Geosphere
From Palaeos
| EARTH | |||||
| Magnetosphere | Exosphere | Atmosphere | |||
| Ionosphere | Thermosphere | ||||
| Mesosphere | |||||
| Hydrosphere | Biosphere | Stratosphere | |||
| Troposphere | |||||
| Peplosphere | |||||
| Pedosphere | Lithosphere | Crust | Geosphere | ||
| Upper Crust | |||||
| Lower Crust | |||||
| Upper Mantle | Lithospheric Mantle | Mantle | |||
| Asthenosphere | |||||
| Deeper Upper Mantle | |||||
| Lower Mantle | |||||
| Outer Core | Core | ||||
| Inner Core | |||||
| Topics: Climate | Composition of the Earth | Formation of the Earth | Gaia Hypothesis | Geography | History of the Earth | Plate tectonics | Structure of the Earth | |||||
Contents |
[edit] Introduction
By "geosphere" is meant in the broad sense the solid part of the inanimate Earth. In a sense the moon (or any other lifeless world) is a geosphere.
Planet Earth is distinguished from all other geospheres in this solar system (and probably in many others as well), in that it also contains life (biosphere) and intelligence (noosphere).
The main divisions of the geosphere are (from outer surface to center) the crust, mantle, and core. The outer core is liquid, and the inner core solid. See the diagram at the top of this page for a more detailed breakdown of the various elements of the geosphere.
[edit] Formation and History of the Earth
The geosphere or rocky Earth formed from collisions of planetoids. During the trubulant Priscoan/Hadean eon, heavy metallic elements sink down to become the inner core, lighter silicous ones rise to be the mantle. Formation of the Crust as a sort of "scum" floating on the mantle. There was a reducing atmosphere through outgassing from volcanoes, and a Planetary Ocean.
During the Archean there is the formation of the continents and the archaic regime of Continental drift.
The Proterozoic eon saw several Ice Ages, and the start of the modern regime of Continental drift
[edit] Links
- (the following links have not been recently checked):
Beatty]. See also his [http://www.bit.net.au/~bosmin/rabdgms.htm RAB diagrams]. Planetology based on engineering principles.
essays in Earth Sciences] - a lot of material on Properties of the Solid Earth, Dynamics of the Solid Earth and Other Planets, Space Sciences, Atmospheric Sciences, Hydrology, and Ocean Sciences. Part of the American Geophysics Union site
- Geology Glossaries - lists of links to on-line glossaries of geological terms.
- Recalibration of the geomagnetic polarity timescale - J.E.T. Channell - an on-line hypertext on Geomagnetism and Paleogeomagnetism. Very technical. Deals mainly with the period from the late Jurassic to the present.
[edit] Credits
Kheper MAK980528, PPalaeos com MAK020321, this page (Palaeos org) MAK061104
