Essay on The Molten Core Theory

There are two main ways scientists learn about Earth’s Interior. The first way is, of rock samples. Scientists use drills to get as close as they can to get to the center of the earth, they also looked at rocks that spat out of volcanos during a volcanic explosion. The second way is, because of seismic waves. They study how seismic waves travel through Earth, seismic waves are vibrations that travel through Earth carrying energy, released during an earthquake. Those were the two main ways how scientists learned about Earth’s interior.

Scientists have found that the Earth was formed about 4.6 billion years ago by collisions in the giant disc-shaped cloud of material that also formed the Sun. As gravity slowly gathered this gas and dust together into clumps, it became asteroids and small early planets called planetesimals. These objects collided repeatedly and gradually got bigger, building up the planets in the Solar System. Although scientists are very close to answering the question, they still continue to search for the exact answer to how the Earth was created. With all the evidence presented, it is hard to refute from scientific theories. This becomes cumbersome to many religions because in their eyes God has always been the creator of the Earth.

II: Plate tectonics shows the features and movement of the Earth. The theory of plate tectonics says that the outer shell of the earth is broken down into pieces often called plates (Korenaga). These plates hover over the mantle creating movement (Marshak). With plate tectonics you can determine the earth’s features without actually seeing it.

To support the theory of continental drift is through topography, surveying the floors of oceans, charts of rock magnetism, and statistics on rock ages (Trefil & Hazen, 2010). At one time scientist believed that the deep ocean floors were flat; accumulating the sediment that progressively wore away from the prehistoric landmasses (Trefil & Hazen, 2010). However, they discovered steep-walled valleys and elevated highlands. This was evidences that just as the continents are transformed and are active, so to is the seafloor (Trefil & Hazen, 2010). The Mid- Atlantic Ridge, positioned in the central part of the Atlantic Ocean, is recorded to be the longest mountain range on this planet. Volcanoes, lava flow, and earthquakes are a source of

Structural Geology – When large bodies of rocks are formed these did not happen in one day. They have history within that can be studied. Structural Geology discovers this history to be able to tell what happened before, what kind of tectonic plate occurred. Structural Geology supports other Geology areas such as Petrology to discover natural gas or petroleum to say the least.

• This earthquake may not have released all of the strain stored in its rocks next to the fault this reveals a potential earthquake in the Santa Cruz Mountains in the near future. The occurrence of the earthquake showed that the Earth did not exhaust all its strain and hence other earthquakes could be expected. However, the dates could not be predicted. The extent of the damage could have been much more devastating for the region, but with the earthquake occurring near the coast this made half of the felt area westward in the Pacific Ocean. The occurrence of aftershocks ten days later reinforces the unpredictability nature and hence makes Geology to be a study that is always evolving. In conclusion, the Earth and the study of cannot be exhausted as every natural occurrence provides a new puzzle to be solved.

Geology is the study of the Earth’s crust through the crust’s chemical composition and physical properties. The way that geologists are able to figure out the

It has been known for well over a century now that the Earth’s core, mantle and the crust make up the basic structure of the Earth. However, there is some controversy over how and when the Earth produced its core, mantle and crust. In this essay, I will first discuss about the formation of the Early Earth and its Moon, then about the methods used to pinpoint the age of the Earth. Other than that, I will also expand on core and mantle formation, as well as the eventual production of the continental crust.

tells how convection currents in Earth's core generate the planet's magnetic field and relates the migration of Earth's magnetic north pole. The movement of the pole is picking up speed over the years and will continue to pick up speed.

In the beginning, impacts of very large objects were very common, some as big as Mars or half the diameter of Earth. Collision of large bodies orbiting Earth played a role in its initial tilt of spin axis, the length of its day, direction of spin, and the thermal state of the interior. This violent bombardment continued for 3.9 billion years. Final composition of Earth had several crucial structural effects. Enough metal was present early on to allow formation of an iron and nickel rich core that is partially liquid. This enables a magnetic field that deflects some harmful radiation from reaching the surface. Enough radioactive elements are also present in the core to maintain long term heating which drives plate tectonics. At 4.5 billion years ago, Earth separated into different layers: an inner core (made of iron and nickel), a land layer of lower density material, and an early atmosphere of carbon dioxide and steam. At 3.9 billion years ago, surface temperatures dropped to a range where liquid water could be maintained. Liquid water makes up approximately 75% of the planet's surface today which is roughly what it was then. The most important requirement for life as we know it is the presence of liquid water. This is the one substance that can serve as a universal solvent - that is, it can dissolve and transport minerals and

The earth's crust was formed by hot rocks. The earth's mantle cooled over the time of millions of years. When it was cooling the heaviest metals such as iron and nickle sank to the center of the earth also known as the core. The earths crust is made out of solid rocks and metals. The earths crust is rich of ignious rocks.

1. One of the paramount topics we have covered in this course is oceanography (no surprises there). Rather than thinking of oceanography as “just” the study of the ocean, I have always viewed oceanography as the study of marine biology, marine chemistry, marine geology and marine physics. Before diving into any sort of detail, one can see (from the above) that oceanography incorporates four fundamental sciences into one topic; therefore, when asked to list three ways in which marine geology and marine chemistry interrelate, the possibilities are endless. Because we are to list just three examples, I am going to focus my answer on the Earth’s composition/layers. The first way these two fields interrelate is though convection currents (mantle). Density and temperature are two topics central to chemistry. Because density and temperature, along with depth, play a critical role in plate movement (geology), the plate tectonic theory is one example. The second way is through radioactive decay. Specifically, we use radioactive dating (e.g., isotope dating and half-lives) to determine the exact age of a specific geological structures. The third way these two fields interrelate is in determining the composition of the Earth’s inner core. I saved this example for last because it shows how marine physics can also be interrelated in marine chemistry and marine geology. We [scientific community] have a sound understanding of the Earth’s composition because of mass, density and temperature

Earth is in fact an intricate planet that has multiple layers of differing compositions. To be exact the earth has four main layers. The uppermost layer is the one humans come in most contact with, the crust. The crust consists of “thin silicate rock material”(Structure of the). Although the crust is not entirely the same. Actually there are two distinct types of crust, oceanic and continental. “The continental crust is made up of mostly rocks similar to granite while the oceanic crust is much denser and made up of a material similar to basalt”(Structure of the, Rose). The second layer is called the mantle. “The mantle is much denser than the crust and contains similar to the crust mostly solid silicate crust”(Structure of the). “As we travel further down the earth we wind up in the outer core. The outer core is a core of molten nickel and iron. Finally there’s the inner core. The inner is a solid metal core made up of nickel and iron”(Structure of the). All these layers functioning together cast out a magnetic

Surprisingly, the clay held almost 30 times more iridium than the limestone layers above and below the clay. Similar layers in other parts of the world gave the same results. The conclusion was that a giant meteorite hit the Earth 65 million years ago and had released a large

In the beginning the earth was hot and pure lava, then it became covered with