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Sources of Earth's Internal Heat

Some of the Earth's internal heat comes from leftover energy from its formation over billions of years ago. However, the Earth is slowly cooling but maintains an almost constant internal temperature through radioactive decay, which releases heat at about the same rate as the Earth loses it. Radioactive isotopes like potassium-40, thorium-232, and uranium-235 in the Earth's core and mantle supply internal heat for billions of years through radioactive decay. The Earth redistributes internal heat through convection in the mantle and outer core, conduction between layers, radiation from the crust, and horizontal heat transfer through fluid flows. Melting in the mantle can occur through increased temperature, decreased pressure, or addition of volatile materials and forms magma of

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29 views

Sources of Earth's Internal Heat

Some of the Earth's internal heat comes from leftover energy from its formation over billions of years ago. However, the Earth is slowly cooling but maintains an almost constant internal temperature through radioactive decay, which releases heat at about the same rate as the Earth loses it. Radioactive isotopes like potassium-40, thorium-232, and uranium-235 in the Earth's core and mantle supply internal heat for billions of years through radioactive decay. The Earth redistributes internal heat through convection in the mantle and outer core, conduction between layers, radiation from the crust, and horizontal heat transfer through fluid flows. Melting in the mantle can occur through increased temperature, decreased pressure, or addition of volatile materials and forms magma of

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Gabrielle Ellis
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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SOURCES OF EARTH’S

INTERNAL HEAT
1. Primordial Heat
- is an accumulated heat released or formed during
the early stages of the Earth’s formation.
-there are two categories of primordial heat based
on the source and period of heat production:
accretional heat and gravitational release.
a. Accretion heat
• is produced through the gradual accumulation of solid materials due to
gravitational forces.
• In the accretion process, gas and dust are attracted by gravitational forces
to form a central collection of matter that accumulates and attracts more
matter as it increases in mass.
• This matter begins as golf-ball-sized dust, and the loose clumps aggregate
and form planetesimals. In this type of pebble accretion, these clumps of
dust pull together because of gravitational forces to build into
planetesimals.
b. Gravitational release
-During the formation of planetesimals and protoplanet (differentiation
process), the gravitational potential of dense materials (metals) is converted
to heat. Wherein, the materials that compose a planetesimal or protoplanet
separates according to their density.
-Materials or components with the highest density (iron) are moved at the
center or core, while materials with the lowest density are moved at the
surface.
-This movement of materials or components with high density creates
friction and releases heat (1,000 K (1,800 °F; 1,000 °C).
Some of the Earth's internal heat is a leftover from the Earth's
formation. However, the Earth is cooling slowly but through
another process called radioactivity, the Earth's internal
temperature is almost constant because the radioactive process
is releasing almost the same heat that the Earth is losing.
2. Radioactive Heat
-are heat produced from four radioactive isotopes found in the Earth’s core or
mantle. Thus, radioactive isotopes can supply parts of the Earth’s internal heat for
billions of years
ISOTOPES:
• K40 (Potassium-40): half-life of 1.28 × 109 years
• Th-232 (Thorium-232): half-life of about 14 billionyears
• U235 (Uranium-235): half-life is over 700 million years
• U238 (Uranium-238): half-life is over 4.5 billion years

HALF-LIFE: time required for half of the original population of radioactive atoms to decay.
EARTH’S
REDISTRIBUTION
OF HEAT
a. Convection
-The sinking of denser or colder
liquid material and the rising of
hotter or lighter liquid material
within the mantle and outer core.
b. Conduction
-It is the transfer of heat from the core to the mantle
or the asthenosphere to the crust. It also happens
between the solid inner core and the liquid outer
core.
c. Radiation
-It is the transfer of heat
from the crust to things on
the Earth's surface through
the atmosphere or
electromagnetic waves.
d. Advection
- It is the horizontal transfer
of heat through fluid flow.
- It depends on an external or
outside force is needed for
the transfer to occur.
Examples:
• wind or currents.
MAGMATISM
THREE TYPES OF MAGMA
Basaltic Magma/Mafic Magma
-commonly derived from the partial melting of mantle rock.
-composed of silicon dioxide, and a high percentage of iron,
calcium, magnesium, and a low percentage of silicon dioxide.
-temperature is ranging from 10000C to 12000C.
Andesitic Magma
-It has a moderate amount of silicon dioxide, iron, calcium,
magnesium, and silicon dioxide. Its temperature is ranging
from about 800°C to 1000°C.
Rhyolitic magma
-It contains a high percentage of sodium and potassium, but
alow percentage of magnesium, iron, and calcium. It has
atemperature ranging from 650oC to 800oC.
MAGMATISM
-is a process under the earth’s
crust where formation and
movement of magma occur.
-happen in the lower part of the
Earth’s crust and in the upper
portion of the mantle, known as
asthenosphere.
Magma Formation
Partial Melting
- the process wherein magma present in the lower crust and upper
mantle of the Earth is formed.
- this process involves different minerals in rock melt at different
temperature and pressure.
-another factor being considered in this process is the addition of
volatile materials such as water and carbon dioxide.
Melting in the mantle requires one of three possible
events to occur:
1. An increase in temperature:
• Conduction in mantle happens when heat is transferred from
hotter molten rocks to the Earth’s cold crust (heat transfer)
• As magma rises, it is often hot enough to melt the rock it
touches. It happens at
• , where tectonic plates are crashing together.
2. A decrease of pressure:
- Mantle rocks remain solid when exposed to high pressure.
-During convection, these rocks tend to go upward (shallower
level) and the pressure is reduced which triggers the melting of
magma (decompression melting)
-this process occurs at the Mid-Ocean Ridge, an underwater
mountain system.
3. Addition of volatiles:
- When water or carbon dioxide is added to hot rocks, flux melting
occurs.
-The melting points of minerals within the rocks decrease. If a rock is
already close to its melting point, the effect of adding these volatiles can
be enough to trigger partial melting. It occurs around subduction zones.
SUBDUCTION ZONES

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