate

Results in
● Warm and rainy climates in tropical and subtropical latitudes [Florida,
Natal etc.],
● Cold and dry climates on the western margins in the sub-tropics due to
desiccating effect,
● Foggy weather and drizzle in the mixing zones,
● Moderate clime along the western costs in the sub-tropics.
Desert Formation and Ocean Currents

● The major hot deserts of the world are located on the western coasts
of continents between latitudes 15° and 30°N. and S
● They include the biggest Sahara Desert (3.5 million square miles).
The next biggest desert is the Great Australian Desert. The other hot
deserts are the Arabian Desert, Iranian Desert, Thar Desert,
Kalahari and Namib Deserts.
● The hot deserts lie along the Horse Latitudes or the Sub-Tropical
High Pressure Belts where the air is descending, a condition least
favorable for precipitation of any kind to take place.
● The rain-bearing Trade Winds blow off-shore and the Westerlies
that are on-shore blow outside the desert limits.
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Currents in the Pacific Ocean

● North Equatorial Current (Warm) ScoreBetter.in

● South Equatorial Current (Warm)
● Counter Equatorial Current (Warm)
● Kuroshio System (Warm)
● Oyashio Current (Cold) ScoreBetter.in
● California Current (Cold)
● Peruvian or Humboldt Current (Cold)
● East Australia Current (Warm)
● North Pacific Drift (Warm)
Currents in the Atlantic Ocean

● North Equatorial Current (warm)

● South Equatorial Current (warm) ScoreBetter.in
● Equatorial Counter Current
● Gulf Stream (warm)
● Florida Current (Warm)
● Canaries Current (Cold)
● Labrador Current (Cold) ScoreBetter.in
● Brazilian Current (Warm)
● Falkland Current (Cold)
● South Atlantic Drift (Cold)
● Benguela Current (Cold)
Currents in the Indian Ocean

● The North East Monsoon Drift

● The South West Monsoon Drift
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● North Equatorial Current (Warm)
● South Equatorial Current (Warm)
● Somali Current (Cold)
● Mozambique Current (Warm) ScoreBetter.in
● Madagascar Current (Warm)
● Agulhas Current (Warm)
● West Australian Current (Cold)
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Weather is a specific event—like a
rainstorm or hot day—that happens over
a few hours, days or weeks.

Climate is the average weather

conditions in a place over 30 years or
more.
Climatology or climate science is the scientific
study of climate, scientifically defined as weather
conditions averaged over a period of time.

This modern field of study is regarded as a branch

of the atmospheric sciences and a subfield of
physical geography, which is one of the Earth
sciences.
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● Solar radiation is one of many sources of energy, and
probably one of the most important sources, that drive
environmental processes acting at the surface of the
Earth.
● The amount and intensity of solar radiation reaching the
Earth is affected by the geometric relationship of the
Earth with respect to the Sun.
● The variations in the amount and intensity of solar
radiation reaching the earth are affected by latitude, the
rotation of the earth and its revolution around the sun.
● The study of the geometric relationship of the earth with
respect to the sun explains why we have seasons.
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World’s climate zone

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● Rainforest Climate (Tropical Evergreen Climate)
● Monsoon Climate | Monsoon Forests
● Savanna Climate (Tropical Wet Dry Climate)
● Desert Climate | Hot Deserts & Mid-Latitude Deserts
● Steppe Climate (Temperate Grassland Climate)
● Mediterranean Climate (Western Margin Climate)
● China Type Climate, Gulf Type Climate & Natal Type Climate
● British Type Climate (European Maritime Climate)
● Taiga Climate | Coniferous Forests & Lumbering
● Laurentian Climate | Fishing off Newfoundland & Japan
● Tundra Climate (Polar Climate or Arctic Climate)
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Tropical Humid Climates

● Tropical humid climates exist between Tropic of Cancer and

Tropic of Capricorn.
● The sun being overhead throughout the year and the presence of
Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (INTCZ) make the climate hot
and humid.
● Annual range of temperature is very low and annual rainfall is
high.
● The tropical group is divided into three types, namely
1. Af – Tropical wet climate;
2. Am – Tropical monsoon climate;
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Tropical Wet Climate (Af)

● Also known as ‘The Hot, Wet Equatorial Climate’, ‘Equatorial Rainforest

Climate’.
● The regions are generally referred as ‘Equatorial Rainforests’, ‘Equatorial
Evergreen Forests’, ‘Tropical Moist Broadleaf Forest’, ‘Lowland Equatorial
Evergreen Rainforest’.

Distribution

● Mostly between 5° N and S of Equator. [little or no Coriolis Force == no tropical

cyclones]
● Its greatest extent is found in the lowlands of the Amazon, the Congo,
Malaysia and the East Indies.
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Temperature

● Temperature is uniform throughout the year.

● The mean monthly temperatures are always around 27° C with very little variation.
● There is no winter. [Typical to Equatorial Rainforest Climate]
● Cloudiness and heavy precipitation moderate the daily temperature.
● Regular land and sea breezes assist in maintaining a truly equable climate.
● The diurnal range of temperature is small, and so is the annual range.

Precipitation

● Precipitation is heavy and well distributed throughout the year.

● Annual average is always above 150 cm. In some regions the annual average may be as high as 250 – 300 cm.
● There is no month without rain (distinct dry season is absent). The monthly average is above 6 cm most of
the times.
● There are two periods of maximum rainfall, April and October. [shortly after the equinox]. Least rain fall occurs
in June and December [solstice].
● The double rainfall peaks coinciding with the equinoxes are a characteristic feature of equatorial climates
not found in any other type of climate.
● There is much evaporation and convectional air currents are set up, followed by heavy thunderstorms in the
afternoons.
Equatorial Vegetation

● High temperature and abundant rainfall support a luxuriant tropical rain

forest.
● In the Amazon lowlands, the forest is so dense that it is called ‘selvas’.
[selvas: A dense tropical rainforest usually having a cloud cover (dense
canopy)]
● Unlike the temperate regions, the growing season here is all the year
round-seeding, flowering, fruiting and decaying do not take place in a
seasonal pattern.
● The equatorial vegetation comprises a multitude of evergreen trees that yield
tropical hardwood, e.g. mahogany, ebony, dyewoods etc.
● Many parts of the tropical rain forests have been cleared either for
lumbering or shifting cultivation.
● In the coastal areas and brackish swamps, mangrove forests thrive.
 Agriculture

● The forests are sparsely populated.

● In the forests most primitive people live as hunter gatherers and the more
advanced ones practice shifting cultivation.
● Food is abundantly available. People generally don’t stock food for the next
day.

Commercial
1. In the Amazon basin the Indian tribes collect wild rubber,
2. in the Congo Basin the Pygmies gather nuts and
3. in the jungles of Malaysia the Orang Asli make all sorts of cane products
and sell them to people in villages and towns.
Plantation Boom in Rainforests

● With the coming of the Europeans, many large plantations have been established,
especially in Java, Sumatra, Malaysia, West Africa and Central America.
● The climate is very Favourable for the cultivation of certain crops that are highly
valued in the industrial West. The most important is natural rubber.
● Malaysia and Indonesia are the leading producers. The home country, Brazil
exports practically no natural rubber.
● Cocoa is another important crop which is cultivated in West Africa, bordering the
Gulf of Guinea. The two most important producers are Ghana and Nigeria. All the
cocoa here goes into American and European chocolate industry.
● From the same area another crop, oil palm, has done equally well and many
countries like Indonesia have now taken to its cultivation.
● Other important crops include coconuts, sugar, coffee (Brazil), tea, tobacco, spices,
etc.
● The plantations resulted in the destruction of nearly half of equatorial forests
Distribution of Tropical Monsoon Climate
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● Occur within 5° to 30° N and S of the equator.
● On-shore [sea to land] tropical monsoons occur in the summer and off-shore [land to sea] dry monsoons in the
winter.
● They are best developed in the Indian sub-continent, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, parts of Vietnam
and south China and northern Australia.
Temperature

● Monthly mean temperatures above 18 °C.

● Temperatures range from 30-45° C in summer. Mean summer temperature
is about 30°C.
● In winters, temperature range is 15-30° C with mean temperature around
20-25° C.

Precipitation

● Annual mean rainfall ranges from 200-250 cm. In some regions it is around
350 cm.
● Places like Cherrapunji & Mawsynram receive an annual rainfall of about
1000 cm. [They lie on the windward side of the Meghalaya hills, so the
resulting orographic lift (orographic rainfall) enhances precipitation.
Seasons

● Seasons are chief characteristics of monsoon climate.

The cool, dry season (October to February)

● Out blowing dry winds, the North-East Monsoon, bring little or no rain to the Indian sub-continent.
● However, a small amount of rain falls in Punjab from cyclonic sources (Western Disturbances: Frontal
precipitation brought by jet streams) and this is vital for the survival of winter cereals.
● North-East Monsoons blowing over the Bay of Bengal acquires moisture and bring rains to the south-eastern
tip of the peninsula at this time of the year (Nov-Dec).

The hot dry season (March to mid-June)

● The temperature rises sharply with the sun’s northward shift to the Tropic of Cancer.
● Day temperatures of 35° C are usual in central India and the mean temperature in Sind and south India may
be as high as 44° C.
● Coastal districts are a little relieved by sea breezes. There is practically little rain. [Hailstorms (thunderstorms
with hail) occurs here and there]
 The rainy season (mid-June to September)

● With the ‘burst’ of the South-West Monsoon in mid-June, torrential downpours

sweep across the country. Almost all the rain for the year falls within this rainy
season.
● This pattern of concentrated heavy rainfall in summer is a characteristic
feature of the Tropical Monsoon Climate.

The Retreating Monsoon

● The amount and frequency of rain decreases towards the end of the rainy
season. It retreats gradually southwards after mid-September until it leaves the
continent altogether.
● The skies are clear again and the cool, dry season returns in October, with the
out blowing North-East Monsoon.

The role of monsoons in India is vital for its economy.

Tropical Marine Climate

● Outside the monsoon zone, the climate is modified by the influence of the
on-shore Trade Winds all the year round. This type of climate is called Tropical
Marine Climate. Such a climate has a more evenly distributed rainfall.
● Such a climate is experienced in Central America, West Indies, north-eastern
Australia, the Philippines, parts of East Africa, Madagascar, the Guinea Coast
and eastern Brazil.
● The rainfall is both orographic where the moist trades meet upland masses as
in eastern Brazil, and convectional due to intense heating during the day and
in summer.
● Its tendency is towards a summer maximum without any distinct dry period.
● Due to the steady influence of the trades, the Tropical Marine Climate is more
Favourable for habitation, but it is prone to severe tropical cyclones,
hurricanes or typhoons.
Crops

● Rice is the most important staple crop.

● Irrigation water from rivers, canals, dams or wells is extensively used in the major rice
producing countries.
● Other food crops like maize, millet, sorghum, wheat, gram and beans are of subsidiary
importance. They are cultivated in the drier or cooler areas where rice cannot be grown.

Lowland cash crops

● The most important crop in this category is cane sugar.

● As much as two-thirds of world’s sugar production comes from tropical countries.
● Some of the major producers include India, Java, Formosa, Cuba, Jamaica, Trinidad
and Barbados.
● Jute is confined almost entirely to the Ganges – Brahmaputra delta, in India and
Bangladesh.
● Other crops include cotton, a major commercial crop of the Indian sub-continent.
Coffee

● Coffee originated in Ethiopia and Arabia.

● But Brazil accounts for almost half the world’s production of coffee.
● It is mainly grown on the eastern slopes of the Brazilian plateau.
● The crop is also cultivated on the highland slopes in the Central American states, India
and eastern Java.

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● Tea originated in China and is still an important crop there.
● It requires moderate temperatures (about 15° C), heavy rainfall (over 150 cm) and well
drained highland slopes.
● It thrives well in the tropical monsoon zone (highlands).
● The best regions are thus the Himalayan foothills of India and Bangladesh, the central
highlands of Sri Lanka and western Java, from all of which it is exported.
● In China tea is grown mostly for local consumption.
Shifting Cultivation

● This most primitive form of farming is widely practiced.

● Instead of rotating the crops in the same field to preserve fertility, the tribesmen
move to a new clearing when their first field is exhausted.
● Maize, dry padi, sweet potatoes and some beans are the most common crops.
● Farming is entirely for subsistence, i.e. everything is consumed by the farmer’s
family, it is not traded or sold.
● As tropical soils are rapidly leached and easily exhausted, the first crop
may be bountiful but the subsequent harvests deteriorate.
● Shifting cultivation is so widely practiced amongst indigenous peoples that
different local names are used in different countries.

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Region Name of Shifting Cultivation

Malaysia Lacking
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Burma Taungya

Thailand Tamrai

Philippines Caingin

Java Humah

Sri Lanka Chena

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North-east India Jhum
 Savanna Climate or Tropical Wet and Dry Climate or
Sudan Climate

● his type of climate has alternate wet and dry seasons

similar to monsoon climate but has considerably less annual
rainfall.
● Also, there is no distinct rainy season like in monsoon
climate.

[Only two seasons – winter and summer. Rains occur in summer].

● Floods and droughts are common.
● Vegetation, wildlife and human life are quite different from
monsoon climate regions.
Distribution of Savanna Climate
● It is confined within the tropics and is best developed in Sudan, hence its name the Sudan Climate.
● It is a transitional type of climate found between the equatorial rainforests and hot deserts.
African Savanna
● The belt includes West African Sudan, and then curves southwards into East Africa and southern Africa north of
the Tropic of Capricorn.
South American Savanna
● There are two distinct regions namely the llanos of the Orinoco basin [north of equator] and the compos of the
Brazilian Highlands [South of equator].
Australian savanna
● The Australian savanna is located south of the monsoon strip (northern Australia) running from west to east north
of the Tropic of Capricorn.
Indian Savanna
● Certain parts across Northern Karnataka, Southern Maharashtra and Telangana exhibit characteristics of both
semi-arid and savanna climate.
● Due to irrigation and cultivation, this region is different from other savanna regions.
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Natural Vegetation of Savanna Climate

● The savanna landscape is typified by tall grass and short trees.

● The grasslands are also called as ‘bush-veld’.
● The trees are deciduous, shedding their leaves in the cool, dry season to prevent
excessive loss of water through transpiration, e.g. acacias.
● Trees usually have broad trunks, with water-storing devices to survive through the
prolonged drought.
● Many trees are umbrella shaped, exposing only a narrow edge to the strong winds.
● In true savanna lands, the grass is tall and coarse, growing 6 to 12 feet high. The
elephant grass may attain a height of even 15 feet.
● Grasses appear greenish and well-nourished in the rainy season but turns yellow
and dies down in the dry season that follows.
● As the rainfall diminishes towards the deserts the savanna merges into thorny
scrub.
Life and Economy in the Savanna

● Many tribes live in savanna region. Tribes like the Masai tribes of the East African
plateau are pastoralists whereas Hausa of northern Nigeria are settled cultivators.
● The old grazing grounds of Masai tribes in the Kenyan Highlands were taken over
by the immigrant white settlers for plantation agriculture (coffee, tea, cotton) and
dairy farming.
● The cattle kept by the Masai are kept entirely for the supply of milk. They don’t
slaughter cattle for meat. Agriculture is barely practiced.
● The Hausa are a tribe of settled cultivators who inhabit the savanna lands of the
Nigeria. They are more advanced in their civilization.
● They do not practice shifting cultivation. Instead, they clear a piece of land and use
it for several years.

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Hot Desert Climate

● The aridity of the hot deserts is mainly due to the effects of off-shore Trade
Winds, hence they are also called Trade Wind Deserts.
● The major hot deserts of the world are located on the western coasts of
continents between latitudes 15° and 30°N. and S (Question asked in
Previous Mains Exam).
● They include the biggest Sahara Desert (3.5 million square miles), Great
Australian Desert, Arabian Desert, Iranian Desert, Thar Desert, Kalahari
and Namib Deserts.
● In North America, the desert extends from Mexico into U.S.A. and is called by
different names at different places, e.g. the Mohave, Sonoran, Californian
and Mexican Deserts.
● In South America, the Atacama or Peruvian Desert (rain shadow effect and
off-shore trade winds) is the driest of all deserts with less than 2 cm of
rainfall annually.
Mid-Latitude Desert Climate

● The temperate deserts are rainless because of either continentiality or

rain-shadow effect. [Gobi desert is formed due to continentiality and
Patagonian desert due to rain-shadow effect]
● Amongst the mid-latitude deserts, many are found on plateau and are at a
considerable distance from the sea. These are Ladakh, The Kyzyl Kum,
Turkestan, Taklimakan and Gobi deserts of Central Asia, drier portions of
the Great Basin Desert of the western United States and Patagonian
Deserts of Argentina etc..
● The Patagonian Desert is more due to its rain-shadow position on the leeward
side of the lofty Andes than to continentiality.

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Steppe Climate or Temperate Continental Climate or Temperate
Grassland Climate

Distribution

● They lie in the interiors of the continents.

● Lie in the Westerly wind belt [mid-latitudes or temperate
region].
● Grasslands are practically treeless due to continentiality [deep
within the interiors of the continents where rain bearing winds
don’t reach].
● In Eurasia, they are called the Steppes, and stretch eastwards
from the shores of the Black Sea to the foothills of the Altai
Mountains. [2,000 miles long belt].
Name of the Temperate Grassland Region
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Pustaz Hungary and surrounding regions

Prairies North America [between the foothills of the Rockies and the Great Lakes]

Pampas Argentina and Uruguay [Rain-shadow effect]

Bush-veld (more tropical) Northern South Africa

High Veld (more temperate) Southern South Africa

Downs Australia: Murray-Darling basin of southern Australia

Canterbury New Zealand

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Temperature

● Climate is continental with extremes of temperature.

● Temperatures vary greatly between summer and winter.
● The summers are hot and the winters are cold.
● Summers are very warm, over 18 – 20° C.
● The steppe type of climate in the southern hemisphere is never severe.

Precipitation

● The average rainfall may be taken as about 45 cm, but this varies according to location from 25 cm to 75
cm.
● The heaviest rain comes in June and July (late spring and early summer).
● Most of the winter months have about an 2.5 cm of precipitation, brought by the occasional depressions
of the Westerlies and coming in the form of snow.
● The maritime influence in the southern hemisphere causes more rainfall.

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Interior of the Earth
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 Table of Contents

● Earth’s Layers (The internal structure of the Earth)

● The Crust
● Lithosphere
● The Mantle
● Asthenosphere
● The Outer Core
● The Inner Core
● Seismic Discontinuities
● The interior of the earth is made up of several
concentric layers of which the crust, the mantle,
the outer core and the inner core are significant
because of their unique physical and chemical
properties.
● The crust is a silicate solid, the mantle is a
viscous molten rock, the outer core is a viscous
liquid, and the inner core is a dense solid.
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● Mechanically, the earth’s layers can be divided into lithosphere,
asthenosphere, mesospheric mantle (part of the Earth’s mantle
below the lithosphere and the asthenosphere), outer core, and
inner core.
● Chemically, Earth can be divided into the crust, upper mantle,
lower mantle, outer core, and inner core.

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 The Crust

● The crust is the outermost layer of the earth making up

0.5-1.0 per cent of the earth’s volume and less than 1 per
cent of Earth’s mass.
● The thickness of the crust varies in the range of range of
5-30 km in case of the oceanic crust and as 50-70 km in
case of the continental crust.
● The continental crust can be thicker than 70 km in the
areas of major mountain systems. It is as much as 70-100
km thick in the Himalayan region.
● The temperature of the crust increases with depth,
reaching values typically in the range from about
200 °C to 400 °C at the boundary with the
underlying mantle.
● The temperature increases by as much as 30 °C for
every kilometre in the upper part of the crust.
● The outer covering of the crust is of sedimentary
material and below that lie crystalline, igneous and
metamorphic rocks which are acidic in nature.
● The lower layer of the crust consists of basaltic and
ultra-basic rocks.
● The continents are composed of lighter silicates — silica + aluminium
(also called sial) while the oceans have the heavier silicates — silica +
magnesium (also called sima) [Suess,1831–1914 ― this classification
is now obsolete (out of date)].
● The continental crust is composed of lighter (felsic) sodium potassium
aluminium silicate rocks, like granite.
● The oceanic crust, on the other hand, is composed of dense (mafic)
iron magnesium silicate igneous rocks, like basalt.
● In geology, felsic refers to igneous rocks that are relatively rich in
elements that form feldspar and quartz.
● It is contrasted with mafic rocks, which are relatively richer in
magnesium and iron.
● Felsic refers to rocks which are enriched in the lighter elements such
as silicon, oxygen, aluminium, sodium, and potassium.
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 The Mohorovicic (Moho) discontinuity
● Mohorovicic (Moho) discontinuity forms the
boundary between the crust and the
asthenosphere (upper reaches of the mantle)
where there is a discontinuity in the seismic
velocity.
● It occurs at an average depth of about 8 kilometres
beneath the ocean basins and 30 kilometres
beneath continental surfaces.
 Lithosphere
● The lithosphere is the rigid outer part of the earth with
thickness varying between 10-200 km.
● It is includes the crust and the upper part of the mantle.
● The lithosphere is broken into tectonic plates
(lithospheric plates), and the movement of these
tectonic plates cause large-scale changes in the earth’s
geological structure (folding, faulting).
● The source of heat that drives plate tectonics is the
primordial heat left over from the planet’s formation as
well as the radioactive decay of uranium, thorium, and
potassium in Earth’s crust and mantle.
 The Mantle

● It forms about 83 per cent of the earth’s volume and holds 67%
of the earth’s mass.
● It extends from Moho’s discontinuity to a depth of 2,900 km.
● The lower mantle extends beyond the asthenosphere. It is in a
solid state.
● The mantle is composed of silicate rocks that are rich in iron
and magnesium relative to the overlying crust.
● Regarding its constituent elements, the mantle is made up of
45% oxygen, 21% silicon, and 23% magnesium (OSM).
● In the mantle, temperatures range from approximately 200 °C
at the upper boundary with the crust to approximately 4,000 °C
at the core-mantle boundary.
 Asthenosphere
● The upper portion of the mantle is called as asthenosphere
(astheno means weak).
● It lies just below the lithosphere extending up to 80-200 km.
● It is highly viscous, mechanically weak and ductile and its
density is higher than that of the crust.
● These properties of the asthenosphere aid in plate tectonic
movement and isostatic adjustments (the elevated part at
one part of the crust area is counterbalanced by a
depressed part at another).
● It is the main source of magma that finds its way to the
surface during volcanic eruptions.
 The Outer Core
● The outer core, surrounding the inner core, lies between
2900 km and 5100 km below the earth’s surface.
● The outer core is composed of iron mixed with nickel (nife).
● The outer core is not under enough pressure to be solid, so
it is liquid even though it has a composition similar to the
inner core.
● The temperature of the outer core ranges from 4400 °C in
the outer regions to 6000 °C near the inner core.
● Dynamo theory suggests that convection in the outer core,
combined with the Coriolis effect, gives rise to Earth’s
magnetic field.
 The Inner Core
● The inner core extends from the centre of the earth to
5100 km below the earth’s surface.
● The inner core is generally believed to be composed
primarily of iron (80%) and some nickel (nife).
● Earth’s inner core rotates slightly faster relative to the
rotation of the surface.
● The solid inner core is too hot to hold a permanent
magnetic field.
● The core (inner core and the outer core) accounts for just
about 16 per cent of the earth’s volume but 33% of earth’s
mass.
Earth’s Layers- Seismic Discontinuities

● Conorod Discontinuity– between upper and lower crust

● Mohorovicic Discontinuity (Moho) – separates the crust
from the mantle, its average depth being about 35 km.
● Repiti Discontinuity – between the upper and lower
mantle
● Gutenberg Discontinuity – lies between the mantle and
the outer core. Below 2900 km from earth’s surface.
● Lehman Discontinuity- between inner and outer core.

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Temperature, Pressure and Density of the Earth s interior

● The temperature increases towards the centre of the earth. However, the rate of increase of
temperature is not uniform from the surface towards the earth s centre. It is faster at some
places than at others.
● The temperature at the centre is estimated to lie somewhere between 3000 C and 50000C.
● Such a high temperature inside the earth may be due to chemical reactions under
high-pressure conditions and disintegration of radioactive elements.
● The pressure also increases from the surface towards the centre of the earth due to huge
weight of the overlying rocks.
● Due to increase in pressure and presence of heavier materials towards the earth s centres,
the density of earth s layers also goes on increasing. The materials of the innermost part of
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The Rock
Cycle
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The Earth is made up of rock!
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There are 3 types of rock,
classified by how they are formed:

•Sedimentary
•Metamorphic
•Igneous
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 Each of these three types of rock
can turn into any of the other types,
if exposed to the right conditions.
That’s why it’s called
The Rock Cycle!
The formation of the three rock types, through
Rock Cycle processes, happens in the earth’s crust.
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 Sedimentary
• Sedimentary rocks form from eroded
pieces of minerals, rocks, and fossils.
• These particles, or sediments, build
up in layers through deposition.
• Sedimentary rocks form near the
surface, by time and pressure.
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Metamorphic
• Metamorphic rocks form when other
types of rocks change into new ones.
• They form deep underground.
• Metamorphic rocks require a lot of
time, heat and pressure to form.
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Igneous
• Igneous rocks are made from molten
rock (magma) from deep underground.
• Magma that cools underground forms
intrusive rocks; when it cools on the
surface (as lava), extrusive rocks form.
• Igneous rocks form in intense heat.
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● Rocks are an aggregate of one or more minerals held
together by chemical bonds.
● Feldspar and quartz are the most common minerals
found in rocks.
● The scientific study of rocks is called petrology.
● Based on the mode of formation three major groups of
rocks are defined: igneous, sedimentary, and
metamorphic.
● Igneous Rocks — solidified from magma and lava.
● Sedimentary Rocks — the result of deposition of
fragments of rocks.
● Metamorphic Rocks — formed out of existing rocks
undergoing recrystallisation.
Igneous Rocks or Primary Rocks

● The solidification of magma formed the first rocks on earth.

● Rocks formed out of solidification of magma (molten rock below
the surface) and lava (molten rock above the surface) and are
known as igneous or primary rocks.
● Having their origin under conditions of high temperatures the
igneous rocks are unfossiliferous.
● Granite, gabbro, basalt, are some of the examples of igneous
rocks.
● There are three types of igneous rocks based on place and
time taken in cooling of the molten matter, plutonic rocks,
volcanic rocks and intermediate rocks.
● There are two types of rocks based on the presence of
acid-forming radical, silicon, acidic rocks and basic rocks.
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Intrusive igneous rocks (Plutonic rocks)

● If magma cools slowly at great depths,

mineral grains formed in the rocks may be
very large.
● Such rocks are called intrusive rocks or
plutonic rocks (e.g. Granite).
● These rocks appear on the surface only after
being uplifted and denuded.
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Extrusive igneous rocks (Lava or Volcanic rocks)

● Sudden cooling of magma just below the surface or lava

above the surface results in small and smooth grains in
rocks as rapid cooling prevents crystallisation, as a
result, such rocks are fine-grained.
● Such rocks are called extrusive rocks or volcanic
rocks (e.g. Basalt).
● The Deccan traps in the Indian peninsular region is of
basaltic origin.
● Basic rocks contain a greater proportion of basic
oxides, e.g. of iron, aluminium or magnesium, and are
thus denser and darker in colour.
Hypabyssal or Dyke Rocks or Intermediate rocks

● These rocks occupy an intermediate position between the

deep-seated plutonic bodies and the surface lava flows.
● Dyke rocks are semi-crystalline in structure.

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Acidic Rocks

● Acidic rocks are characterised by high content of silica (quartz

and feldspar) — up to 80 per cent.
● The rest is divided among aluminium, alkalis, magnesium, iron
oxide, lime etc.
● These rocks have a lesser content of heavier minerals like iron
and magnesium. Hence, they are less dense and are lighter in
colour than basic rocks.
● These rocks constitute the sial portion of the crust.
● Due to the excess of silicon, acidic magma cools fast, and it
does not flow and spread far away.
● High mountains are formed of this type of rock.
● Add rocks are hard, compact, massive and resistant to
weathering.
● Granite, quartz and feldspar are typical examples.
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Basic Rocks

● These rocks are poor in silica (about 40 per cent);

magnesia content is up to 40 per cent, and the remaining
is spread over iron oxide, lime, aluminium, alkalis,
potassium etc.
● Due to low silica content, the parent material of such
rocks cools slowly and thus, flows and spreads far
away. This flow and cooling give rise to plateaus.
● Presence of heavy elements imparts to these rocks a
dark colour. Not being very hard, these rocks are
weathered relatively easily.
● Basalt, gabbro and dolerite are typical examples.
Sedimentary Rocks or Detrital Rocks

● Sedimentary rocks are formed by lithification ―

consolidation and compaction of sediments.
● Hence, they are layered or stratified of varying
thickness. Example: sandstone, shale etc.
● Sediments are a result of denudation (weathering and
erosion) of all types of rocks.
● These types of rocks cover 75 per cent of the earth’s
crust but volumetrically occupy only 5 per cent
(because they are available only in the upper part of
the crust).
● Ice deposited sedimentary rocks are called till or
tillite. Wind-deposited sediments are called loess.
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Depending upon the mode of formation,

sedimentary rocks are classified into:
1. mechanically formed — sandstone,
conglomerate, limestone, shale, loess.
2. organically formed — geyserite, chalk,
limestone, coal.
3. chemically formed — limestone, halite,
potash.
Mechanically Formed Sedimentary Rocks

● They are formed by mechanical agents like running

water, wind, ocean currents, ice, etc.
● Arenaceous sedimentary rocks have more sand and
bigger sized particles and are hard and porous. They
form the best reservoirs for liquids like
groundwater and petroleum. E.g. sandstone.
● Argillaceous rocks have more clay and are
fine-grained, softer, mostly impermeable (mostly
non-porous or have very tiny pores). E.g. claystone
and shales are predominantly argillaceous.
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Chemically Formed Sedimentary Rocks

● Water containing minerals evaporate at the

mouth of springs or salt lakes and give rise to
Stalactites and stalagmites (deposits of lime left
over by the lime-mixed water as it evaporates in
the underground caves).
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Organically Formed Sedimentary Rocks

● The remains of plants and animals are buried under

sediments, and due to heat and pressure from
overlying layers, their composition changes. Coal
and limestone are well-known examples.
● Depending on the predominance of calcium content
or the carbon content, sedimentary rocks may be
calcareous (limestone, chalk, dolomite) or
carbonaceous (coal).
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Chief Characteristics of Sedimentary Rocks

● They are stratified ― consist of many layers or strata.

● They hold the most informative geological records due
to the marks left behind by various geophysical
(weather patterns, wind and water flow) and biological
activities (fossils).
● They are fossiliferous ― have fossils of plants and
animals.
● These rocks are generally porous and allow water
to percolate through them.
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The spread of Sedimentary Rocks in India

● Alluvial deposits in the Indo-Gangetic plain and coastal

plains is of sedimentary accumulation. These deposits
contain loam and clay.
● Different varieties of sandstone are spread over Madhya
Pradesh, eastern Rajasthan, parts of Himalayas, Andhra
Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa.
● The great Vindhyan highland in central India consists of
sandstones, shales, limestones.
● Coal deposits occur in river basins of the Damodar,
Mahanadi, the Godavari in the Gondwana sedimentary
deposits.
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Metamorphic Rocks

● The word metamorphic means ‘change of form’.

● Metamorphism is a process by which recrystallisation and
reorganisation of minerals occur within a rock. This occurs due to
pressure, volume and temperature changes.
● When rocks are forced down to lower levels by tectonic processes or
when molten magma rising through the crust comes in contact with the
crustal rocks, metamorphosis occurs.
● In the process of metamorphism in some rocks grains or minerals get
arranged in layers or lines. Such an arrangement is called foliation or
lineation.
● Sometimes minerals or materials of different groups are arranged into
alternating thin to thick layers. Such a structure in is called banding.
● Gneissoid, slate, schist, marble, quartzite etc. are some examples of
metamorphic rocks.
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Exogenic Geomorphic Movements

● The geomorphic processes on the earth’s crust or its

surface brought down by the forces emanating from
above the earth’s surface (wind, water) are called
exogenic geomorphic process.
● Exogenic geomorphic process gives rise to exogenic
geomorphic movements or simply exogenic movements
such as weathering and erosion.
● The effects of most of the exogenic geomorphic
processes are small and slow but will, in the long run,
affect the rocks severely due to continued fatigue.
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Denudation

● All the exogenic processes (weathering and erosion)

are covered under a general term, denudation.
● The word ‘denude’ means to strip off or to uncover.
● Denudation depends on physical (folds, faults,
orientation and inclination of beds, presence or
absence of joints, bedding planes, hardness or
softness of constituent minerals, permeability) and
chemical (chemical susceptibility of mineral
constituents to corrosion) properties of the rocks.
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● Weathering is the breaking down of Rocks, soils and
minerals through “direct Contact” with the
Weathering is
atmosphere ofthe
thebreaking
earth. Itdown
occursof Rocks,
in situ, soils
meansand
minerals
there is nothrough
movement“directinvolved.
Contact” with the
atmosphere
● Erosion- Thisofisthe earth. It
distinct occurs
from in situ,
erosion means
which involves
there
the is no movement
movement of rocksinvolved.
and minerals such as water,
Erosion-
ice, This gravity.
wind and is distinct from erosion which
involves the movement of rocks and minerals such
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as water, ice, wind and gravity.
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Types of Weathering:-
There
Types of are three types of
Weathering
weathering viz. Mechanical or
There are three types of weathering viz. Mechanical
or Physical Weathering, Chemical Weathering &
Physical Weathering, Chemical
Biological Weathering.
Weathering & Biological
Weathering.
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Physical Weathering:-
Physical Weathering can be caused by thermal changes,
Frost Action, Pressure Release, Hydraulic action and
Haloclasty.
Repeated changes in the temperature (heating and
cooling) exert the stress on the outer layers of the rocks
which is called as Thermal Stress. The rocks expand when
there is a rise in the temperature and contract when there
is a fall in the temperature. In deserts, the phenomena are
more common as there is large diurnal temperature range.
The Forest fires can raise the temperature suddenly and
this leads to thermal shock
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Biological Weathering refers to the contribution made by the
organisms such as Lichens and mosses, which grow on essentially
bare rock surfaces and create a more humid chemical
microenvironment. Biological weathering is both physical as well as
chemical breakdown of the surface micro layer of the rock. The
Biological
animals Weatheringand
such as earthworms refers
othertoannelids,
the contribution
moles, rabbits all
contribute
madetoby
thethe
biological weathering
organisms such asLichens and mosses,
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which grow on essentially bare rock surfaces and
create a more humid chemical microenvironment.
Biological weathering is both physical as well as
chemical breakdown of the surface micro layer of
the rock. The animls such as earthworms and other
annelids, moles, rabbits all contribute to the
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biological weathering
Chemical Weathering:-
Chemical weathering refers to the changes in the chemical composition of the
rocks and generally refers to the chemical reactions of water with minerals.
Hydration means absorption of water by some kinds of rock, leading to
expansions and disintegrations. When water molecules bind with the mineral
molecules, it is called Mineral Hydration.
Hydrolysis- The chemical breakdown of the rocks caused by rainwater is
called Hydrolysis. The result may be secondary minerals with different
chemical structure.
Oxidation- Oxidation or rusting occurs when atmospheric oxygen reacts with
the minerals such as Iron Ores. This leads to decomposition of the rocks.
Solutions- This refers to dissolving of the minerals in water.
Carbonation- Carbonation refers to the chemical weathering in which Carbon
dioxide attacks the rocks after it makes weak acid reacting the water. The
rocks are generally made up of calcium carbonate such as Limestone and
Chalk.
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