Internal Structure of the Earth

Contents
1.1 Introduction to course
1.2 The Planet earth
1.2 Internal layers of the Earth
1. 3 line of Evidence for interior of the earth
1.4 The chemical Composition of the Earth
1.1 Introduction
Importance of the course
There is a great relationship between geology and
design of civil engineering structures.
Geology -is the science of earth, its composition, structure,
its history and its past plant and animal’s life .
The structures constructed:
• On the earth
• Below the earth surface
• From earth material
are affected by the nature of the material that compose
the earth.
Continued
Earth materials can pose significant problems that
need to be:
 Predicted
 Planned
 Designed
Thus, an understanding of how the ground behaves
is fundamental to civil engineering design.
Engineering Geology is an applied discipline of
geology that relies heavily on knowledge of
geologic principles and processes to solve
engineering problems.
Continued

Engineering Geology is applicable in the following

engineering fields
 Foundation engineering -
 Construction materials/ highway engineering
 Dam and Hydropower engineering
 Disaster mitigation and Earthquake engineering
 Urban Planning
 Environmental engineering
For this reason, civil engineer must have sufficient
knowledge of Engineering Geology.
1.2 The Planet Earth
• Earth is a dynamic planet
• The planet earth is unique from the others planets
because of life existence.
• All forms of life depend for their existence on the
materials that compose the unique spheres of the
earth.
• These spheres are:
Lithosphere
Hydrosphere
Atmosphere
Lithosphere -is the relatively brittle outer rock layer, consisting
of the crust and upper mantle; it is broken into large slabs
known as plates.
Hydrosphere -a sphere of water containing absorbed water,
and carrying particles of rock as sediment surrounds the earth
Atmosphere – the envelope of gases surrounding the earth
 1.3 Internal Layers of the Earth

There are three principal rock

layers within the earth, which
have been so far identified.
These are:
 Crust 0-100km
 Mantle( up to 2900)
 Core(2900 to 7500km)
 I. Crust
This is the outer rocky layer
on which we are currently
standing.
It is the outer part of the solid
lithosphere d/t rocks
The rocks are dominated by
silicates
 Its average density is 2.7-2.9
g/cm3
Continued
Crust under the ocean is very different from that under the
continents. As a result crust further divided into two:
 Continental crust -This is a light crust (S. G.=2.7-2.9
gm/c.c.), consists of rocks rich in Si and Al, so it is termed
as SIAL CRUST. It is usually found beneath the Mountains
and Continents. Its thickness ranges between 30–100 km
bsl., Commonly has light colour.
- Granite and basalt are the most abundant primary rock of
the continental crust.
Continued
 Oceanic crust - this is a heavy crust (S. G.=3.5- 4.1 gm/c.c.),
consists of rocks rich in Si ,Mg and Fe, so it is termed as
SIMA CRUST. It is usually found beneath the Seas and
Oceans. Its thickness ranges between 8-12 km bsl., It is of
darker colour.
Dominated by basalt.

• The crust ends at Mohorovicich (Mohor) Discontinuity of

the short waves.
 Continued
The crust is well balanced over the very mobile molten envelope below
(the Mantle), although there is a great variation in altitudes between
mountain peaks (up to 8.8 km) and ocean floors (down to 10.5 km).

This is related to the fact that below the mountains & continents the
crust is light and consists of (SIAL-type) whereas below the oceans it is
of the heavy SIMA-type. Therefore, thick and light mass is in balance
with the other thin and heavy mass over the mobile mantle.
 II) THE MANTLE
The mantle is a thick envelope that constitutes
more than 1/3 of the Earth planet. It extends from the
base of the crust (~100km) to 2900km (the top of the Core).
Generally, it is a semi-molten part of the earth whose the uppermost
parts are rather rigid and is called (Asthenosphere). The amount of the
molten materials increase downward where a marked decrease in the
short waves is recorded.
- It is composed of rocks rich in Mg -Fe silicates
- Temp 2000 to 3800 oC

The Mantle is divided into two parts, according to its physical

characters:
 1)Outer Mantle:
A hot envelope of semi-molten materials whose top
parts are semi-solid (Asthenosphere). Its general
composition consists of Si + Mg rich minerals (i.e.: SIMA).
The Outer Mantle is usually traversed by huge, but slow
convection currents that result in fragmentation of the
overlying crustal plates
2) Inner Mantle:
A hot envelope of molten materials. Its general composition
consists molten Si + Mg rich minerals (i.e.: SIMA). The Inner
Mantle is usually of more temperature than the above shell.
Toward its base the short waves display great reduction in
their velocities ( Gutenberg Discontinuity)
 III) The Core
The Core is the thickest envelope in the earth. It is the
central mass of the planet where it constitutes more than 2/3
of the Earth. It extends from the base of the inner mantle
(~2883km) to the Earth’s center (~7500km).
The Core composition reflects the original nature of the
earth planet. The core is commonly rich in Fe & Ni, the same
as meteorites, evidencing that all individuals of the solar
system derived from one and the same cosmic body
- Temperature reaches up to 5100oC
- Density reaches up to 13.7 g/cm3
The core is divided into two parts:
1) Outer Core:
A very hot envelope of strongly molten materials . It is
mainly composed of molten SIMA as well as some S, Ni
and Fe. Due to the great overlying pressure, this part
behaves as solid, however, it is a real melt, so the short
waves suffer a great reduction in the velocities in this
part.
2) Inner Core:
A very hot envelope of strongly molten materials. It is
entirely composed of molten Ni and Fe, the same as
meteorites. Due to the very excessive overlying pressure,
this part behaves as solid, so the short waves display
increase in velocities in this part.
1.4 Evidence for interior of earth
As only upper 20km of earth interior is known by direct
observation for the purpose of petroleum exploration
or exploitation, the internal part of the earth is known
indirectly.
For this, there are several lines of evidence that indicate
variability of the interior of the earth.
These are:
Earth quake waves- p and s-waves
Meteorites
Xenoliths
Mathematical computation or Average density of the
Earth
Continued
Seismic wave
The velocity of the wave varies with the density of the
layer
• s- waves travel only through solid bodies and do not
pass into the core.
• Whereas p-waves slow down and are sharply refracted
when they enter the core
• but speeds up again after they pass through the outer
zones of the core
Continued
Meteorites
• Meteorites are fragments of rocks from asteroid belt or piece of rocks
that have reached earth from outer space.
• Meteorites and the earth are assumed to have the same origin with the
earth.
• It is considered as fragment from a sister planet with similar
composition
Xenoliths
• are pieces of solid rock that are carried from deep with molten magma
erupting from the interior of the earth and brought to the surface
during volcanic eruption.
• They have different mineralogy than the rock in which they are found.
• It represents internal part of the earth (upper part of mantle)
1.5 The chemical composition of the Earth
what exactly is the composition of the Earth's interior?
It depends upon the depth of interest
The mantle is different from the core and the core is
different from the crust.
In terms of elemental composition,
abundance of elements varies in
the earth curst.
All others: 1.5%
Rock Forming Mineral and their Identification
 2.1 Minerals
The make-up of solid matter on Earth:
Atoms  Elements  Compounds  Minerals  Rocks
(smallest) (largest)

What are minerals?

All minerals are
 Inorganic
 Naturally Occurring
 Characteristic Chemical Composition
 Distinctive Physical Properties
 Have a Crystalline Structure

More than 2000 different kinds of minerals have been identified

However only about 30 are considered common.
Minerals are elements or chemical
compounds that are formed by
a number of natural processes.
A mineral is a homogeneous
substance that has a definite
chemical composition which can
be represented by a chemical formula
Most minerals consist of two or
more elements united in a
compound such as quartz SiO2.
eg.
Olivien- Mg2SiO4
Garnet- Mg3Al2Si3O12
Topaz - Al2SiO4 (OH, F)2
 
2.2 Physical Properties of Minerals
The physical properties of minerals are:
• Color
• Streak  
• luster
• Hardness  
• Specific gravity
• Cleavage 
• Magnetic property
Continued
Streak- is a color in powdered form.
Color in powdered form of a mineral is different from
their color in larger fragments.
Luster-the nature of the light reflected from the surface
of
a mineral is its luster.
Two groups of luster:
• Metallic luster
• Nonmetallic luster
Hardness –the hardness of a mineral
is determined by its ability to scratch
or to be scratched by others.
Mohs Scale of Hardness

Hardness 1 to 10
Cleavage and Fracture
• Cleavage - the tendency of a mineral to break along flat parallel
surfaces.
• Fracture - Any break in a mineral that does not occur along a
cleavage plane.
2.3 Rock Forming Minerals and
their chemical composition
All the minerals of the earth’s crust occur in and
among the rocks
Out of more than 2000 different minerals that are
known in the earth, only a few referred to as rock
forming minerals.
From these, Silicates are by far the most common
rock forming minerals;
They constitute about 95% of the earth’s crust.
Continued
Why Silicates are dominant rock forming minerals?

Crust is a pile of oxygen atoms of all other elements

It comprises;
46.7% by mass
60.5% by atoms
94.24% by volume of all elements in the
earth’s crust.
Continued
Silicon is the second most abundant element by mass and
number of atoms, but very low in volume.
This means that the most common atom between the
oxygen atoms must be silicon.
The chemical compounds in the crust are compounds of
the eight abundant elements in which O & Si are more
abundant.
 Continued
 In a compound, atoms arranged in a certain pattern.
 The most common pattern is tetrahedral structure
(one silicon atom surrounded by four oxygen atoms).
 Mineral that have this pattern of oxygen and silicon
atoms are called silicates.
 For this reason silicate minerals are by far the most
common rock forming minerals; they constitute about
95% of the earth’s crust.
 The basic building blocks of silicate is the SiO4
tetrahedral.
Continued
Continued
 2.4 Important Silicate minerals
The important rock forming silicate minerals are;
 
Olivine Group
(Mg Fe)2 SiO4
Pyroxenes Group
X2SiO6
Amphiboles Group
Feldspars Group
Feldspathoids
Micas Group
KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
Silica Group
2.5 Non-silicate rock forming Minerals
Non-silicate rock forming minerals include
Carbonates (calcite, dolomite, magnetite)
Halides (chlorides like Nacl and Kcl)
Sulfates (Gypsum, anhydrite, poly halite (CaMgK)SO4)