Formation and Structure

of our Earth
Chapter 22
Chapter 9
Learning Objectives
• Provide a scientific explanation for the formation of
our universe, solar system, and Earth.
• Explain the element/atomic products of the three
types of nucleosynthesis
• Classify the planets within our solar system as
Terrestrial or Jovian and explain the general
characteristics of each category and the planets
within
• Identify the layers and characteristics of the Earth’s
internal layers.
• Understand how seismology is used to gain insight
into internal layering of the Earth
Humble Beginnings

Geocentric heliocentric

Earth is at Sun is at
center center
Current Model
• Universe: All existing matter and space; the
cosmos

• Galaxy: Gravitationally bound system of stars,

interstellar gas, and matter.

• Solar System: Gravitationally bound system of a

star and all objects that orbit it.
The Big Bang occurred ~13.77 billion years ago.
Our galaxy formed 10-12 billion years ago.
Our solar system is relatively young and formed only ~4.6
billion years ago.

That means that our solar system has formed in only the last
~38% of our galaxy’s history.
How Do We Know the Age of Earth?
• Two facts:
• The oldest rock on Earth is about 4.0 billion years old.
• The oldest fossil on Earth is about 3.5 billion years old.
• Radiometric Dating: Half-life, the decay-rate, is the
time required for one-half of the unstable atoms in a
rock sample to decay into “daughter” isotopes.
• The current model of our universe is described by the
expanding universe theory.

• This means that the universe must have started at a

singularity of infinite matter and density which was set
into motion by the Big Bang
How do we know the universe is
expanding?
• Edwin Hubble realized that the light spectrum of
galaxies as seen from Earth is either red-shifted or
blue-shifted
• Wavelengths are either red
shifted or blue shifted because
of the Doppler Effect
• When an object moves away
from us, the waves are
stretched, when an object moves
towards us, the waves are
compressed
• Almost all galaxies are red-shifted and moving away
from us
• The further away they are, the faster they are
moving away
• This is because space itself is expanding
 The Fate of the Universe
• The future of the universe depends on the balance of
dark energy which is causing expansion and gravity
which pulls things together
Elements are building blocks of matter
 Creating elements

Big Bang Nucleosynthesis

• A few seconds after the

big bang subatomic
particles came into
existence.

• Through nuclear fusion

two small atoms fuse to
Big Bang
create different Nucleosynthesis
atoms/elements could on create
the lightest
elements
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis Products
Measuring Distances in Space
• Distance in space is measured in light years (ly)
• This is the distance light travels in 1 year

• Light travels at approx. 300 000 000 m/s

• In 1 year light travels ~9,500,000,000,000 km
Galaxy
• Galaxy: Gravitationally bound system of stars,
interstellar gas, and matter.

Sculptor Galaxy
Looking through space is looking
through time
• From the Sculptor galaxy, the view of Earth would
be that which existed in the Micoene Era (~11 Ma)
Galaxy formation
The Fate of the Milk way
• In approximately 4.5 Billion
years the Andromeda
galaxy will collide with the
Milky Way

• In approximately 4.5 Billion

years the Andromeda
galaxy will collide with the
Milky Way
Collision Simulation
Solar System
• Solar System: Gravitationally bound system of a
star and all objects (planets, asteroids, comets)
that orbit it.
Nebulas, the birthplace of stars
Nebular theory
• At 200 Myrs after the
big bang nebulas began
to form

• Nebula collapses and

overcomes gas pressure

• Accretionary disk
results
 Nebular theory

1) Nebula is compressed due to gravity, overcoming gas

pressure
2) Gravity pulls particles close together raising the
temperature. As cloud collapses it begins to flatten into an
accretionary disk and rotate
3) Dust particles stick together forming planetesimals which
continually grow by accreting matter
4) Largest planetesimals in each orbit continue to grow to
become protoplanets
 Stellar Nucleosynthesis
• Stars like our sun are powered by fusion which creates elements

• The sun releases energy

(heat + light) through
nuclear fusion
• Hydrogen isotopes fuse
together to create Helium
+ other elements
Stellar Nucleosynthesis Products
Supernovae
• When massive stars run out of fuel at the end of
their life a powerful explosion is the result, called a
supernova.
Supernovae Nucleosynthesis Products
Nucleosynthesis Summary
• 3 Types
• Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
• First few minutes after Big Bang
• Lightest elements (H,He,Li) created
• Stellar Nucleosynthesis
• During the lifetime of stars
• Heavier elements between Li to Fe created
• Supernova Nucleosynthesis
• Death of stars
• Elements heavier than Fe created
Planetary Accretion

• Dust particles coalesce into planetesimals

• Planetesimals grow to become protoplanets
• Eventually they have a clear path and are planets
Direct Observations of Newly Formed Stars

One study in the Orion nebula identified

56 stars with accretionary disk structures
out of 110 stars in the field.
Looking at our solar system,
we see that the vast
majority of the mass is
concentrated in the center
to form our Sun.

Terrestrial planets Jovian Planets

The Jovian planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus & Neptune) were able to collect larger
amounts of gases and ices to form very thick atmospheres in the cooler outer
reaches of the forming solar system.
The terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth & Mars), formed from rocky
material and meager atmosphere because it was too hot for the gases to remain.
Terrestrial planets: metal core surrounded by rock
Jovian planets can be divided into gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn) and ice giants
(Uranus, Neptune)

Gas giants: mainly H, He gas with a rock/ice core

Ice giants: Water ice, Ammonia ice, Methane ice, and a rocky core
Pluto Planet Requirements

• It must orbit a star (in our cosmic

neighborhood, the Sun).
Moon • It must be big enough to have enough
gravity to force it into a spherical
shape.
• It must be big enough that its gravity
Asteroid cleared away any other objects of a
similar size near its orbit around the
Sun.

Comet
 Inner Planets

Inner or Terrestrial Planets – are all rocky and have iron rich
cores and silicate rich, solid surfaces
Mercury – smallest planet, closest to the sun, hot, intense
solar winds, no atmosphere

Venus – similar to Earth in diameter, dominated by volcanic

landforms, complex mountainous areas, thick CO2–rich
atmosphere “Greenhouse Planet”
Mercury essentially has no
detectable atmosphere

The surface temp ranges from -173

on the dark side to 427°C in direct
sunlight.

The surface of Mercury contains

lava plains and is heavily cratered.

NASA Mariner 10
Venus
The atmosphere of Venus is ~90 times
more dense than Earth's and consists
of 97% CO2 (there is only a tiny
amount of water).

The thick atmosphere composed of

greenhouse gases gives Venus a NASA Galileo

runaway greenhouse effect and its

surface temperature is ~482°C
 Inner Planets

Earth – active plate tectonics, liquid water at surface,

nitrogen and oxygen dominated atmosphere, life!

Mars – frozen CO2 ice-caps, evidence for liquid water

in the past, thin CO2-rich atmosphere, cold and dry
Mars Features
• Olympus Mons, a shield volcano on Mars, is the
largest mountain in the solar system
Mars Features
• Numerous features on Mars indicate the presence
of once running water

Stream runoff patterns Layered sediment

 Outer Planets

The Outer or Jovian Planets – are all gas (or ice) giants, have
ring systems (though only Saturn’s is very obvious), and have
many natural satellites.
Jupiter – largest planet in the solar system (2.5x the mass of
all the other planets combined
Mostly hydrogen and helium, no solid surface, bands and
storms ‘Great Red Spot’
Was almost a star, probably glowed early on…
The colored bands in the atmosphere run
parallel to the equator and are due to layered
clouds of water, methane, ammonia and other
organic compounds.

NASA Cassini

The Great Red Spot is an anti-cyclonic (high

pressure) storm; it is enormous (three Earths
would fit within its boundaries) with a rotation
period of about 6 days.

NASA Voyager 1
 Outer Planets

Saturn – prominent ring system (ice, rocks and dust), 62

known satellites, rocky core, metallic hydrogen layer giving a
magnetic field, ammonia in the atmosphere giving the yellow
colour
Would float in water (low density)
Saturn's rings are its most striking feature — they are easily visible
from Earth.
The rings are composed of billions of icy particles ranging from dust
to boulders. The rings are composed of hundreds of ringlets.
 Outer Planets

Uranus – Ice Giant, rocky/icy interior, atmosphere contains H, He H2O,

ammonia and methane, coldest atmosphere in the solar system (-
225˚C), tilted axis of rotation (almost 90˚ off the other planets)

Neptune – Ice Giant, rocky/icy interior, atmosphere contains H, He, N,

H2O, ammonia and methane, active visible weather patterns
The most striking thing about
Uranus is that it is tilted almost
90° to the ecliptic (lies on its side).

For part of a year on Uranus the

N. pole points to the Sun and the
S. pole remains in darkness.
This reverses as the planet
revolves around the Sun.
Each season lasts over 20 Earth
years.

NASA HST
The figure shows the rings and some of the 15 moons of Uranus which are also inclined like
the planet suggesting that it was subjected to a huge impact during formation.
Differentiation
• As Earth cooled, it separated into layers by density
• Heaviest elements concentrated at core (Fe/Ni)
• Lightest elements concentrated at crust (Si/O)
Composition of Earth
• Of the 90 + naturally
occurring elements, 4
elements comprise over
90% of the Earth
 Structure of the Earth

Broadly divided into:

Crust
Mantle
Core
 Earth’s Core
• Inner core = solid
• Outer core = liquid
• Composition:
Iron + Nickel
 Magnetic Field Generation
• The liquid convection in the outer core is thought to
convert thermal and gravitational energy to magnetic
energy to create the magnetic field
 Polar Wandering

• Magnetic
North is not
constant
and changes
over time
Reversal of Magnetic North/South
• Over the past 250 million years the magnetic poles
have reversed hundreds of times
• This time between reversals is not regular and can
be anywhere from thousands to millions of years
The Mantle
Less dense than core
Abundant iron and
magnesium
Silicate (Si + O) minerals

Lower Mantle
rigid
Asthenosphere
plastic
Uppermost Mantle
Rigid
• Deep sourced magma
can bring chunks of
the mantle (xenoliths)
up to the surface for
us to study mantle
composition
Lithosphere
The lithosphere is made of the upper mantle and crust
The lithosphere “floats” on the asthenosphere
Crust can be oceanic or continental
In summary:

• Lithosphere
• Asthenosphere
• Lower Mantle
(Mesosphere)
• Outer Core
• Inner Core
Temperature Pressure Profiles
• Both pressure and temperature increase with
depth
• Pressure is quite linear, temperature gradient varies
• Silicate rocks which contain the compound silica (SiO2) are
the most common rocks on Earth.
• Depending on their composition, categorized as felsic or
mafic

Increase silica %

Felsic Mafic
 The lightest, most felsic rocks are
part of the continental crust.
The mantle (upper + lower) is
made of more mafic rocks like
• sd peridotite
The core is believed to be Iron-
Nickel in composition
How do we know all this?
• The deepest hole we have drilled is 12,626 m (12.6
km) deep.
• This is not even enough to get through the crust!

Kola Superdeep Borehole - Russia

 • The continental
crust varies in
thickness but ~40
km thick.

• The lithosphere
extends down to
~ 100 km

Why can’t we just dig a deeper hole?

- Temperature
- Pressure
- Rock Mechanics
• The deepest
mine only goes 4
km underground

• Temperature is
already extreme
at this depth
Inclusions in Diamonds
• Diamonds are the only ore deposit which
form in the mantle
• Most diamonds form in a thick portion of
the lower lithosphere (~120 km depth)

• Some diamonds are superdeep and form at

depth of ~ 600– 800 km, just part of the lower mantle
• Some diamonds will trap fluids or other minerals when they
form. Trapped material is an inclusion and can give us an
idea of the conditions in the mantle
Mantle Xenoliths
If deep sourced magmas are able
To travel fast enough, they will carry
The mantle chunks called xenoliths
And bring them to the surface
Seismology!
• Seismology is the study of vibrations and waves within
Earth.
• We care about body waves. These are waves which travel
through material
• Primary (P) which is fastest, and Secondary (S) which is
slower
body wave

Secondary wave Primary wave

• Waves Travel faster through denser, stronger material
• The movement of P and S waves are affected by:
1) The strength/density of rock
2) The phase state (solid/liquid) of the rock

• S waves cannot travel through liquid

(cannot shear a liquid)
• Velocities generally increase with
pressure/depth
• Boundaries often marked by dramatic
velocity changes and refraction of
waves
• Waves refract towards lower density materials
• Since density and pressure increase going
down a layer, waves refract towards the
surface
• At boundaries there are significant
composition changes, so refraction is dramatic
MOHO (Crust Mantle Boundary)
• Seismologist Andrija Mohorovicic realized after an earthquake 2 sets of
waves reached the seismic station at different times.
• He reasoned that some waves go through the denser mantle, and
although they travel a greater distance, they travel faster
• The boundary between the crust and Mantle is known as the
Mohorovicic discontinuity (mantle)
CMB (Core Mantle Boundary)
• S waves cannot travel through liquids
• S waves are therefore stopped at the boundary between
the core and mantle (CMB)
• This is how we know the outer core is liquid
• Waves travel with curvature through the Earth since they
are refracted towards less dense materials

S wave shadow zones are a result of S waves not being able to

travel through the liquid outer core.
Seeing through planets

• If seismic body wave data were available for other

planets, the larger the shadow zone, the larger the
core
 Earth’s temperature profile

• As with the velocity profile, the

changes are greatest in lithosphere
and then stabilize
• The asthenosphere is very close or at
melting point
• The low temperature gradient in the
mantle indicates convection
 Why is the interior hot?
• 2 sources:
• 1) Heat left over from collisions and early formation in
the solar system
• 2) Radioactive decay of isotopes in the mantle

• The heat produced by

radioactive decay is roughly
25% of what it was at the
start since isotopes are
getting used up
• The Earth is cooling over time