Geology 114- Ch 1 & 2
The Geosphere
the geosphere is the largest of the earths 4 spheres. it includes continental and oceanic crust as well as the varius layers of earths interior
Granite
Continental crust usually contains a rock that is made up of less dense elements, called Granite.
The Core
Core has two parts. Solid inner core which is composed of solid iron and some nickel. The liquid outer core, which makes up a third of the Earth's mass.
Outer Core
Outer core is liquid because the pressures are slightly lower in this region, but the temperatures are still high enough to be above the melting point of iron.
The lower mantle
Solid rock that gradually increases in density downward toward the boundary with the molten material of the outer core. Higher pressures at lower mantle are thought to make the minerals denser than those of the upper mantle.
The lithosphere
Sub-section of the upper mantle, directly above the asthenosphere. Shallowest physical layer. Made up of strong, rigid rocks that can break when they move. Contains rigid rocks of the oceanic crust, the continental crust, and the top portion of the underlying upper mantle.
The asthenosphere
Sub-section of the upper mantle, directly below the lithosphere. Mostly solid but pliable (like putty) and can flow under pressure. Weaker than laters above or below it, rocks are very close to their melting point in the asthenosphere (some parts may be molten). Slow seismic waves.
Continental Crust
The crust that makes up the Earth's landmasses and their shallowly-submerged edges. Composed mainly of less dense elements (calcium, sodium, potassium, aluminum, silicon, and oxygen)(Granite)
Inner Core
Inner core is very dense and solid in spite of extremely high temperatures because of the very high pressures at the Earth's center
The upper mantle
Lies above the transition zone and extends upward to the base of the crust. Upper mantle is divided into the asthenosphere and the lithosphere.
The Mantle
Most of the Earth's interior consists of the mantle (67% of the Earth's total mass). Has some internal variations in composition but is mostly magnesium, silicon, oxygen, and iron.
Minerals
Naturally occurring solids with an orderly arrangement of atoms and distinct chemical compositions
The Crust
The outer thin skin of the Earth. There are two fundamentally different types of crust: Continental and Oceanic.
The mantle transition zone
The transition done is the part of the mantle where rocks like those in the upper mantle are being transformed into rocks like those in the lower mantle
Oceanic Crust
Underlies the ocean. Thin, iron-rich, and young compared to continental crust. (Iron, magnesium, calcium, silicon, and oxygen). Oceanic crust consists primarily of volcanic rock called basalt--which is formed from partially melted mantle that migrates to the Earth's surface at seafloor volcanoes.
Basalt
Volcanic rock, formed from partially melted mantle that migrates to the Earth's surface at seafloor volcanoes. It is the most abundant volcanic rock, fender on average than rocks of the continental crust because it contains more iron and magnesium.
Density
mass per unit volume (can be measured with the testing of the velocity of seismic waves that pass through it since seismic waves travel faster through denser material)