Part A
What's Inside the Earth?
The interior of the Earth is divided into several major structural and compositional layers (see Figure 10-2). Chemically, the Earth includes a solid outer crust that overlies a solid, but highly viscous mantle that overlies a liquid outer core and solid inner core. The composition and thickness of these layers has been inferred from various geophysical data (i.e., gravity, magnetic, seismic), high pressure experimental studies, and theoretical calculations. The crust and the rigid part of the upper mantle combine to form a few dozen lithospheric plates (see Figure 10-3) whose interactions produce the dynamic geology (earthquakes, volcanoes, etc.) that we are familiar with here on Earth.
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Figure 10-2. Earth's interior strructure. |
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Figure 10-3. Lithosphere, asthenosphere, and crust. |
Before we discuss plate tectonics, let's get familiar with the various layers that compose the inside of our planet.
Refer to Figures 10-2 and 10-3 to answer Quiz Me! questions A01 and A02.
Now go to the Wikipedia's Structure of Earth web page to answer Quiz Me! questions A03 through A10.