Earth (planet)
| I | INTRODUCTION |
Earth
(planet), third planet in distance from the Sun in the solar system, the
only planet known to harbor life, and the “home” of human beings. From space
Earth resembles a big blue marble with swirling white clouds floating above blue
oceans. About 71 percent of Earth’s surface is covered by water, which is
essential to life. The rest is land, mostly in the form of continents that rise
above the oceans.
Earth’s surface is surrounded by a layer of
gases known as the atmosphere, which extends upward from the surface, slowly
thinning out into space. Below the surface is a hot interior of rocky material
and two core layers composed of the metals nickel and iron in solid and liquid
form.
Unlike the other planets, Earth has a unique
set of characteristics ideally suited to supporting life as we know it. It is
neither too hot, like Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, nor too cold, like
distant Mars and the even more distant outer planets—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
Neptune, and the tiny dwarf planet Pluto. Earth’s atmosphere includes just the
right amount of gases that trap heat from the Sun, resulting in a moderate
climate suitable for water to exist in liquid form. The atmosphere also helps
block radiation from the Sun that would be harmful to life. Earth’s atmosphere
distinguishes it from the planet Venus, which is otherwise much like Earth.
Venus is about the same size and mass as Earth and is also neither too near nor
too far from the Sun. But because Venus has too much heat-trapping carbon
dioxide in its atmosphere, its surface is extremely hot—462°C (864°F)—hot enough
to melt lead and too hot for life to exist.
Although Earth is the only planet known to have
life, scientists do not rule out the possibility that life may once have existed
on other planets or their moons, or may exist today in primitive form. Mars, for
example, has many features that resemble river channels, indicating that liquid
water once flowed on its surface. If so, life may also have evolved there, and
evidence for it may one day be found in fossil form. Water still exists on Mars,
but it is frozen in polar ice caps, in permafrost, and possibly in rocks below
the surface.
For thousands of years, human beings could only
wonder about Earth and the other observable planets in the solar system. Many
early ideas—for example, that the Earth was a sphere and that it traveled around
the Sun—were based on brilliant reasoning. However, it was only with the
development of the scientific method and scientific instruments, especially in
the 18th and 19th centuries, that humans began to gather data that could be used
to verify theories about Earth and the rest of the solar system. By studying
fossils found in rock layers, for example, scientists realized that the Earth
was much older than previously believed. And with the use of telescopes, new
planets such as Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were discovered.
In the second half of the 20th century, more
advances in the study of Earth and the solar system occurred due to the
development of rockets that could send spacecraft beyond Earth. Human beings
were able to study and observe Earth from space with satellites equipped with
scientific instruments. Astronauts landed on the Moon and gathered ancient rocks
that revealed much about the early solar system. During this remarkable
advancement in human history, humans also sent unmanned spacecraft to the other
planets and their moons. Spacecraft have now visited all of the planets except
Pluto, now classified as a dwarf planet. The study of other planets and moons
has provided new insights about Earth, just as the study of the Sun and other
stars like it has helped shape new theories about how Earth and the rest of the
solar system formed.
As a result of this recent space exploration,
we now know that Earth is one of the most geologically active of all the planets
and moons in the solar system. Earth is constantly changing. Over long periods
of time land is built up and worn away, oceans are formed and re-formed, and
continents move around, break up, and merge.
Life itself contributes to changes on Earth,
especially in the way living things can alter Earth’s atmosphere. For example,
Earth at one time had the same amount of carbon dioxide in its atmosphere as
Venus now has, but early forms of life helped remove this carbon dioxide over
millions of years. These life forms also added oxygen to Earth’s atmosphere and
made it possible for animal life to evolve on land.
A variety of scientific fields have broadened
our knowledge about Earth, including biogeography, climatology, geology,
geophysics, hydrology, meteorology, oceanography, and zoogeography.
Collectively, these fields are known as Earth science. By studying Earth’s
atmosphere, its surface, and its interior and by studying the Sun and the rest
of the solar system, scientists have learned much about how Earth came into
existence, how it changed, and why it continues to change.
| II | EARTH, THE SOLAR SYSTEM, AND THE GALAXY |
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, after
Mercury and Venus. The average distance between Earth and the Sun is 150 million
km (93 million mi). Earth and all the other planets in the solar system revolve,
or orbit, around the Sun due to the force of gravitation. The Earth travels at a
velocity of about 107,000 km/h (about 67,000 mph) as it orbits the Sun. All but
one of the planets orbit the Sun in the same plane—that is, if an imaginary line
were extended from the center of the Sun to the outer regions of the solar
system, the orbital paths of the planets would intersect that line. The
exception is the dwarf planet Pluto, which has an eccentric (unusual)
orbit.
Earth’s orbital path is not quite a perfect
circle but instead is slightly elliptical (oval-shaped). For example, at
maximum distance Earth is about 152 million km (about 95 million mi) from the
Sun; at minimum distance Earth is about 147 million km (about 91 million mi)
from the Sun. If Earth orbited the Sun in a perfect circle, it would always be
the same distance from the Sun.
The solar system, in turn, is part of the
Milky Way Galaxy, a collection of billions of stars bound together by gravity.
The Milky Way has armlike discs of stars that spiral out from its center. The
solar system is located in one of these spiral arms, known as the Orion arm,
which is about two-thirds of the way from the center of the Galaxy. In most
parts of the Northern Hemisphere, this disc of stars is visible on a summer
night as a dense band of light known as the Milky Way.
Earth is the fifth largest planet in the
solar system. Its diameter, measured around the equator, is 12,756 km (7,926
mi). Earth is not a perfect sphere but is slightly flattened at the poles. Its
polar diameter, measured from the North Pole to the South Pole, is somewhat less
than the equatorial diameter because of this flattening. Although Earth is the
largest of the four planets—Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars—that make up the
inner solar system (the planets closest to the Sun), it is small compared
with the giant planets of the outer solar system—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and
Neptune. For example, the largest planet, Jupiter, has a diameter at its equator
of 143,000 km (89,000 mi), 11 times greater than that of Earth. A famous
atmospheric feature on Jupiter, the Great Red Spot, is so large that three
Earths would fit inside it.
Earth has one natural satellite, the Moon.
The Moon orbits the Earth, completing one revolution in an elliptical path in 27
days 7 hr 43 min 11.5 sec. The Moon orbits the Earth because of the force of
Earth’s gravity. However, the Moon also exerts a gravitational force on the
Earth. Evidence for the Moon’s gravitational influence can be seen in the ocean
tides. A popular theory suggests that the Moon split off from Earth more than 4
billion years ago when a large meteorite or small planet struck the Earth.
As Earth revolves around the Sun, it rotates,
or spins, on its axis, an imaginary line that runs between the North and
South poles. The period of one complete rotation is defined as a day and takes
23 hr 56 min 4.1 sec. The period of one revolution around the Sun is defined as
a year, or 365.2422 solar days, or 365 days 5 hr 48 min 46 sec. Earth also moves
along with the Milky Way Galaxy as the Galaxy rotates and moves through space.
It takes more than 200 million years for the stars in the Milky Way to complete
one revolution around the Galaxy’s center.
Earth’s axis of rotation is inclined
(tilted) 23.5° relative to its plane of revolution around the Sun. This
inclination of the axis creates the seasons and causes the height of the Sun in
the sky at noon to increase and decrease as the seasons change. The Northern
Hemisphere receives the most energy from the Sun when it is tilted toward the
Sun. This orientation corresponds to summer in the Northern Hemisphere and
winter in the Southern Hemisphere. The Southern Hemisphere receives maximum
energy when it is tilted toward the Sun, corresponding to summer in the Southern
Hemisphere and winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Fall and spring occur in
between these orientations.
| III | EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE |
The atmosphere is a layer of different
gases that extends from Earth’s surface to the exosphere, the outer limit of the
atmosphere, about 9,600 km (6,000 mi) above the surface. Near Earth’s surface,
the atmosphere consists almost entirely of nitrogen (78 percent) and oxygen (21
percent). The remaining 1 percent of atmospheric gases consists of argon (0.9
percent); carbon dioxide (0.03 percent); varying amounts of water vapor; and
trace amounts of hydrogen, nitrous oxide, ozone, methane, carbon monoxide,
helium, neon, krypton, and xenon.
| A | Layers of the Atmosphere |
The layers of the atmosphere are the
troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the thermosphere, and the
exosphere. The troposphere is the layer in which weather occurs and extends from
the surface to about 16 km (about 10 mi) above sea level at the equator. Above
the troposphere is the stratosphere, which has an upper boundary of about 50 km
(about 30 mi) above sea level. The layer from 50 to 90 km (30 to 60 mi) is
called the mesosphere. At an altitude of about 90 km, temperatures begin to
rise. The layer that begins at this altitude is called the thermosphere because
of the high temperatures that can be reached in this layer (about 1200°C, or
about 2200°F). The region beyond the thermosphere is called the exosphere. The
thermosphere and the exosphere overlap with another region of the atmosphere
known as the ionosphere, a layer or layers of ionized air extending from almost
60 km (about 50 mi) above Earth’s surface to altitudes of 1,000 km (600 mi) and
more.
Earth’s atmosphere and the way it
interacts with the oceans and radiation from the Sun are responsible for the
planet’s climate and weather. The atmosphere plays a key role in supporting
life. Almost all life on Earth uses atmospheric oxygen for energy in a process
known as cellular respiration, which is essential to life. The atmosphere also
helps moderate Earth’s climate by trapping radiation from the Sun that is
reflected from Earth’s surface. Water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and
nitrous oxide in the atmosphere act as “greenhouse gases.” Like the glass in a
greenhouse, they trap infrared, or heat, radiation from the Sun in the lower
atmosphere and thereby help warm Earth’s surface. Without this greenhouse
effect, heat radiation would escape into space, and Earth would be too cold to
support most forms of life.
Other gases in the atmosphere are also
essential to life. The trace amount of ozone found in Earth’s stratosphere
blocks harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. Without the ozone layer, life
as we know it could not survive on land. Earth’s atmosphere is also an important
part of a phenomenon known as the water cycle or the hydrologic cycle. See
also Atmosphere.
| B | The Atmosphere and the Water Cycle |
The water cycle simply means that Earth’s
water is continually recycled between the oceans, the atmosphere, and the land.
All of the water that exists on Earth today has been used and reused for
billions of years. Very little water has been created or lost during this period
of time. Water is constantly moving on Earth’s surface and changing back and
forth between ice, liquid water, and water vapor.
The water cycle begins when the Sun heats
the water in the oceans and causes it to evaporate and enter the atmosphere as
water vapor. Some of this water vapor falls as precipitation directly back into
the oceans, completing a short cycle. Some of the water vapor, however, reaches
land, where it may fall as snow or rain. Melted snow or rain enters rivers or
lakes on the land. Due to the force of gravity, the water in the rivers
eventually empties back into the oceans. Melted snow or rain also may enter the
ground. Groundwater may be stored for hundreds or thousands of years, but it
will eventually reach the surface as springs or small pools known as seeps. Even
snow that forms glacial ice or becomes part of the polar caps and is kept out of
the cycle for thousands of years eventually melts or is warmed by the Sun and
turned into water vapor, entering the atmosphere and falling again as
precipitation. All water that falls on land eventually returns to the ocean,
completing the water cycle.
| IV | EARTH’S SURFACE |
Earth’s surface is the outermost layer of
the planet. It includes the hydrosphere, the crust, and the biosphere.
| A | Hydrosphere |
The hydrosphere consists of the bodies of
water that cover 71 percent of Earth’s surface. The largest of these are the
oceans, which contain over 97 percent of all water on Earth. Glaciers and the
polar ice caps contain just over 2 percent of Earth’s water in the form of solid
ice. Only about 0.6 percent is under the surface as groundwater. Nevertheless,
groundwater is 36 times more plentiful than water found in lakes, inland seas,
rivers, and in the atmosphere as water vapor. Only 0.017 percent of all the
water on Earth is found in lakes and rivers. And a mere 0.001 percent is found
in the atmosphere as water vapor. Most of the water in glaciers, lakes, inland
seas, rivers, and groundwater is fresh and can be used for drinking and
agriculture. Dissolved salts compose about 3.5 percent of the water in the
oceans, however, making it unsuitable for drinking or agriculture unless it is
treated to remove the salts.
| B | Crust |
The crust consists of the continents,
other land areas, and the basins, or floors, of the oceans. The dry land of
Earth’s surface is called the continental crust. It is about 15 to 75 km (9 to
47 mi) thick. The oceanic crust is thinner than the continental crust. Its
average thickness is 5 to 10 km (3 to 6 mi). The crust has a definite boundary
called the Mohorovičić discontinuity, or simply the Moho. The boundary separates
the crust from the underlying mantle, which is much thicker and is part of
Earth’s interior.
Oceanic crust and continental crust differ
in the type of rocks they contain. There are three main types of rocks: igneous,
sedimentary, and metamorphic. Igneous rocks form when molten rock, called magma,
cools and solidifies. Sedimentary rocks are usually created by the breakdown of
igneous rocks. They tend to form in layers as small particles of other rocks or
as the mineralized remains of dead animals and plants that have fused together
over time. The remains of dead animals and plants occasionally become
mineralized in sedimentary rock and are recognizable as fossils. Metamorphic
rocks form when sedimentary or igneous rocks are altered by heat and pressure
deep underground.
Oceanic crust consists of dark, dense
igneous rocks, such as basalt and gabbro. Continental crust consists of
lighter-colored, less dense igneous rocks, such as granite and diorite.
Continental crust also includes metamorphic rocks and sedimentary rocks.
| C | Biosphere |
The biosphere includes all the areas of
Earth capable of supporting life. The biosphere ranges from about 10 km (about 6
mi) into the atmosphere to the deepest ocean floor. For a long time, scientists
believed that all life depended on energy from the Sun and consequently could
only exist where sunlight penetrated. In the 1970s, however, scientists
discovered various forms of life around hydrothermal vents on the floor of the
Pacific Ocean where no sunlight penetrated. They learned that primitive bacteria
formed the basis of this living community and that the bacteria derived their
energy from a process called chemosynthesis that did not depend on sunlight.
Some scientists believe that the biosphere may extend relatively deep into
Earth’s crust. They have recovered what they believe are primitive bacteria from
deeply drilled holes below the surface.
| D | Changes to Earth’s Surface |
Earth’s surface has been constantly
changing ever since the planet formed. Most of these changes have been gradual,
taking place over millions of years. Nevertheless, these gradual changes have
resulted in radical modifications, involving the formation, erosion, and
re-formation of mountain ranges, the movement of continents, the creation of
huge supercontinents, and the breakup of supercontinents into smaller
continents.
The weathering and erosion that result
from the water cycle are among the principal factors responsible for changes to
Earth’s surface. Another principal factor is the movement of Earth’s continents
and seafloors and the buildup of mountain ranges due to a phenomenon known as
plate tectonics. Heat is the basis for all of these changes. Heat in Earth’s
interior is believed to be responsible for continental movement, mountain
building, and the creation of new seafloor in ocean basins. Heat from the Sun is
responsible for the evaporation of ocean water and the resulting precipitation
that causes weathering and erosion. In effect, heat in Earth’s interior helps
build up Earth’s surface while heat from the Sun helps wear down the
surface.
| D1 | Weathering |
Weathering is the breakdown of rock at
and near the surface of Earth. Most rocks originally formed in a hot,
high-pressure environment below the surface where there was little exposure to
water. Once the rocks reached Earth’s surface, however, they were subjected to
temperature changes and exposed to water. When rocks are subjected to these
kinds of surface conditions, the minerals they contain tend to change. These
changes constitute the process of weathering. There are two types of weathering:
physical weathering and chemical weathering.
Physical weathering involves a decrease
in the size of rock material. Freezing and thawing of water in rock cavities,
for example, splits rock into small pieces because water expands when it
freezes.
Chemical weathering involves a chemical
change in the composition of rock. For example, feldspar, a common mineral in
granite and other rocks, reacts with water to form clay minerals, resulting in a
new substance with totally different properties than the parent feldspar.
Chemical weathering is of significance to humans because it creates the clay
minerals that are important components of soil, the basis of agriculture.
Chemical weathering also causes the release of dissolved forms of sodium,
calcium, potassium, magnesium, and other chemical elements into surface water
and groundwater. These elements are carried by surface water and groundwater to
the sea and are the sources of dissolved salts in the sea.
| D2 | Erosion |
Erosion is the process that removes
loose and weathered rock and carries it to a new site. Water, wind, and glacial
ice combined with the force of gravity can cause erosion.
Erosion by running water is by far the
most common process of erosion. It takes place over a longer period of time than
other forms of erosion. When water from rain or melted snow moves downhill, it
can carry loose rock or soil with it. Erosion by running water forms the
familiar gullies and V-shaped valleys that cut into most landscapes. The force
of the running water removes loose particles formed by weathering. In the
process, gullies and valleys are lengthened, widened, and deepened. Often, water
overflows the banks of the gullies or river channels, resulting in floods. Each
new flood carries more material away to increase the size of the valley.
Meanwhile, weathering loosens more and more material so the process
continues.
Erosion by glacial ice is less common,
but it can cause the greatest landscape changes in the shortest amount of time.
Glacial ice forms in a region where snow fails to melt in the spring and summer
and instead builds up as ice. For major glaciers to form, this lack of snowmelt
has to occur for a number of years in areas with high precipitation. As ice
accumulates and thickens, it flows as a solid mass. As it flows, it has a
tremendous capacity to erode soil and even solid rock. Ice is a major factor in
shaping some landscapes, especially mountainous regions. Glacial ice provides
much of the spectacular scenery in these regions. Features such as horns
(sharp mountain peaks), arêtes (sharp ridges), glacially formed lakes,
and U-shaped valleys are all the result of glacial erosion.
Wind is an important cause of erosion
only in arid (dry) regions. Wind carries sand and dust, which can scour
even solid rock.
Many factors determine the rate and kind
of erosion that occurs in a given area. The climate of an area determines the
distribution, amount, and kind of precipitation that the area receives and thus
the type and rate of weathering. An area with an arid climate erodes differently
than an area with a humid climate. The elevation of an area also plays a role by
determining the potential energy of running water. The higher the elevation the
more energetically water will flow due to the force of gravity. The type of
bedrock in an area (sandstone, granite, or shale) can determine the shapes of
valleys and slopes, and the depth of streams.
A landscape’s geologic age—that is, how
long current conditions of weathering and erosion have affected the
area—determines its overall appearance. Relatively young landscapes tend to be
more rugged and angular in appearance. Older landscapes tend to have more
rounded slopes and hills. The oldest landscapes tend to be low-lying with broad,
open river valleys and low, rounded hills. The overall effect of the wearing
down of an area is to level the land; the tendency is toward the reduction of
all land surfaces to sea level.
| D3 | Plate Tectonics |
Opposing this tendency toward leveling
is a force responsible for raising mountains and plateaus and for creating new
landmasses. These changes to Earth’s surface occur in the outermost solid
portion of Earth, known as the lithosphere. The lithosphere consists of the
crust and another region known as the upper mantle and is approximately 65 to
100 km (40 to 60 mi) thick. Compared with the interior of the Earth, however,
this region is relatively thin. The lithosphere is thinner in proportion to the
whole Earth than the skin of an apple is to the whole apple.
Scientists believe that the lithosphere
is broken into a series of plates, or segments. According to the theory of plate
tectonics, these plates move around on Earth’s surface over long periods of
time. Tectonics comes from the Greek word, tektonikos, which means
“builder.”
According to the theory, the lithosphere
is divided into large and small plates. The largest plates include the Pacific
plate, the North American plate, the Eurasian plate, the Antarctic plate, the
Indo-Australian plate, and the African plate. Smaller plates include the Cocos
plate, the Nazca plate, the Philippine plate, and the Caribbean plate. Plate
sizes vary a great deal. The Cocos plate is 2,000 km (1,000 mi) wide, while the
Pacific plate is nearly 14,000 km (nearly 9,000 mi) wide.
These plates move in three different
ways in relation to each other. They pull apart or move away from each other,
they collide or move against each other, or they slide past each other as they
move sideways. The movement of these plates helps explain many geological
events, such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions as well as mountain building
and the formation of the oceans and continents.
| D3a | When Plates Pull Apart |
When the plates pull apart, two types
of phenomena occur depending on whether the movement takes place in the oceans
or on land. When plates pull apart on land, deep valleys known as rift valleys
form. An example of a rift valley is the Great Rift Valley that extends from
Syria in the Middle East to Mozambique in Africa. When plates pull apart in the
oceans, long, sinuous chains of volcanic mountains called mid-ocean ridges form,
and new seafloor is created at the site of these ridges. Rift valleys are also
present along the crests of the mid-ocean ridges.
Most scientists believe that gravity
and heat from the interior of the Earth cause the plates to move apart and to
create new seafloor. According to this explanation, molten rock known as magma
rises from Earth’s interior to form hot spots beneath the ocean floor. As two
oceanic plates pull apart from each other in the middle of the oceans, a crack,
or rupture, appears and forms the mid-ocean ridges. These ridges exist in all
the world’s ocean basins and resemble the seams of a baseball. The molten rock
rises through these cracks and creates new seafloor.
| D3b | When Plates Collide |
When plates collide or push against
each other, regions called convergent plate margins form. Along these margins,
one plate is usually forced to dive below the other. As that plate dives, it
triggers the melting of the surrounding lithosphere and a region just below it
known as the asthenosphere. These pockets of molten crust rise behind the margin
through the overlying plate, creating curved chains of volcanoes known as arcs.
This process is called subduction.
If one plate consists of oceanic crust
and the other consists of continental crust, the denser oceanic crust will dive
below the continental crust. If both plates are oceanic crust, then either may
be subducted. If both are continental crust, subduction can continue for a while
but will eventually end because continental crust is not dense enough to be
forced very far into the upper mantle.
The results of this subduction process
are readily visible on a map showing that 80 percent of the world’s volcanoes
rim the Pacific Ocean where plates are colliding against each other. The
subduction zone created by the collision of two oceanic plates—the Pacific plate
and the Philippine plate—can also create a trench. Such a trench resulted in the
formation of the deepest point on Earth, the Mariana Trench, which is estimated
to be 11,033 m (36,198 ft) below sea level.
On the other hand, when two
continental plates collide, mountain building occurs. The collision of the
Indo-Australian plate with the Eurasian plate has produced the Himalayan
Mountains. This collision resulted in the highest point of Earth, Mount Everest,
which is 8,850 m (29,035 ft) above sea level.
| D3c | When Plates Slide Past Each Other |
Finally, some of Earth’s plates
neither collide nor pull apart but instead slide past each other. These regions
are called transform margins. Few volcanoes occur in these areas because neither
plate is forced down into Earth’s interior and little melting occurs.
Earthquakes, however, are abundant as the two rigid plates slide past each
other. The San Andreas Fault in California is a well-known example of a
transform margin.
The movement of plates occurs at a
slow pace, at an average rate of only 2.5 cm (1 in) per year. But over millions
of years this gradual movement results in radical changes. Current plate
movement is making the Pacific Ocean and Mediterranean Sea smaller, the Atlantic
Ocean larger, and the Himalayan Mountains higher.
| V | EARTH’S INTERIOR |
The interior of Earth plays an important role
in plate tectonics. Scientists believe it is also responsible for Earth’s
magnetic field. This field is vital to life because it shields the planet’s
surface from harmful cosmic rays and from a steady stream of energetic particles
from the Sun known as the solar wind.
| A | Composition of the Interior |
Earth’s interior consists of the mantle and
the core. The mantle and core make up by far the largest part of Earth’s mass.
The distance from the base of the crust to the center of the core is about 6,400
km (about 4,000 mi).
Scientists have learned about Earth’s
interior by studying rocks that formed in the interior and rose to the surface.
The study of meteorites, which are believed to be made of the same material that
formed the Earth and its interior, has also offered clues about Earth’s
interior. Finally, seismic waves generated by earthquakes provide geophysicists
with information about the composition of the interior. The sudden movement of
rocks during an earthquake causes vibrations that transmit energy through the
Earth in the form of waves. The way these waves travel through the interior of
Earth reveals the nature of materials inside the planet.
The mantle consists of three parts: the
lower part of the lithosphere, the region below it known as the asthenosphere,
and the region below the asthenosphere called the lower mantle. The entire
mantle extends from the base of the crust to a depth of about 2,900 km (about
1,800 mi). Scientists believe the asthenosphere is made up of mushy plastic-like
rock with pockets of molten rock. The term asthenosphere is derived from
Greek and means “weak layer.” The asthenosphere’s soft, plastic quality allows
plates in the lithosphere above it to shift and slide on top of the
asthenosphere. This shifting of the lithosphere’s plates is the source of most
tectonic activity. The asthenosphere is also the source of the basaltic magma
that makes up much of the oceanic crust and rises through volcanic vents on the
ocean floor.
The mantle consists of mostly solid
iron-magnesium silicate rock mixed with many other minor components including
radioactive elements. However, even this solid rock can flow like a “sticky”
liquid when it is subjected to enough heat and pressure.
The core is divided into two parts, the
outer core and the inner core. The outer core is about 2,260 km (about 1,404 mi)
thick. The outer core is a liquid region composed mostly of iron, with smaller
amounts of nickel and sulfur in liquid form. The inner core is about 1,220 km
(about 758 mi) thick. The inner core is solid and is composed of iron, nickel,
and sulfur in solid form. Because the inner core is surrounded by a liquid
region, it can rotate independently. Recent scientific studies indicate that the
inner core may actually rotate faster than the rest of the planet, making one
full extra spin over a period of 700 to 1,200 years. The inner core and the
outer core also contain a small percentage of radioactive material. The
existence of radioactive material is one of the sources of heat in Earth’s
interior because as radioactive material decays, it gives off heat. Temperatures
in the inner core may be as high as 6650°C (12,000°F).
| B | The Core and Earth’s Magnetism |
Scientists believe that Earth’s liquid iron
core is instrumental in creating a magnetic field that surrounds Earth and
shields the planet from harmful cosmic rays and the Sun’s solar wind. The idea
that Earth is like a giant magnet was first proposed in 1600 by English
physician and natural philosopher William Gilbert. Gilbert proposed the idea to
explain why the magnetized needle in a compass points north. According to
Gilbert, Earth’s magnetic field creates a magnetic north pole and a magnetic
south pole. The magnetic poles do not correspond to the geographic North and
South poles, however. Moreover, the magnetic poles wander and are not always in
the same place. The north magnetic pole is currently close to Ellef Ringnes
Island in the Queen Elizabeth Islands near the boundary of Canada’s Northwest
Territories with Nunavut. The south magnetic pole lies just off the coast of
Wilkes Land, Antarctica.
Not only do the magnetic poles wander, but
they also reverse their polarity—that is, the north magnetic pole becomes the
south magnetic pole and vice versa. Magnetic reversals have occurred at least
170 times over the past 100 million years. The reversals occur on average about
every 200,000 years and take place gradually over a period of several thousand
years. Scientists still do not understand why these magnetic reversals occur but
think they may be related to Earth’s rotation and changes in the flow of liquid
iron in the outer core.
Some scientists theorize that the flow of
liquid iron in the outer core sets up electrical currents that produce Earth’s
magnetic field. Known as the dynamo theory, this theory appears to be the best
explanation yet for the origin of the magnetic field. Earth’s magnetic field
operates in a region above Earth’s surface known as the magnetosphere. The
magnetosphere is shaped somewhat like a teardrop with a long tail that trails
away from the Earth due to the force of the solar wind.
Inside the magnetosphere are the Van Allen
radiation belts, named for the American physicist James A. Van Allen who
discovered them in 1958. The Van Allen belts are regions where charged particles
from the Sun and from cosmic rays are trapped and sent into spiral paths along
the lines of Earth’s magnetic field. The radiation belts thereby shield Earth’s
surface from these highly energetic particles. Occasionally, however, due to
extremely strong magnetic fields on the Sun’s surface, which are visible as
sunspots, a brief burst of highly energetic particles streams along with the
solar wind. Because Earth’s magnetic field lines converge and are closest to the
surface at the poles, some of these energetic particles sneak through and
interact with Earth’s atmosphere, creating the phenomenon known as an
aurora.
| VI | EARTH’S PAST |
| A | Origin of Earth |
Most scientists believe that the Earth,
Sun, and all of the other planets and moons in the solar system formed about 4.6
billion years ago from a giant cloud of gas and dust known as the solar nebula.
The gas and dust in this solar nebula originated in a star that ended its life
in a violent explosion known as a supernova. The solar nebula consisted
principally of hydrogen, the lightest element, but the nebula was also seeded
with a smaller percentage of heavier elements, such as carbon and oxygen. All of
the chemical elements we know were originally made in the star that became a
supernova. Our bodies are made of these same chemical elements. Therefore, all
of the elements in our solar system, including all of the elements in our
bodies, originally came from this star-seeded solar nebula.
Due to the force of gravity tiny clumps of
gas and dust began to form in the early solar nebula. As these clumps came
together and grew larger, they caused the solar nebula to contract in on itself.
The contraction caused the cloud of gas and dust to flatten in the shape of a
disc. As the clumps continued to contract, they became very dense and hot.
Eventually the atoms of hydrogen became so dense that they began to fuse in the
innermost part of the cloud, and these nuclear reactions gave birth to the Sun.
The fusion of hydrogen atoms in the Sun is the source of its energy.
Many scientists favor the planetesimal
theory for how the Earth and other planets formed out of this solar nebula. This
theory helps explain why the inner planets became rocky while the outer planets,
except for the dwarf planet Pluto, are made up mostly of gases. The theory also
explains why all of the planets orbit the Sun in the same plane.
According to this theory, temperatures
decreased with increasing distance from the center of the solar nebula. In the
inner region, where Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars formed, temperatures were
low enough that certain heavier elements, such as iron and the other heavy
compounds that make up rock, could condense out—that is, could change from a gas
to a solid or liquid. Due to the force of gravity, small clumps of this rocky
material eventually came together with the dust in the original solar nebula to
form protoplanets or planetesimals (small rocky bodies). These planetesimals
collided, broke apart, and re-formed until they became the four inner rocky
planets. The inner region, however, was still too hot for other light elements,
such as hydrogen and helium, to be retained. These elements could only exist in
the outermost part of the disc, where temperatures were lower. As a result two
of the outer planets—Jupiter and Saturn—are mostly made of hydrogen and helium,
which are also the dominant elements in the atmospheres of Uranus and
Neptune.
| B | The Early Earth |
Within the planetesimal Earth, heavier
matter sank to the center and lighter matter rose toward the surface. Most
scientists believe that Earth was never truly molten and that this transfer of
matter took place in the solid state. Much of the matter that went toward the
center contained radioactive material, an important source of Earth’s internal
heat. As heavier material moved inward, lighter material moved outward, the
planet became layered, and the layers of the core and mantle were formed. This
process is called differentiation.
Not long after they formed, more than 4
billion years ago, the Earth and the Moon underwent a period when they were
bombarded by meteorites, the rocky debris left over from the formation of the
solar system. The impact craters created during this period of heavy bombardment
are still visible on the Moon’s surface, which is unchanged. Earth’s craters,
however, were long ago erased by weathering, erosion, and mountain building.
Because the Moon has no atmosphere, its surface has not been subjected to
weathering or erosion. Thus, the evidence of meteorite bombardment remains.
Energy released from the meteorite impacts
created extremely high temperatures on Earth that melted the outer part of the
planet and created the crust. By 4 billion years ago, both the oceanic and
continental crust had formed, and the oldest rocks were created. These rocks are
known as the Acasta Gneiss and are found in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Due
to the meteorite bombardment, the early Earth was too hot for liquid water to
exist and so it was impossible for life to exist.
| C | Geologic Time |
Geologists divide the history of the Earth
into three eons: the Archean Eon, which lasted from around 4 billion to 2.5
billion years ago; the Proterozoic Eon, which lasted from 2.5 billion to 543
million years ago; and the Phanerozoic Eon, which lasted from 543 million years
ago to the present. Each eon is subdivided into different eras. For example, the
Phanerozoic Eon includes the Paleozoic Era, the Mesozoic Era, and the Cenozoic
Era. In turn, eras are further divided into periods. For example, the Paleozoic
Era includes the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, and
Permian Periods.
The Archean Eon is subdivided into four
eras, the Eoarchean, the Paleoarchean, the Mesoarchean, and the Neoarchean. The
beginning of the Archean is generally dated as the age of the oldest terrestrial
rocks, which are about 4 billion years old. The Archean Eon ended 2.5 billion
years ago when the Proterozoic Eon began. The Proterozoic Eon is subdivided into
three eras: the Paleoproterozoic Era, the Mesoproterozoic Era, and the
Neoproterozoic Era. The Proterozoic Eon lasted from 2.5 billion years ago to 543
million years ago when the Phanerozoic Eon began. The Phanerozoic Eon is
subdivided into three eras: the Paleozoic Era from 543 million to 248 million
years ago, the Mesozoic Era from 248 million to 65 million years ago, and the
Cenozoic Era from 65 million years ago to the present.
Geologists base these divisions on the
study and dating of rock layers or strata, including the fossilized remains of
plants and animals found in those layers. Until the late 1800s scientists could
only determine the relative ages of rock strata. They knew that in general the
top layers of rock were the youngest and formed most recently, while deeper
layers of rock were older. The field of stratigraphy shed much light on the
relative ages of rock layers.
The study of fossils also enabled
geologists to determine the relative ages of different rock layers. The fossil
record helped scientists determine how organisms evolved or when they became
extinct. By studying rock layers around the world, geologists and
paleontologists saw that the remains of certain animal and plant species
occurred in the same layers, but were absent or altered in other layers. They
soon developed a fossil index that also helped determine the relative ages of
rock layers.
Beginning in the 1890s, scientists learned
that radioactive elements in rock decay at a known rate. By studying this
radioactive decay, they could determine an absolute age for rock layers. This
type of dating, known as radiometric dating, confirmed the relative ages
determined through stratigraphy and the fossil index and assigned absolute ages
to the various strata. As a result scientists were able to assemble Earth’s
geologic time scale from the Archean Eon to the present. See also
Geologic Time.
| C1 | Precambrian |
The Precambrian is a time span that
includes the Archean and Proterozoic eons and began about 4 billion years ago.
The Precambrian marks the first formation of continents, the oceans, the
atmosphere, and life. The Precambrian represents the oldest chapter in Earth’s
history that can still be studied. Very little remains of Earth from the period
of 4.6 billion to about 4 billion years ago due to the melting of rock caused by
the early period of meteorite bombardment. Rocks dating from the Precambrian,
however, have been found in Africa, Antarctica, Australia, Brazil, Canada, and
Scandinavia. Some zircon mineral grains deposited in Australian rock layers have
been dated to 4.2 billion years.
The Precambrian is also the longest
chapter in Earth’s history, spanning a period of about 3.5 billion years. During
this timeframe, the atmosphere and the oceans formed from gases that escaped
from the hot interior of the planet as a result of widespread volcanic
eruptions. The early atmosphere consisted primarily of nitrogen, carbon dioxide,
and water vapor. As Earth continued to cool, the water vapor condensed out and
fell as precipitation to form the oceans. Some scientists believe that much of
Earth’s water vapor originally came from comets containing frozen water that
struck Earth during the period of meteorite bombardment.
By studying 2-billion-year-old rocks
found in northwestern Canada, as well as 2.5-billion-year-old rocks in China,
scientists have found evidence that plate tectonics began shaping Earth’s
surface as early as the middle Precambrian. About a billion years ago, the
Earth’s plates were centered around the South Pole and formed a supercontinent
called Rodinia. Slowly, pieces of this supercontinent broke away from the
central continent and traveled north, forming smaller continents.
Life originated during the Precambrian.
The earliest fossil evidence of life consists of prokaryotes, one-celled
organisms that lacked a nucleus and reproduced by dividing, a process known as
asexual reproduction. Asexual division meant that a prokaryote’s hereditary
material was copied unchanged. The first prokaryotes were bacteria known as
archaebacteria. Scientists believe they came into existence perhaps as early as
3.8 billion years ago, but certainly by about 3.5 billion years ago, and were
anaerobic—that is, they did not require oxygen to produce energy. Free oxygen
barely existed in the atmosphere of the early Earth.
Archaebacteria were followed about 3.46
billion years ago by another type of prokaryote known as cyanobacteria or
blue-green algae. These cyanobacteria gradually introduced oxygen in the
atmosphere as a result of photosynthesis. In shallow tropical waters,
cyanobacteria formed mats that grew into humps called stromatolites. Fossilized
stromatolites have been found in rocks in the Pilbara region of western
Australia that are more than 3.4 billion years old and in rocks of the Gunflint
Chert region of northwest Lake Superior that are about 2.1 billion years
old.
For billions of years, life existed
only in the simple form of prokaryotes. Prokaryotes were followed by the
relatively more advanced eukaryotes, organisms that have a nucleus in their
cells and that reproduce by combining or sharing their heredity makeup rather
than by simply dividing. Sexual reproduction marked a milestone in life on Earth
because it created the possibility of hereditary variation and enabled organisms
to adapt more easily to a changing environment. The very latest part of
Precambrian time some 560 million to 545 million years ago saw the appearance of
an intriguing group of fossil organisms known as the Ediacaran fauna. First
discovered in the northern Flinders Range region of Australia in the mid-1940s
and subsequently found in many locations throughout the world, these strange
fossils appear to be the precursors of many of the fossil groups that were to
explode in Earth's oceans in the Paleozoic Era. See also Evolution;
Natural Selection.
| C2 | Paleozoic Era |
At the start of the Paleozoic Era about
543 million years ago, an enormous expansion in the diversity and complexity of
life occurred. This event took place in the Cambrian Period and is called the
Cambrian explosion. Nothing like it has happened since. Almost all of the major
groups of animals we know today made their first appearance during the Cambrian
explosion. Almost all of the different “body plans” found in animals today—that
is, the way an animal’s body is designed, with heads, legs, rear ends, claws,
tentacles, or antennae—also originated during this period.
Fishes first appeared during the
Paleozoic Era, and multicellular plants began growing on the land. Other land
animals, such as scorpions, insects, and amphibians, also originated during this
time. Just as new forms of life were being created, however, other forms of life
were going out of existence. Natural selection meant that some species were able
to flourish, while others failed. In fact, mass extinctions of animal and plant
species were commonplace.
Most of the early complex life forms of
the Cambrian explosion lived in the sea. The creation of warm, shallow seas,
along with the buildup of oxygen in the atmosphere, may have aided this
explosion of life forms. The shallow seas were created by the breakup of the
supercontinent Rodinia. During the Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian periods,
which followed the Cambrian Period and lasted from 490 million to 354 million
years ago, some of the continental pieces that had broken off Rodinia collided.
These collisions resulted in larger continental masses in equatorial regions and
in the Northern Hemisphere. The collisions built a number of mountain ranges,
including parts of the Appalachian Mountains in North America and the Caledonian
Mountains of northern Europe.
Toward the close of the Paleozoic Era,
two large continental masses, Gondwanaland to the south and Laurasia to the
north, faced each other across the equator. Their slow but eventful collision
during the Permian Period of the Paleozoic Era, which lasted from 290 million to
248 million years ago, assembled the supercontinent Pangaea and resulted in some
of the grandest mountains in the history of Earth. These mountains included
other parts of the Appalachians and the Ural Mountains of Asia. At the close of
the Paleozoic Era, Pangaea represented over 90 percent of all the continental
landmasses. Pangaea straddled the equator with a huge mouthlike opening that
faced east. This opening was the Tethys Ocean, which closed as India moved
northward creating the Himalayas. The last remnants of the Tethys Ocean can be
seen in today’s Mediterranean Sea.
The Paleozoic came to an end with a
major extinction event, when perhaps as many as 90 percent of all plant and
animal species died out. The reason is not known for sure, but many scientists
believe that huge volcanic outpourings of lavas in central Siberia, coupled with
an asteroid impact, were joint contributing factors.
| C3 | Mesozoic Era |
The Mesozoic Era, beginning 248 million
years ago, is often characterized as the Age of Reptiles because reptiles were
the dominant life forms during this era. Reptiles dominated not only on land, as
dinosaurs, but also in the sea, in the form of the plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs,
and in the air, as pterosaurs, which were flying reptiles. See also
Dinosaur; Plesiosaur; Ichthyosaur; Pterosaur.
The Mesozoic Era is divided into three
geological periods: the Triassic, which lasted from 248 million to 206 million
years ago; the Jurassic, from 206 million to 144 million years ago; and the
Cretaceous, from 144 million to 65 million years ago. The dinosaurs emerged
during the Triassic Period and were one of the most successful animals in
Earth’s history, lasting for about 180 million years before going extinct at the
end of the Cretaceous Period. The first birds and mammals and the first
flowering plants also appeared during the Mesozoic Era. Before flowering plants
emerged, plants with seed-bearing cones known as conifers were the dominant form
of plants. Flowering plants soon replaced conifers as the dominant form of
vegetation during the Mesozoic Era.
The Mesozoic was an eventful era
geologically with many changes to Earth’s surface. Pangaea continued to exist
for another 50 million years during the early Mesozoic Era. By the early
Jurassic Period, Pangaea began to break up. What is now South America began
splitting from what is now Africa, and in the process the South Atlantic Ocean
formed. As the landmass that became North America drifted away from Pangaea and
moved westward, a long subduction zone extended along North America’s western
margin. This subduction zone and the accompanying arc of volcanoes extended from
what is now Alaska to the southern tip of South America. Much of this feature,
called the American Cordillera, exists today as the eastern margin of the
Pacific Ring of Fire.
During the Cretaceous Period, heat
continued to be released from the margins of the drifting continents, and as
they slowly sank, vast inland seas formed in much of the continental interiors.
The fossilized remains of fishes and marine mollusks called ammonites can be
found today in the middle of the North American continent because these areas
were once underwater. Large continental masses broke off the northern part of
southern Gondwanaland during this period and began to narrow the Tethys Ocean.
The largest of these continental masses, present-day India, moved northward
toward its collision with southern Asia. As both the North Atlantic Ocean and
South Atlantic Ocean continued to open, North and South America became isolated
continents for the first time in 450 million years. Their westward journey
resulted in mountains along their western margins, including the Andes of South
America.
| C4 | Cenozoic Era |
The Cenozoic Era, beginning about 65
million years ago, is the period when mammals became the dominant form of life
on land. Human beings first appeared in the later stages of the Cenozoic Era. In
short, the modern world as we know it, with its characteristic geographical
features and its animals and plants, came into being. All of the continents that
we know today took shape during this era.
A single catastrophic event may have
been responsible for this relatively abrupt change from the Age of Reptiles to
the Age of Mammals. Most scientists now believe that a huge asteroid or comet
struck the Earth at the end of the Mesozoic and the beginning of the Cenozoic
eras, causing the extinction of many forms of life, including the dinosaurs.
Evidence of this collision came with the discovery of a large impact crater off
the coast of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula and the worldwide finding of iridium, a
metallic element rare on Earth but abundant in meteorites, in rock layers dated
from the end of the Cretaceous Period. The extinction of the dinosaurs opened
the way for mammals to become the dominant land animals.
The Cenozoic Era is divided into the
Tertiary and the Quaternary periods. The Tertiary Period lasted from about 65
million to about 1.8 million years ago. The Quaternary Period began about 1.8
million years ago and continues to the present day. These periods are further
subdivided into epochs, such as the Pleistocene, from 1.8 million to 10,000
years ago, and the Holocene, from 10,000 years ago to the present.
Early in the Tertiary Period, Pangaea
was completely disassembled, and the modern continents were all clearly
outlined. India and other continental masses began colliding with southern Asia
to form the Himalayas. Africa and a series of smaller microcontinents began
colliding with southern Europe to form the Alps. The Tethys Ocean was nearly
closed and began to resemble today’s Mediterranean Sea. As the Tethys continued
to narrow, the Atlantic continued to open, becoming an ever-wider ocean. Iceland
appeared as a new island in later Tertiary time, and its active volcanism today
indicates that seafloor spreading is still causing the country to grow.
Late in the Tertiary Period, about 6
million years ago, humans began to evolve in Africa. These early humans began to
migrate to other parts of the world between 2 million and 1.7 million years
ago.
The Quaternary Period marks the onset
of the great ice ages. Many times, perhaps at least once every 100,000 years on
average, vast glaciers 3 km (2 mi) thick invaded much of North America, Europe,
and parts of Asia. The glaciers eroded considerable amounts of material that
stood in their paths, gouging out U-shaped valleys. Anatomically modern human
beings, known as Homo sapiens, became the dominant form of life in the
Quaternary Period. Most anthropologists (scientists who study human life
and culture) believe that anatomically modern humans originated only recently in
Earth’s 4.6-billion-year history, within the past 200,000 years. See also
Human Evolution.
| VII | EARTH’S FUTURE |
With the rise of human civilization about
8,000 years ago and especially since the Industrial Revolution in the mid-1700s,
human beings began to alter the surface, water, and atmosphere of Earth. In
doing so, they have become active geological agents, not unlike other forces of
change that influence the planet. As a result, Earth’s immediate future depends
to a great extent on the behavior of humans. For example, the widespread use of
fossil fuels is releasing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the
atmosphere and threatens to warm the planet’s surface. This global warming could
melt glaciers and the polar ice caps, which could flood coastlines around the
world and many island nations. In effect, the carbon dioxide that was removed
from Earth’s early atmosphere by the oceans and by primitive plant and animal
life, and subsequently buried as fossilized remains in sedimentary rock, is
being released back into the atmosphere and is threatening the existence of
living things. See also Global Warming.
Even without human intervention, Earth
will continue to change because it is geologically active. Many scientists
believe that some of these changes can be predicted. For example, based on
studies of the rate that the seafloor is spreading in the Red Sea, some
geologists predict that in 200 million years the Red Sea will be the same size
as the Atlantic Ocean is today. Other scientists predict that the continent of
Asia will break apart millions of years from now, and as it does, Lake Baikal in
Siberia will become a vast ocean, separating two landmasses that once made up
the Asian continent.
In the far, far distant future, however,
scientists believe that Earth will become an uninhabitable planet, scorched by
the Sun. Knowing the rate at which nuclear fusion occurs in the Sun and knowing
the Sun’s mass, astrophysicists (scientists who study stars) have
calculated that the Sun will become brighter and hotter about 3 billion years
from now, when it will be hot enough to boil Earth’s oceans away. Based on
studies of how other Sun-like stars have evolved, scientists predict that the
Sun will become a red giant, a star with a very large, hot atmosphere,
about 7 billion years from now. As a red giant the Sun’s outer atmosphere will
expand until it engulfs the planet Mercury. The Sun will then be 2,000 times
brighter than it is now and so hot it will melt Earth’s rocks. Earth will end
its existence as a burnt cinder. See also Sun.
Three billion years is the life span of
millions of human generations, however. Perhaps by then, humans will have
learned how to journey beyond the solar system to colonize other planets in the
Milky Way Galaxy and find another place to call “home.”
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