THE PLANET EARTH

PAANO NABUO ANG MUNDO? ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE: Big Bang Theory The universe was created sometime between 10 billion and 20 billion years ago from a cosmic explosion that hurled matter and in all directions.
In 1927, the Belgian priest Georges Lematre was the first to propose that the universe began with the explosion of a primeval atom. His proposal came after observing the red shift in distant nebulas by astronomers to a model of the universe based on relativity. Years later, Edwin Hubble found experimental evidence to help justify Lematre's theory. He found that distant galaxies in every direction are going away from us with speeds proportional to their distance. The big bang was initially suggested because it explains why distant galaxies are traveling away from us at great speeds. The theory also predicts the existence of cosmic background radiation (the glow left over from the explosion itself). The Big Bang Theory received its strongest confirmation when this radiation was discovered in 1964 by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, who later won the Nobel Prize for this discovery.
source: http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/universe/b_bang.html

how old is the universe? Hubble Space Telescope: 15-20 billion years!!!. ORIGIN OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM AND THE EARTH: The Nebular Hypothesis - suggests that the bodies of our solar system formed from an enormous nebular cloud composed mostly of hydrogen and helium with only a small percentage of the heavier elements. nebula a vast cloud of dust and gases SUMMARY: Cloud spins, contracts under gravity flattened disk Concentration of matter in center proto sun (most of mass, 99.85%) Dense concentration of H and He at center fusion Hydrogen burning, He produced Source of sun's energy Collisions of particles of dust and gas in disk protoplanets Continued impacts enlarge planets Heat of sun drove off H and He from inner planets (weak gravity) THE NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS (http://www.cat.cc.md.us/courses/eas101/unit1/solneb.html)
Originally a large cloud of dust and gas (75% H and 24% He) became unstable. The most dense part of the cloud started to collapse under the force of gravity. Gravity pulled the dust and gas toward the center of the cloud, causing the cloud to take on a spherical shape. As the size (radius) of the cloud decreased, the collapsing cloud increased its rate of rotation. The principle on which this conclusion is based is a law of physics called "the conservation of angular momentum". The effect is similar to that of an ice skater who must pull in his or her arms in order to increase his or her rate of spin. The increased rotation of the cloud caused the cloud to change shape. It became flattened at the rotational poles. Thus the once spherical cloud became disk shaped. This rotating disk of dust and gas became the "solar nebula". Most of the matter in the collapsing cloud ended up in a central bulge
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As the cloud collapsed, gravitational energy was released, heating the central portion of the nebula where a protosun formed. Meanwhile, condensation was occurring within the disk surrounding the protosun. Because temperatures within the disk varied with distance from the center of the nebula, different materials condensed at different locations within the disk. Closer to the center, where temperatures were high, high temperature condensates such as iron and silicates formed. Farther from the center, where temperatures were low, hydrogen, water and other low temperature condensates formed. Collisions between the newly condensed particles caused larger bodies called planetesimals to accrete. This accretion process continued eventually forming the planets and moons. These violent and cataclysmic process of planetary formation is today evidenced by the cratered surfaces of Mercury and our Moon. The recent collision between comet Shoemaker-Levy and Jupiter also gave us a glimpse at what probably happened on a much grander scale when the solar system was very young. The heat generated by these impacts and by radioactive decay of elements resulted in molten planets which subsequently became differentiated. The evolving star at the center of the solar nebula passed through a T-Tauri star at which point it released bursts of energy. These bursts swept light elements such as hydrogen out of the outer solar system and into the outer solar system where it is swept up by the distant jovian planets. The young protosun got hot enough to ignite the hydrogen its core. Thermonuclear reactions in the core is what distinguishes a "sun" from a protosun. The terrestrial planets evolved their secondary (Venus and Mars) and tertiary (Earth) atmospheres.

terrestrial planets (Inner planets, small, dense, and rocky. No rings. Few or no moons.) jovian planets (Outer planets, large, low density, and gaseous(H, He, CH4). All have
rings. All have many moons)

THE EARTH atmosphere - a thin veil (~100 km) enveloping the Earth that is composed primarily of nitrogen (~78%), oxygen (~21%) and other gasses (carbon dioxide, water vapor, etc.). It is unique in the solar system troposphere - an active and important player in the hydrologic and carbon cycles of the Earth (bottom 10 km or so of the atmosphere) The Earth is a predominantly Fe (Iron), with important amounts of O (Oxygen), Si (Silicon), and Mg (Magnesium). It is the densest major body in the solar system. various elements Organics, Minerals, Glasses, Metals, Magma and lava, Volatiles shape equatorial radius polar radius density oblate spheroid circumference (poles) 6378 km circumference (equator) 6357 km volume 3 5.52 g/cm total surface area
Table 1. Some facts and figures concerning the Earth

40,009 km 40, 079 260 B cu. miles 198 M sq. miles

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How old is the Earth? 4.5 to 4.6 billion years determined through radiometric dating (Uranium, Thorium) using an instrument called a mass spectrometer. Quantitative scientific methods: 1. cooling through conduction and radiation (Lord Kelvin, 1897) ~ 24-40 million years 2. the rate of delivery of salt to the ocean (John Joly, 1899 - 1901) ~90-100 million years 3. thickness of total sedimentary record divided by average sedimentation rates (in mm/yr) (1910). 1910: ~1.6 billion years old. 4. amount of evolution shown by marine mollusks in the various series of the Tertiary System with the amount that had occurred since the beginning of the Pleistocene (Charles Lyell, 1800's) ~ 80 million years for the Cenozoic alone 5. discovery of radioactivity (Henri Becquerel,1896) ~500 million years. oldest dated Earth rocks are 3.96 billion years older rocks include meteorites and moon rocks with dates on the order of 4.6 billion years 2 PRINCIPAL DIVISIONS OF THE EARTHS SURFACE A. CONTINENTS (~30%) a. Mountain ranges and island arcs: Himalayas, Andes, Appalachians, Philippines b. Continental margins Submarine canyons steep-sided valleys winding across the continental shelf or continental slope - Congo canyon Continental shelf extends from the shoreline and the continental slope - also known as continental platform - Grand banks; North Sea Continental rise transitional part of the continental margin located between the continental slope and the abyssal plain - Amazon cone; Bay of Bengal Continental slope declines from the edge of the continental shelf extending down to the continental rise - Chile trench, Drake Passage, Sunda shelf

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B. OCEAN BASINS (~70%) a. Oceanic Ridges continuous, median, seismic mountain ranges on the ocean floor - also known as mid-ocean ridges - Mid-Atlantic Ridge, East Pacific Rise, Galapagos Rise b. Trenches/Island Chains long, narrow, deep depressions of the sea floor with relatively steep sides - Marianas Trench, Japan, Aleutians c. Seamounts/Guyots elevation of the seafloor that is either flat-topped (guyot) or peaked (seamount) - Emperor seamounts; Marshall seamounts d. Abyssal Hills/Plains Argentine Basin, Nares Abyssal Plain EARTHS INTERNAL STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION
COMPOSITIONAL LAYERS

- resulted from density sorting that took place during an early molten period in the Earths history (gravitative differentiation) How were these regions discovered? 1. Geochemistry. The ocean, atmosphere, and crustal chemistry are accessible and can be sampled at the earth's surface.
a. The Earth is presumed to have formed from particles that were similar in

composition to primitive meteorites, chondrites. b. The Earth's upper mantle must be of a composition that can produce basalt by partial melting. c. Many basalts and other volcanic rocks bring to the surface unmelted inclusions called xenoliths, from their source regions. 2. Geophysics. The crust-mantle boundary (Moho), outer core-mantle boundary, and inner core-outer core boundaries were discovered by reflections of seismic waves, analysis of the Earth's gravitational field, and rotational motion . The timing of the travel times of seismic waves can locate the depth of these boundaries very precisely, often to within 1 kilometer or less. A. Crust rigid, outermost layer of the Earth: 3-70 km (2-40 miles) thick
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a. oceanic - composed of dark igneous rocks called basalt - 3-15 km thick with a density of ~3.0 g/cm3 b. continental consists of a large variety of rock types: granodiorite - enriched in K, Na, Si (>50%) - 20-60 km thick with a density: ~2.7 g/cm 3 MOHOROVICIC DISCONTINUITY Moho : crust-mantle boundary B. Mantle solid, rocky layer of the Earth which extends to a depth of ~2900 km a. mesosphere lower mantle, extending from the core-mantle boundary to a depth of 660 km b. upper mantle continues to the base of the crust physical property changes: a. Low seismic velocity zone, LVZ -- zone of decreased velocity or smaller vertical gradient in P and S wave veloctiy at 100 - 200 km depth. b. 400 km depth discontinuity in seismic velocity and density c. 650 km depth discontinuity in seismic velocity
d. lower mantle near the core-mantle boundary, D" region near CMB

GUTENBERG DISCONTINUITY : core-mantle boundary C. Core an iron-rich sphere having a radius of 3486 km (2166 miles) with lesser amounts of nickel and other elements - inner core (solid) and outer core (liquid) are compositionally similar though differing in mechanical strength outer core 2270 km thick - convection of conducting liquid induces magnetic field LEHMANN DISCONTINUITY : outer core-inner core boundary inner core solid sphere with a radius of 1216 km
MECHANICAL LAYERS

A mechanical layer is a layer having a certain behavior when it is subjected to stress. It may break in a brittle fashion, it may flow slowly like a viscous clay or oil, or flow more rapidly like a less viscous, lighter weight, oil or like water.
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A. lithosphere sphere of rock, averages ~100-250 km thick - forms the plates that move horizontally along the surface of the earth a. Brittle upper crust -- 4 to 15 km depth. Rock can fracture like glass or ceramics when subjected to stress. This region contains most earthquakes. b. Ductile lower crust and uppermost mantle -- 15 to 100 or 200 km depth. This region can flow and deform when subjected to stress but at a much slower rate than the mantle beneath it. B. asthenosphere weak sphere, beneath the lithosphere and in the upper mantle - flows slowly having velocities similar to plate velocities (cm/yr) - portion of the mantle corresponding to the layer where rock strength is low due to partial melting (low velocity zone) Earth's chemical composition (by mass) 34.6% 29.5% 15.2% 12.7% 2.4% 1.9% 0.05%
ISOSTASY

Iron Oxygen Silicon Magnesium Nickel Sulfur Titanium

The concept of isostasy suggests that the Earths crust is floating in gravitational balance upon the material of the mantle. It is the condition in which the less dense lithosphere floats on the asthenosphere just as an iceberg floats on water. Isostatic adjustment process of establishing a new level of equilibrium Factors affecting the isostatic level of a region: a. depth to the mantle b. density of mantle versus the density of the material above it c. resistance of surrounding material to flexure and brittle failure THEORIES ON ISOSTASY

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1. The Pratt hypothesis. Explains topographic differences by blocks of the differing density; topographic highs are underlain by less dense materials whereas topographic lows are composed of denser materials.

2. The Airy hypothesis. Explains topographic differences by blocks of the same density (material), but different thickness, floating about an equilibrium surface.

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