ESCI 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Outer Core, Inner Core, Lithosphere
20 Jan 2016
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Document Summary
Form of earth"s layered structure solid - pressure is intense enough to overcome melting point. Heavy metal (nickel and iron) density 4-5 g/cm3. Lower mantle - 2300 km thickness - largest volume. Upper mantle - transition isn"t well defined mantle changes between liquid and solid (toothpaste consistency) Molten rock rises and cools to produce primitive crust. No life at this point, needs to cool off to allow for liquid water. Mantle o o o o o o o. Low density silicate material (o, si, al, k) Continental curst - thick, 70 km thick, not dense - 2. 8 g/cm. Oceanic crust - 7 km thick, dense - 3 g/cm3. Continental crust less dense so floats on mantle. Compression waves (pass through solid, liquid, and gas) When shear waves try to go through liquid during earthquake, Compressional waves go straight through the center of the earth doesn"t work and is picked up by instrumentation.
