INTERNAL STRUCTURE

OF THE EARTH
AYO, ARAO, BUSTILLO, DELA CRUZ, FLORIANO, HOPELLO, LADAO, MANAOG,
NILO, PAGALANAN, RODRIGUEZ, TORLA
 LEARNING COMPETENCIES
• Identify and differentiate the layers of the
Earth from each other

• Describe the continental drift theory and

discuss evidence that support continental
drift

• Explain how the seafloor spreads describe

the structure and evolution of ocean basins

• Explain how the movement of plate leads to

the formation of folds, fault, trenches,
volcanoes, rift valleys, and mountain ranges
LAYERS OF THE EARTH
LAYERS OF THE EARTH
LAYERS OF THE EARTH
• Earth was formed about 4.6 billion years ago during the birth
of our solar system. 500 million years after its formation, the
elements and compounds on earth started to sort themselves by
density

• The denser the materials such as iron sank toward earth core
while less dense materials such as silicates were displaced
towards earth surface

• This process of differentiation is called the iron catastrophe,

which occurred when the temperature of earth went beyond the
melting point of iron.

• As the result of the iron catastrophe, earth now consists of 3

distinct layers with varied composition and thickness:

Crust Mantle Core

LAYERS OF THE EARTH
CRUST
• the part of Earth where humans live.
• outermost layer of our planet and is less than %1 of the
Earth's size. Compared with the other layers, the crust is
very thin
• the thickness beneath the oceans ranges from 7 km to 10 km and
25 km to 70 km beneath the continents.
• composed of a great variety of igneous, metamorphic and
sedimentary rocks.

Oceanic crust

- The oceanic crust is generally younger, thinner, and

denser than continental crust. It is denser because
it is predominantly composed of silica and magnesium-
based basalt rocks.

- Oceanic crust thickness ranges from 7 km to 10 km

CRUST
Continental crust

- Continental crust that forms the continents is older,

thicker, and less dense than oceanic crust.
- Continental crust thickness ranges from 25 km to 70 km

Composition
• Igneous rock, metamorphic rock and sedimentary rock
• The most common chemical elements in the crust are oxygen
silicon, aluminum, iron, calcium, potassium, sodium, and
magnesium
• More than 90% on the crust is composed of silicate minerals. Most
abundant silicate are feldspars plagioclase and alkali feldspar.
Other common silicate minerals are quartz, pyroxenes, amphiboles,
micas, and clay minerals. The rest of the silicate family
comprises 3% of the crust. Only 8% of the crust is composed of
non-silicates – carbonates, oxides, sulfides, etch.
MANTLE
• The mantle is mostly solid bulk of Earth's interior. The
mantle lies between Earth’s dense, super heated core and its
outer layer the crust.

• The mantle is about 2900 kilometers (1802 miles) thick, and

makes up a whopping 84% of Earth’s total volume.

• The temperature of the mantle varies greatly, from 1000°

Celsius (1832° Fahrenheit) near its boundary with the crust,
to 3700° Celsius (6692° Fahrenheit) near its boundary with the
core. In the mantle, heat and pressure generally increase with
depth

• The rocks that make up Earth’s mantle are mostly

silicates – a wide variety of compounds that share a
silicon and oxygrn structure.
MANTLE
Upper Mantle

- extends from the crust to a depth of about 410 kilometers

(255 miles).
- The upper mantle is mostly solid but its mote malleable
regions contribute to tectonic activity

Lithosphere
• The lithosphere is the solid outer part of the earth,
extending to a depth of about 1000 kilometers (62 miles).

• The lithosphere includes both the crust and the brittle upper
portion of the mantle.

• The lithosphere is both coolest and the most rigid of Earth’s

layers
MANTLE
Asthenosphere
• The asthenosphere is the denser, weaker layer beneath the
lithospheric mantle
• It lies between about 100 kilometers (62 miles) and 410
kilometers (255 miles) beneath the Earth’s surface.

• The temperature and pressure of the asthenosphere are so high

that rock soften and partly melt, becoming semi-molten.
• The asthenosphere is much more ductile than either the
lithosphere or lower mantle.
MANTLE
Transition Zone
• From about 410 kilometers (255 miles) to 660 kilometers
(410 miles) beneath Earth’s surface, rocks undergo radical
transformation. This is the mantle's transition zone

• Rocks do not melt or disintegrate. Instead, their crystalline

structure changes in important ways. Rocks become much, much
more dense
Lower Mantle

- The lower mantle extends from about 660 kilometer (410 miles)
to about 2700 kilometers (1678 miles) beneath Earth’s surface.
- The lower mantle is hotter and denser than the upper mantle
and transition zone.
- Lower mantle is much more ductile than the upper mantle and
transition zone. Although heat usually corresponds to softening
rocks, intense pressure keeps the lower mantle solid.
MANTLE
D Double Prime
• Beneath the lower mantle is a shallow region called D” or “d
double-prime.

• In some areas, D” is a nearly razor thin boundary with the

outer core. In other areas, D” has thick accumulations of
iron and silicates. In still other areas, geologist and
seismologists have detected areas of huge melt.
CORE
Outer Core
• the second to last layer of the Earth. It is a magma like
liquid layer that surrounds the Inner Core
• composed of iron and some nickel.
• discovered by Beno Gutenberg in 1913. Gutenberg discontinuity
• 2,890 kilometers (1,400 miles) beneath the surface of the
Earth. It stretches to about 2,300 kilometers (1,400 miles).
• estimated that the temperature of the outer core is from
4,000-8,000 K (6,740-13,940 degrees F or 3,730-7,730 degrees
C)
• Geodynamo - it is responsible for the magnetic field
surrounding our planet
CORE
Inner Core
• Innermost layer of the Earth.
• It is a solid ball of iron, nickel and other metals
• Inge Lehmann was the first to discover the inner core as
being solid and covered by a liquid outer core in 1940
• Has a radius of 1,220 kilometers or 768 miles
• Temperature estimated to be about 5,400 degrees Celsius or
9,800 degrees Fahrenheit
• Important in generating the planet’s magnetic field
• Primary Waves
CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY
CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY
CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY
ALFRED WEGENER

• A German
meteorologist

• Introduced the
Continental Drift
Theory in his
book, The Origin
of Continents and
Ocean
CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY
PANGEA
A long time ago in the
geologic past Earth has one
massive supercontinent called
Pangaea which was surrounded
by a single ocean called
Panthalassa

Pangaea – All lands

Panthalassa – All seas

Laurasia – northern hemisphere

Gondwanaland – southern
hemisphere
EVIDENCES
The fit of continental shorelines
Wegener viewed the apparent fit of the continents along
their coastline as a pieces of a jigsaw puzzle

Paleoclimate

• Coal deposits were found in

areas the presently do not
have a tropical climate

• This apparent shifting of

climate belts indicates that
the continents have been
moving around over time
EVIDENCES
Distribution of Glacial Sediments
• Wegener plotted the location
of the sediments and rocks
that were formed during the
last glaciation of the late
Paleozoic and analyzed the
scratches imprinted as
glaciers moved along the
surface of rocks

• He found that glaciers of

this time interval occurred
in southern South America,
southern Africa, southern
India, Antarctica, and
southern Australia
EVIDENCES There are fossils of the same
organism in certain places in
Distribution of Fossils several continents
EVIDENCES
Distribution of Rocks
• Wegener was able to recognize
the distinct assembly of
rocks occurring on either
side of the Atlantic Ocean

• Based on the type, age, and

sequence of layering, these
appear to be immediately
adjacent to each other

• Applachian Mountains and

Caledonian Mountains

• Karroo Strata (South Africa)

& Santa Catarina rocks
(Brazil
SEAFLOOR SPREADING
SEAFLOOR SPREADING
SEAFLOOR SPREADING
• Geologists rejected Wegener’s Continental Drift Theory.
• During World War II, there is a need to study the
seafloor for military purposes.

Process
• Rising magma
solidifies

• Old rocks are

pushed away from
the ridge due to
the rising magma

• Old rocks = far

• New rocks = near

• As new oceanic crust is formed a part of it subducts somewhere

in the Earth at areas called subduction zones.
SEAFLOOR SPREADING
HARRY HOMMOND HESS
• American Geologist
• Conducted echo-
sounding survey on the
ocean floor publish in
“The History of Ocean
Basins”
• His research resulted
in a hypothesis that
would be called
“seafloor spreading”
EVIDENCES
Earth’s Magnetic Field

• Basalt contains a small

amount of magnetic
minerals such as
magnetite and hematite

• Throughout the course of

the history of the Earth,
the poles have reversed
hundreds of time.

• If the seafloor was not

spreading, then, there
must be a uniformity in
the magnetic pattern of
the rocks underneath the As molten magma solidifies, its magnetic
components align itself following the
ocean floor.
magnetic pattern of the Earth.
EVIDENCES
Age of Rocks
• Scientist found out that the seafloor is the youngest in
areas near the mid-oceanic ridge, and becomes older as it
goes farther away on either side.

• They also found out

that the age and
magnetic signatures
of rocks
systematically vary
on either side of
the ridge.
EVIDENCES
Thickness and age of sediments
• The sediments which
directly overlying the
basalts in mid-ocean
ridges should be thicker
and older compared with
those overlying new formed
seafloor

• In the year 1968, a

drilling ship called the
Glomar Challenger was used
to gather samples of rocks
from the ocean floor.
PLATE TECTONICS
PLATE TECTONICS
PLATE TECTONICS
• States that the lithosphere is not a continuous layer but
consists of several irregularly shaped pieces called tectonic
plates. These meet along distinct boundaries generally
indicated by seismic and volcanic activities.
PLATE TECTONICS
Lithosphere
Tectonic Plates are composed of oceanic lithosphere and
thicker continental lithosphere.
Asthenosphere
- it is the layer of molten rock below the lithosphere and believed
to be much hotter and more fluid than the lithosphere.

- Heat from deep within Earth is thought to keep the asthenosphere

malleable, lubricating the undersides of Earth’s tectonic plates and
allowing them to move.
CONVERGENT BOUNDARY
• Where two plates move toward each other
• The denser plate sinks beneath the other plate resulting
to a subduction

Continental – Continental

• Minimal
subduction

• Crust gets
folded and
thickened

• Results
mountain ranges
such as the
Himalayas Range
CONVERGENT BOUNDARY
Oceanic – Oceanic

• The denser plate

subducts

• Trench marks the

location where
the plate is
pushed down into
the mantle

• The subduction of
the plate
triggers melting
of the mantle
that causes magma
to rise parallel • Results trenches and island arcs
to the trench such as Marianas Island
CONVERGENT BOUNDARY
Oceanic – Continental

• The oceanic plate

undergoes
subduction and
volcanic arcs
arise on land.

• Similar to
oceanic – oceanic
convergence

• Results to
volcanoes and
trenches such as
the Philippine
trench
DIVERGENT BOUNDARY
• When two plates move apart from each other

Oceanic – Oceanic

• As the oceanic plates diverge,

magma rises between them and
cools thus a new lithosphere
is born

• Results to a mid-ocean ridge

such as the Mid-Atlantic
Ridge, that encircles the
Earth, spreading from Southern
Africa to Northern America.
•
DIVERGENT BOUNDARY
Continental – Continental

• A rift valley or a new

ocean basin is created
between two divergent
plate boundaries.

• Produces a narrow,
shallow sea within the
rift

• Divergent boundary
which spreads between
African Plate and
Arabian Plate formed
the Red Sea
TRANSFORM BOUNDARY
• Where two plates slide past each other, resembling a
strike-slip faults or transform faults.
• It is also referred to as “big
strike-slip faults” or
“transform faults”, the crust is
broken but no materials is
created nor destroyed, unlike in Example: San Andreas Fault
convergent and divergent
boundaries.

• These occur at mid

ocean ridges and in
continents, consist of
short segments link by
transform faults
oriented perpendicular
to the axis of
the ridge.
OCEAN BASIN DEVELOPMENT
• The ocean basins have both grown and been consumed as plate
tectonics continued on Earth.
• The configuration and distribution of ocean basins have been
changing together with the movement of plates in geologic
time.

Active and Growing Basin

- Atlantic and Arctic Ocean

Shrinking Basin
- Mediterranean Sea and Pacific Ocean

Inactive Basin
- Gulf of Mexico (million years ago)
OCEAN BASIN DEVELOPMENT
John Tuzo Wilson

• Proponent of the
Wilson Cycle

• Provided
explanation on why
the Earth does not
shrink nor expand

• Explains the
opening and closing
of ocean basins
OCEAN BASIN DEVELOPMENT
Wilson Cycle
OCEAN BASIN DEVELOPMENT
Wilson Cycle
1. Continental Rifting

2. Opening of The Ocean

Basin

3. Convergence begins as
oceanic plate subducts

4. Ocean basin closes

5. Continents collide
forming mountains

6. Crust thins by erosion

 THANKS FOR
LISTENING
AYO, ARAO, BUSTILLO, DELA CRUZ, FLORIANO, HOPELLO, LADAO, MANAOG,
NILO, PAGALANAN, RODRIGUEZ, TORLA