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Theory

Structure of Earth

Image sourced from USGS.


The Earth's structure is differentiated in three distinct layers: the core, mantle, and crust. The layers are distinguished by a change in the velocity of seismic waves at their boundaries (? Seismic profile). The crust is the upper most part of the earth, with depths ranging from an average of 7 km in the oceans, to an average of 38 km in continental crust. The crust thickens underneath mountain ranges, and can reach depths of 90 km underneath the Himalayas. The composition of the crust also differs between oceanic and continental environments. Ocean crust is young mafic crust dominated by basalts and gabbros that is recycled regularly (~300 Ma) due to subduction processes. Continental crust is much more varied in structure and composition than oceanic, but has an overall average composition of granodiorite.



The boundary of the crust and mantle is defined by the Mohorovicic discontinuity, commonly referred to as the Moho. It is defined by a sharp increase in seismic wave velocity, due to a change in material properties between crustal rocks and mantle rocks. The mantle is dominated by silicate minerals that are rich in iron and magnesium, chiefly pyroxenes and polymorphs of olivine, forming peridotite. The mantle, while solid, behaves plastically, allowing to flow at very slow rates.

The core is distinguished by the absence of S waves, leading to the inference that the core is liquid. The core is separated into the outer core and the inner core. The outer core is liquid dominated by iron and nickel. The inner core is solid, as determined by the strong refraction of P waves at the inner core-outer core boundary, and was formed by crystallizing minerals from the liquid part of the core as the Earth cools.

The crust and mantle are also further distinguished by material properties into the lithosphere, asthenosphere, and mesosphere. The chemical composition is uniform throughout the mantle though, but changes in pressure and temperature determine which polymorphs will exist at different depths. The lithosphere contains the crust, and the upper part of the mantle down to ~100 km under oceanic crust, and 200-300 km under continental crust (Twiss & Moores, 2007). The lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary is defined by the 1300 K isotherm, which is the temperature where olivine starts to behave viscously. The rocks in the mesosphere are under more pressure than those in the asthenosphere, so no longer behave viscously.

The seismic profile of the Earth.
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