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The Earth is almost a sphere. These are its main layers, starting with the outermost:
1.
Crust - The Earths crust is the outermost layer, consisting mainly of the
chemical elements silicon and aluminum. The crust has two types: a continental
crust that varies in thickness between 20 km and 90 km, and an oceanic crust
that varies in thickness between 5 km and 10 km. The oceanic crust is denser
than the continental crust.
2.
Mantle -The mantle is the thickest of Earths layers and takes up 83% of
Earths volume. It extends down to about 2900 km from the crust to Earths core
and is largely composed of a dark, dense, igneous rock called peridotite,
containing iron and magnesium. The mantle has three distinct layers: a lower,
solid layer; the asthenosphere, which behaves plastically and flows slowly; and a
solid upper layer. Partial melting within the asthenosphere generates magma
(molten material), some of which rises to the surface because it is less dense
than the surrounding material. The upper mantle and the crust make up the
lithosphere, which is broken up into pieces called plates, which move over the
asthenosphere. The interaction of these plates is responsible for earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions and the formation of mountain ranges and ocean basins. The
section on plate tectonic theory later in this topic explains the occurrence of
these events further.
3.
outer core - made from liquid nickel and iron
4.
inner core - made from solid nickel and iron
The lithosphere consists of the crust and outer part of the mantle. It is the
relatively cold outer part of the Earths structure.
Transform boundaries are where the plates slide past each other.
Divergent Boundaries
As the plates pull apart, hot molten material can rise up this newly formed
pathway to the surface - causing volcanic activity.
As the North American and Eurasian plates were pulled apart (see map)
volcanic activity occurred along the cracks and fissures (see photographs).
With many eruptions over time the island grew out of the sea!
Question: Why dont we have islands like Iceland where ever we get an
Ocean Ridge?
Answer: Scientists believe that there is a large mantle plume (an upwelling
of hot mantle material) located right underneath where Iceland has formed.
This would mean that more material would be erupted in the Iceland area
compared with if there was just the divergent boundary without the plume
underneath it.
Convergent Boundaries
Example:
India used to be an island, but about 15 million years ago it crashed into Asia
(see map).
Mountains were also pushed down into the mantle as the normally 35 km
thick crust is approximately 70 km thick in this region.
At a convergent boundary where continental crust pushes against oceanic crust, the
oceanic crust which is thinner
and
denser
than
the
continental crust, sinks below
the continental crust.
This
is
called
Subduction Zone.
The
oceanic
crust
descends
into
the
mantle at a rate of
centimeters per year.
This oceanic crust is
called the Subducting
Slab (see diagram).
The addition of water into the mantle wedge changes the melting point of the
molten material there forming new melt which rises up into the overlying
continental crust forming volcanoes.
oceanic crust is much younger than the continental crust which is not
recycled.
Transform Boundaries
Plates slide sideways past each other. The San Andreas Fault in California is a
transform plate boundary separating the Pacific plate and North American
plate. Sliding plates build up pressure in certain places, causing the sudden
movement of plates to release the pressure. The sudden movements of
plates are earthquake.
Geothermal
Wind
Biomass
Water
1.
Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the sun harnessed using a range
of
ever-evolving
technologies
such
as solar
heating,
photovoltaics, solar thermal energy, solar
architecture
and
artificial
photosynthesis. It is an important source of renewable energy and its technologies
are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on the
way they capture and distribute solar energy or convert it into solar power.
2.
Geothermal energy is the heat from the Earth. It's clean and sustainable. Resources of
geothermal energy range from the shallow ground to hot water and hot rock found a few miles
beneath the Earth's surface, and down even deeper to the extremely high temperatures of
molten rock called magma.
3.
Wind
energy
or
power
is extracted from air flow using wind
turbines or sails to produce mechanical or electrical power. Windmills are used for
their mechanical power, wind pumps for water pumping, and sails to propel ships.
Wind power as an alternative to fossil fuels, is plentiful, renewable, widely
distributed, clean, produces no greenhouse gas emissions during operation, and
uses little land.
4.