Earth's Surface

• Earth Science


  The scientific study of the planet Earth and its physical, chemical, and biological features
• Fields of Earth Science

  • Geology
  • Oceanography
  • Meteorology
  • Geography
• Earth Science


  • Has many practical applications such as locating and developing energy and mineral resources
• Lithosphere or Geosphere


  Solid top layer of the Earth made up of rocks and minerals covered by a thin layer of soil
• Divisions of the Lithosphere

  • Continents/Continental Floor
  • Oceans/Oceanic Floor
• Hydrosphere


  Contains all the solid, liquid, and gaseous water of the planet
• States of water


  • Solid (Ice)
  • Liquid (Water)
  • Gas (Water Vapor)
• Biosphere


  Contains all the planet's living things such as microorganisms, plants, and animals
• Biomes


  • Tropical Rainforest
  • Temperate Forest
  • Desert
  • Tundra
  • Grassland
• Atmosphere


  Includes all the gases surrounding the Earth
• Composition of the Atmosphere

  • Nitrogen (78%)
  • Oxygen (21%)
  • Argon (0.9%)
  • Other gases (0.1%)
• Atmospheric Circulation


  1. Process by which the heat on the Earth's surface is redistributed

  2. Movement of air around the planet
• Hydrologic Cycle


  1. Constant change of heat and moisture between the atmosphere and the hydrosphere

  2. Continuous circulation of water in the Earth
• Layers of the Atmosphere

  • Troposphere
  • Stratosphere
  • Mesosphere
  • Thermosphere
  • Exosphere
• Crust


  Outermost layer of the Earth that is made of solid rock (basalt and granite)
• Types of Crust


  • Oceanic Crust
  • Continental Crust
• Mantle


  Largest layer of the Earth and lies below the crust (up to 2,900 km thick)
• Mantle


  • Consists of hot, dense, iron and magnesium-rich solid rock
  • The crust and upper part of the mantle make up the lithosphere which is broken into both small and large plates
  • Composed of silicate rock, rich in elements like silicon and oxygen
  • Despite being solid, the intense heat and pressure within the Earth causes the mantle to exhibit a kind of slow, plastic flow
  • Thought to be the driving force behind plate tectonics (large-scale movement on the Earth's surface)
• Core


  Center and innermost layer of the Earth
• Parts of the Core

  • Inner Core
  • Outer Core
• Raisin Theory


  Cooling caused the contraction and pressure that allowed some parts of the crust to move upward and produce mountains, while other parts of the crust buckled downward, creating ocean basins and other depressions
• Isostacy


  States that whenever equilibrium exists on the Earth's surface, equal mass must underlie surface areas
• Tectonic Plates Theory


  The crust is composed of different plates that move either towards or past each other, carried along the currents in the upper mantle (specifically the asthenosphere)
• Continental Drift Theory


  The Earth was once a supercontinent called Pangaea, which split into two sub-continents, Laurasia and Gondwanaland, and the Thetys Sea separated that. Pangaea might get reformed around 250 to 300 years from now.