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Michael K. Rulison
(http://sites.oglethorpe.
edu/mrulison/)
Professor of Physics

Chapter 7: Earth
Additional Earth Notes
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/astronomy-web-lecture-
notes/earth-lecture-notes/additional-notes-earth/)
The science of comparative planetology seeks to find similarities and differences amongst the various
planets. Naturally, the Earth has become the benchmark for such comparisons.

Basic Properties of the Earth

Semi-Major Axis 1.00 AU

Revolution Period 1.00 Yr

Diameter 12,756 km

Mass 5.98 X 1024 kg

Density 5.5 gm/cm3

 Uncompressed Density 4.5 gm/cm3

Surface Gravity 9.8 m/s2

Escape Velocity 11 km/s

Rotation Period 23h 56m

Surface Area 5.1 X 108 km2

Atmospheric Pressure 1.00 bar

Atmospheric Composition N2 (78%), O2 (21%)

Rotation and Revolution

Although the Earth rotates on its axis and revolves about the sun in the Copernican model of the solar
system, for nearly 200 years after the time of Copernicus there was no direct proof of these motions.
There now exist several kinds of evidence of Earths rotation and revolution.

Aberration
For several centuries after the time of Copernicus, astronomers tried to verify the Earths revolution by
detecting stellar parallax. In one of those attempts in the 1720s, two British astronomers, Molyneux
and Bradley, discovered the aberration of starlight. This is the shift in the apparent directions of all the
stars due to the motion of the Earth. Molyneux and Bradley found that the stars appeared to shift back
and forth by a total of about 40 in an annual cycle. To observe these stars their telescope had to be
pointed at angles up to 20 from vertical. Bradley correctly reasoned that the shifting direction was
due to the changing direction of the motion of the Earth as it orbited the sun.

(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/rain-

1c7g94t.jpg)

This is analogous to the shift in the angle at which an umbrella must be held in order to keep a person
dry in a vertically falling rain. If the person is stationary, the umbrella must be held vertical. But,
when the person begins to walk the umbrella must be tilted forward at an angle that is proportional to
the speed with which the person walks.

tan 20 = vearth/c

vearth = 30 km/s
 (http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/aberdiag-2fsk162.jpg)

(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/aberr-

2d1it04.jpg)

Foucault Pendulum
In 1851 Jean Foucault used a large pendulum suspended from a low-friction pivot point to demonstrate
that the Earth rotates on its axis. When the pendulum is set swinging, Newtons first law demands that
it continue to swing in the same plane. As the Earth rotates under the pendulum, it results in an
apparent shift in its swing plane, completing a complete cycle in 23 hours 56 minutes one sidereal day
at the poles. The pendulum takes increasingly longer to complete one cycle at lower latitudes.

Centrifugal Force
In accelerating reference frames fictitious forces appear. For example, when a car rounds a curve
there is a fictitious force, usually called a centrifugal force in this case, which seems to cause an object
to move toward the outside of the curve. In fact there is no force on the object, as it moves in a straight
line in accordance with Newtons first law while the reference frame of the car turns under it.

Because the rotating Earth is an accelerated reference frame, we experience similar fictitious forces.
For example the weight of an object on the rotating Earth (other than at the poles) is less than it would
be on a non-rotating Earth due to the inertial effects of the centrifugal force. In fact the Earth itself is
subject to the same inertial effects causing its shape to deviate from perfectly spherical. (0.3% in the
Earths case) The resulting oblate shape of the Earth is typical of all rotating planets, with the amount
of deformation depending on size, rate of rotation, and type and distribution of matter composing the
planet.

Coriolis Eect
Another fictitious force generated by the Earths rotation is the Coriolis effect, which causes the paths of
moving objects, winds, water currents, etc. to curve to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the
left in the southern hemisphere. Consider, for example, a projectile fire due north from a point on the
equator. In addition to its northward velocity it also possesses the 1675 km/hr eastward motion of a
point on the equator. But 10o north of the equator a point on the surface of the Earth is only moving
eastward at 1650 km/hr, so the projectile is moving 25 km/hr faster to the east than the terrain below it.
Plotting the path of the projectile on a map would result in an eastward curvature of its path.

For example, in the northern hemisphere, as air moves in toward the center of a low pressure region it
will be deflected to the right, resulting in a counter-clockwise rotation. This is easily seen in hurricanes
and in the direction of winds surrounding low pressure regions. Conversely, rotation around a high
pressure region is clockwise in the northern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere the rotational
senses are reversed.

(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/hurric-

pzyz06.jpg)

Interior of the Earth

Composition
The Earth is a terrestrial planet, composed mainly of rock and metal. Only the first few kilometers of
the Earths crust has been directly examined. Our knowledge of the bulk properties of the Earth has
been obtained indirectly.

Surface rocks have densities in the range of 2.5-3.0 gm/cm3, but the overall density of the Earth is 5.5
gm/cm3. Thus, the density of the interior must be much higher, and its composition is probably very
different from that of the crust. However, it is possible that the extreme pressure of the overlying
material compresses the material in the interior to high densities, even though the composition of the
material is similar to that near the surface. Experimental tests show that rocky material is not
sufficiently compressible to account for these higher densities. This leads to the concept of
uncompressed density, which is the density an average piece of a planet would have if not subject to
high pressures.

In the case of the Earth the uncompressed density is 4.5 gm/cm3, and so the interior must include high
density material in addition to rock. Since iron is the most abundant metallic element on the cosmic
scale, it is assumed that the interior of the Earth is enriched in iron as well as (possibly) other metals.

Structure
Nearly all our knowledge about the interior structure of the Earth has been gained by analyzing the
propagation of seismic waves. On Earth seismic waves are generated by earthquakes which result
from the slippage between crustal plates. As internal forces drive crustal plates, adjacent plates come
into contact with each other in various ways (see below). As a result stresses build up until the stress is
released in a large slippage, the associated release of large amounts of energy serves as the source of
the resulting earthquake.
 (http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/rebound-

2hctvhj.gif)

Some of these waves travel on the Earths surface, while others propagate through the interior.
Although it is the surface rolling-type wave which causes the greatest damage to buildings, etc. it is the
interior waves that are of interest here. Some of these waves travel on the Earths surface, while others
propagate through the interior. The interior waves are known as P waves and S waves. P waves are
longitudinal waves and are therefore able to travel through solids and fluids, while S waves are shear
waves and so only able to move through solid material.

(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/waves-

1r7v29a.gif)

Therefore, by studying the propagation of seismic waves out from an earthquakes epicenter it is
possible to infer the state of the various portions of the Earths interior. The speed of S waves and P
waves differ from each other, and also each varies with the density of the material it is traveling
through, so a careful study of the arrival times of various waves from an earthquake at some remote
location can provide information about the density profile of the Earth.

For a current plot of earthquakes see

http://www.iris.edu/seismon/ (http://www.iris.edu/seismon/)

(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/earth-rays-

2gimuuo.gif)

As a result of this difference in the ability to propagate through different types of material, as well as
the refraction which occurs with a change of density (and therefore temperature), so-called shadow
zones are produced. The geometry of these shadow zones allows for the determination of the
locations of various boundaries in the Earths interior.
 (http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/earth-

core-1ofivn5.gif)

See simulations of seismic wave propagation at http://epsc.wustl.edu/~saadia/page2.html

(http://epsc.wustl.edu/~saadia/page2.html.)

Based on this type of detailed information the following picture of the Earths interior emerges. A thin
solid crust exists of thickness approximately 100 km, although thinner in the ocean basin regions and
thicker in the continental landmass regions. Moving down through the crust from the surface, the
temperature is found to increase at about 20-30 K per kilometer of depth. Yet this rate cannot continue
or all rock below a depth of about 50 km would be molten. Thus the source of the temperature
increase near the surface must be due to the presence of radioactive materials in the upper crust. This
outer region is also known as the lithosphere.

Beneath the lithosphere is the asthenosphere (or zone of weakness) extending to a depth of around 300
km. The material here is plastic, that is, it behaves as a solid when subjected to a sudden impulse, but
will flow like a fluid when subjected to continual strain over a long period of time. The crustal plates
float on this plastic region and very slow currents in the outer core, lower mantle and asthenosphere
drive the tectonic processes of the crust. Note that the crust is distinguished from the mantle by
composition, while the lithosphere is distinguished from the asthenosphere by degree of plasticity.

The lower mantle extends down to about 2800-2900 km, at which point an abrupt change occurs. P
waves no longer propagate through this region, so it must be liquid. However, seismic studies show
that at even greater depths the inner core again becomes solid, probably due to the extremely high
pressures involved. The outer core has a radius of about 3500 km, although its surface is not perfectly
spherical. The inner core has a radius of about 1200 km. Temperatures in the core reach around 7000
K (~surface temperature of sun), and pressures reach to about 3.6 million times atmospheric pressure.

(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/spddens-

p8pg98.jpg)
 (http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/earthfg2-

15cc9o6.gif)

Earths Magnetism
Additional evidence for the existence of a liquid portion of the Earths interior comes from the
existence of the Earths magnetic field. The Earths magnetic field resembles that of an ordinary bar
magnet. The magnetic poles are not coincident with the rotational poles; neither does the magnetic
axis pass through the Earths center. Investigation of orientation of magnetic domains in the ocean
floor indicate that the Earths magnetic field direction wanders and occasionally reverses polarity.
(~100 times in the past 50 million years)

The dynamo theory proposes that the magnetic field arises from the rotation of the Earths liquid
metallic (conducting) core. This rotating conductor acts as a giant dynamo, and the turbulent motions
of the liquid core result in the fluctuations of the field.

The Earths field extends far out into the surrounding space. This region, known as the magnetosphere
extends out to nearly 10 Earth radii in the direction of the sun, and may extend well beyond the orbit of
the moon in the direction away from the sun. Electrically charged particles are affected by the
magnetic field. Electrons, protons, and other electrically charged particles in the solar wind spiral
around the magnetic field lines becoming trapped in two doughnut-shaped regions which surround the
Earth the van Allen belts. When these charged particles encounter the Earths atmosphere near the
poles the atmospheric molecules are excited and as a result emit light as the aurora borealis and aurora
australis.

(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/aurora-

2iv9l5l.jpg)

Crust of the Earth

For a good overview of Earth structure and tectonics see
http://www.seismo.unr.edu/ftp/pub/louie/class/100/100-earthquakes.html
(http://www.seismo.unr.edu/ftp/pub/louie/class/100/100-earthquakes.html)

Geological Processes
Processes which in some way modify the crust of the Earth are classified as endogenic or exogenic.
The source of an endogenic process is internal, while the source of an exogenic process is external. For
example, volcanism is an endogenic process, while impacts of meteorites would be an example of
exogenic processes. The relative importance of these two types of processes largely determines the
type of surface features that will be found on a planet. Impact craters are produced on the Earth, just
as they are on the moon or Mercury. These craters are not evident due to the high level of endogenic
processes and the presence of weathering and erosion.

Plate Tectonics
Internal processes which result in the compression or expansion of the crust are referred to as tectonic.
Alfred Wegener proposed in the early 20th century the hypothesis of continenetal drift the idea that
the continents had moved apart to assume their present positions. This idea was based on detailed
comparisons of the geology of the east and west Atlantic ocean shores, and on similarities in the fossil
record of Africa and South America. No feasible explanation for a mechanism by which the continents
could move through the basaltic crust was available.

With the development of the theory of plate tectonics it is recognized that the dozen or so major crustal
plates that make up the lithosphere can move relative to each other, driven by slow convection
currents within the mantle. First evidence for this theory was found in the 1960s when geologists
found evidence of sea floor spreading on either side of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at the rate of a few
meters per century. At this rate the entire Atlantic Ocean would have formed over a period of 100
million years, in agreement with Wegeners fossil findings.

(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/plates-

22ilism.jpg)

Rift and Subduction Zones

Crustal plates move apart from each other in regions known as rift zones. This splitting is driven by
upwelling convection currents in the mantle. Most rift zones are found in oceans where the crust is
thinner, and therefore more fragile, but some exist on land (central African rift).

About 60,000 km of active rift zones have been identified. The average separation rate is about 4 cm
per year, so the amount of new sea floor added each year is about (6 X 107 m) X (4 X 10-2 m) = 2.4 X 106
m2 = 2.4 km2. Since the total sea floor area is about 260 million km2, the average age of the oceanic
crust is about 100 million years. This is very recent in geologic terms!
 (http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/ocnflr-

1rygc1q.jpg)

To compensate this spreading apart of plates in rift zones there must be regions where plates collide.
This can happen in several ways. When one plate slides under another the region is a subduction
zone. Continental plates are generally not subducted, but oceanic crust is relatively easily forced into
the upper mantle. Subduction zones are marked by oceanic trenches (Japan Trench), earthquake-
prone regions, and volcanoes.

(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/subduct-

2n3x2sm.jpg)

(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/riftsubd-1yax9ze.jpg)

(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/subduct2-

1wfliwg.jpg)

Fault Zones
Some plates will slide parallel to their boundaries along much of their lengths. Such areas are marked
by cracks or faults, and in these fault zones one plate will move several meters per century
comparable to rift zone spreading rates. Typically this motion is not uniform, however. Stresses build
up and then are released when violent slippages occur, resulting in earthquakes. The longer the
interval between earthquakes, the larger the energy release when it finally does occur. For example,
near Parkfield, CA the San Andreas falt has been slipping about every 22 years, with an average motion
of about 1 m. However, the average interval between major quakes in the Los Angeles region is about
140 years, with an average motion of about 7 m. The last major slippage in this area was in 1857. Thus
the area is due for a major earthquake of serious magnitude.

(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/sanandr-1q3ekqe.jpg)

Mountain Building
When two continental plates collide, neither can be subducted. As a result the crust buckles and folds
with some rock being forced below the surface, and other folds being thrust upward. By this process
most of the mountain ranges on Earth were formed. For example, the Himalayas are still in the process
of being formed as the Indian plate is forced against the Eurasian plate. [Note that the sharp peaks and
ridges are actually due to erosion by water and ice, not tectonic processes.]

Volcanoes
Volcanoes mark locations where magma rises to near the surface of the Earth. This occurs at rift zones,
subduction zones, and (occasionally) in regions of mountain building. Another location for volcanism
is over mantle hot spots where heat wells up from the Earths interior. The Hawaiian islands, for
example, are the result of the motion of the Pacific plate over a mantle hot spot, with each major island
in the chain a few million years older than the next.

(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/hawaii-

1xn2hbx.jpg)

Shield volcanoes result from gradual build-up of successive lava flows (Mauna Kea). Conical volcanoes
result from the fall-back of violent eruptions of lava (Mt. Fuji, Mt. Vesuvius, Mt. St. Helens). Flood
basalts result when very fluid lava is erupted rapidly (Columbia River flood basalts in Washington
state).

Weathering, Erosion, Sedimentation

Sculpting effect of water and ice even in arid regions. Primary role of wind is transporting sand and
dust produced by weathering. These sediments cover much of the igneous rock of the ocean basins and
continental masses, eventually being formed into sedimentary rock.

Earths Atmosphere and Oceans

Structure of the Atmosphere
The pressure exerted by the atmosphere at the Earths surface is equivalent to the weight of 1.03 kg
over each square centimeter, or 10.3 metric tons per square meter. The total mass of the atmosphere is
then about 5 X 1015 metric tons. As described in the last chapter, the atmosphere gradually thins
merging with the extremely thin gases of the magnetosphere at several hundred kilometers altitude.

Troposphere: 0-10 km. Convection currents. Clouds. Temperature drops to -50oC at the upper limit
(tropopause).

Stratosphere: 10-80 km. Temperature uniformly cold (~-50oC), but rises slightly due to absorption of
solar radiation by an ozone layer (~50-65 km). CFCs. From 65-80 km the temperature drops again to
~-50oC.
See http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/essd06oct99_1.htm
(http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/essd06oct99_1.htm) for additional recent information.

Thermosphere: 80-500 km. Temperature rises reaching ~1000oC at 500 km.

Exosphere: >400 km.

Ionosphere: The region of the thermosphere and exosphere where molecules of oxygen and nitrogen
break up into individual atoms. UV radiation from the sun ionizes these atoms.

(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/atmos-

2aka2s2.jpg)

Composition of the Atmosphere

Nitrogen (N2) 78.1%

Oxygen (O2) 21.0%

Argon (Ar) 0.93%

 Carbon Dioxide (CO2) 0.03%

Neon (Ne) 0.002%

In addition to trace amounts of other gases, variable amounts of water vapor and dust particles are
also found. Nitrogen, argon, and neon are relatively inert. Oxygen and carbon dioxide important for
animal and plant life.

Note that on a warmer Earth some (or all) of the ocean water would be in vapor form contributing up
to 300 bars of atmospheric pressure. In addition some carbon dioxide would be released from
carbonate rocks in the Earths crust, contributing up to 70 bars of atmospheric pressure (compared
with the current 0.0005 bar). So a warmer Earth would have an atmosphere dominated by water vapor
and carbon dioxide, with a pressure of as much as 400 bars.

How the Earth first acquired an atmosphere is not known for certain. Three possibilities exist: (1)
formed with the Earth from the solar nebula, (2) released from the Earths interior by volcanism
subsequent to the Earths formation, or (3) result from the impacts of comets or other icy materials
from the outer solar system. The cometary hypothesis is currently favored although all three may have
been involved to an extent.

Weather and Climate

Weather results from the evaporation and condensation of water, and convection in the troposphere.
The energy powering the processes is absorbed solar radiation. As water is evaporated it stores large
amounts of energy, which can later be released through condensation. On a non-rotating planet the
circulation patterns would be dominated by rising warm air near the equator and sinking cooler air
near the poles. On Earth this convection is modified by the Coriolis force producing cyclonic weather
systems which largely dominate the weather in the temperate latitudes.

Ice Ages
Periodically occuring during the past million years. Probably caused by changes in the tilt of the
Earths rotation axis due to gravitational influences of other planets.

Chemical Evolution of Earth and Origins of Life

Uniqueness of Life
Terrestrial life is (with great probability) the only life in the solar system. On larger scales the question
remains very much open. Interaction between the Earth and its lifeforms has played an important role
in the development of the planet.

At the molecular level, all life on Earth is similar. The DNA and RNA fundamental to all life are in all
cases right-handed helices, and all based upon the same basic genetic code. Thus there is apparently a
single common ancestor for all life forms.

Origin of Life
The constant reforming of the Earths crust has erased the record of the beginnings of life on Earth, yet
some conclusion may be drawn. During the first several hundred million years of its existence impacts
of fragments left over from the formation of the solar system would have destroyed any early life. By
3.6 billion years ago there was abundant life in the oceans.

Conditions at the time of the appearance of the first forms of life can be inferred from laboratory
experiments. For example, to produce the type of organic molecules that serve as the building blocks
of living organisms, an oxygen rich atmosphere like that found today could not have led to the
necessary chemical reactions. However, in an atmosphere with no free oxygen, and the presence of
abundant water it is easy to produce a wide variety of the molecules of interest, including amino acids
and simple proteins. Thus the atmosphere must have evolved over time.

In the absence of life, oxygen in the atmosphere combines with surface rock to produce oxides. Prior to
the onset of life the atmosphere was probably dominated by carbon dioxide, much like the
atmospheres of Mars and Venus today.

In addition to an absence of oxygen, formation of organic compounds requires hydrogen-rich

compounds like methane and ammonia. Either the early atmosphere contained these compounds, or
they were deposited by cometary bombardment. (Compounds like methane, hydrogen cyanide and
alcohol are abundant in comets.)

Evolution of Atmosphere
If the early atmosphere did contain such reduced compounds, they would not last long. In the absence
of an ozone shield, UV light from the sun would break such compounds apart, and once released, the
hydrogen from materials like methane and ammonia would have escaped the Earth, preventing re-
formation.

NH3 > N2 and CH4 > CO

While photosynthetic plants existed in the seas over 3 billion years ago, studies of ancient rock show
that there was no substantial oxygen in the atmosphere until at least 2 billion years ago. During the
intervening time the oxygen was apparently removed by reactions with the crust as quickly as it
formed.

CO2 and Global Warming

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