ALL ABOUT EARTH

Our planet is one of the inner planets in the Solar System, the others being Mercury, Venus and Mars. The Earth is the
only planet known to support life, as it is the only planet known to store large amounts of liquid water. As water is
essential for life, it is important to preserve it and avoid wasting it. Many other factors contribute to the presence of
life on the Earth, such as the right temperature and distance from the Sun, and the presence of certain gases.

THE EARTH’S SPHERES

The Earth can be thought of as three inter-connected spheres: the lithosphere, the hydrosphere and the atmosphere.

 The Earth’s lithosphere is made up of tectonic plates forming the Earth’s crust
and the upper part of the mantle. The crust and the mantle constitute the
outer layer of the Earth and are made up of a mixture of minerals.
 The atmosphere envelops and protects the surface of the Earth. It consists of
nitrogen, oxygen and other gases. It also protects life on Earth from harmful
radiation coming from the Sun as it absorbs ultraviolet solar radiation.
 The Earth’s hydrosphere consists of water with some dissolved compounds,
such as the salts contained in sea water. Water is continually moving around,
through and about the Earth. It can take the form of vapour, liquid or ice and it
is recycled all around the globe thanks to the water cycle.

GALILEO GALILEI
He was a polymath, whose expertise spanned from astronomy to physics, philosophy and mathematics. Galileo was
born in Pisa. He was sent by his father to study medicine at the University of Pisa, but he
did not complete this degree because he decided to study mathematics. He then moved
to the University of Padua, teaching geometry, mechanics and astronomy. Galileo made
one of his greatest discoveries in the cathedral of Pisa.

He was watching a chandelier swing back and forth, when he noticed that longer and
shorter swings took the same time. He constructed the first telescope, with which he
managed to discover Jupiter’s moons. The observation with the telescope proved to him
that the Sun was at the centre of the Solar System and not the Earth, as geocentrism
stated. Galileo’s opinion on the motion of the Earth was judged to be a danger by the
Church. Galileo was ordered neither to defend nor to teach Copernicus astronomy
because, according to the Church, it was contrary to the Holy Bible, and he was forced to
abjure. He died in 1642. He is buried in the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence.

WATER FOR LIFE

Water is fairly common in the universe. It is found everywhere from vast interstellar dust clouds to the orange-red
fields of Mars, but most of this water is in the form of ice. Liquid water makes up the majority of organisms, being a
critical component that makes all life processes possible. It is present on Earth because of its temperatures and it
contributes to making life possible.

HYDROGEN BONDING

Its molecule is made up of one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms, bonded together by shared electrons. The
hydrogen bonds they form account for their peculiarities, determining, for example, the density of water at different
physical states. Water is tasteless, colourless and transparent.

It is a light conductor because some of the molecules of pure water can be broken down into ions. Water is considered
the universal solvent, because most of the other substances regularly and easily dissolve in it. Those substances are
called hydrophilic, whereas those that do not mix well with water are called hydrophobic.

WATER ON THE EARTH

It covers about 70% of the Earth. Only 3% of the world’s water supply is fresh water, and 77% of that is frozen.

The water cycle consists of six important processes.

 Evaporation: liquid water becomes water vapour, changing into a gaseous state. Some of the water in
the oceans and freshwater bodies is warmed by the sun and evaporates.
 Condensation: A gas changes into a liquid because the temperature of the vapour decreases.
 Precipitation: when the temperature and atmospheric pressure are right, raindrops or snowflakes fall to
earth. Water returns to earth again.
 Surface run off: much of the water that returns to earth as precipitation runs
off the surface of the land, and flows into streams, rivers, ponds and lakes.
 Infiltration: this is an important process during which rainwater soaks into
the ground, through the soil and underlying rock layers.
 Transpiration: this process refers to the evaporation of water through
plant leaves. Plants absorb water from the soil, the water then reaches
the leaves, where some of it evaporates, adding to the amount of water
vapour in the air.

THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE

The atmosphere is a mixture of gases. The atmosphere provides substances which are necessary to support life: it
delivers oxygen for respiration, carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, nitrogen for nitrogen fixation and water vapour for
precipitation. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere such as ozone, water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous
oxide absorb and emit radiation within the thermal infrared range and are responsible for surface warming through
heat retention, a phenomenon called the greenhouse effect. The higher layers of the atmosphere protect the Earth
from meteorites and charged particles in the solar wind.

THE ATMOSPHERE LAYERS

The atmosphere is an envelope of gas that changes with altitude.
Four distinct layers have been identified: troposphere, stratosphere,
mesosphere and thermosphere.

−The troposphere: This is the lowest and densest part of the

atmosphere. It is where all weather takes place.

−The stratosphere: Here the temperature increases gradually: the

upper levels are heated by the ozone layer that absorbs ultraviolet
radiation from the Sun.

−The mesosphere: A high concentration of iron is found here, and other metals and the chemicals are in an excited
state, as they absorb energy from the Sun.

−The thermosphere: Most air particles in this area are ionized, that is, electrically charged.

THE INNER STRUCTURE OF THE

EARTH
The innermost layer of the Earth is the inner core, which is an iron ball
with a diameter of about 1,200 km. The iron is not pure: it contains
sulphur and nickel and small amounts of other elements. The inner
core is very hot. The outer core is a shell of liquid iron and substantial
amounts of sulphur and nickel. This layer is cooler than the inner core
but it is still very hot. Both the inner core and the outer core are
responsible for the Earth’s magnetic field.

THE MANTLE AND THE CRUST

The mantle is so hot that the rock flows under pressure. Very slow-moving currents make hotter rock rise from the
depths and cooler rock descend. The crust is formed by thin silicate rock material and its thickness varies from 8 km
beneath the oceans to an average 40 km beneath the continents. Currents within the mantle have broken the crust
into plates. These plates slowly move around and collide to form mountains or rift apart to form new seafloors.
THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH
The Earth is a terrestrial planet, which means that it is made of rock. Terrestrial planets have a solid planetary surface,
which are composed mostly of some combination of hydrogen, helium and water existing in various physical states.

THE BLUE PLANET

The abundance of water distinguishes the Earth from the other planets in the
Solar System. The Earth’s hydrosphere includes the oceans and all other water
surfaces, such as inland seas, lakes, rivers and underground waters. The poles are
mostly covered with solid ice or sea ice. All these water systems can be
classified into salt water (oceans and seas) and fresh water.

THE UNINTERRUPTED RESHAPING OF THE SURFACE

Planet Earth undergoes reshaping over geological time periods because of plate tectonics and erosion. Intense
geological activity characterizes the edges of the plates, and is associated with events such as earthquakes and the
creation of mountains and volcanoes.

EARTHQUAKES
Earthquakes are a natural effect of the Earth’s constantly changing surface. It is hard to imagine that thousands of
them occur every day in the form of small tremors. They are unpredictable and they can strike with enough force to
bring buildings down.

THE RELEASE OF ENERGY: SEISMIC WAVES

The crust covering the surface of the Earth is made up of pieces that keep slowly moving around and sliding past each
other. These areas are called tectonic plates and their edges are called plate boundaries. When the force of the
moving blocks finally overcomes the friction of the jagged edges of the fault and unsticks, all the stored energy is
released. The energy radiates outward from the fault in all directions in the
form of seismic waves. The seismic waves shake the Earth as they move
through it, and when the waves reach the Earth’s surface, they shake the
ground and anything on it. seismographs.

The time, location and magnitude of an earthquake can be determined from

the data recorded by seismograph stations. The hypocentre is the area below
the Earth’s surface where the earthquake starts, whereas the epicentre is the
location directly above it on the surface of the earth. The largest, main
earthquake is called the mainshock and is sometimes preceded by a series of relatively smaller earthquakes called
foreshocks. Aftershocks are earthquakes that follow the largest shock of an earthquake sequence.

MAGNITUDE AND INTENSITY

Magnitude measures the amount of seismic energy released in an earthquake. Our world is three dimensional so the
ground can move in three ways: up-down, left-right and forward-backward. Two earthquakes can produce very
different damage because one may produce predominantly vertical motion, while the other may cause more
horizontal displacement. Intensity is related to the effects of an earthquake and is measured by the Mercalli intensity
scale.
VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
A volcano is an opening on the surface of the Earth which allows molten rock and gases to escape from its interior.
When this material escapes, it causes an eruption. Eruptions can be either explosive, sending material high into the
sky, or effusive, with gentle flows of material. Between the Earth’s crust and the underlying mantle there is a
combination of molten rock and gases called magma. Lava is the name given to the material reaching the surface.

THE CAUSES OF ERUPTIONS

There are three reasons why magma rises and causes an eruption.

1. Magma can rise when tectonic plates slowly move away from each other, so magma fills in the space
between them.
2. Magma also rises when tectonic plates move toward each other.
3. Magma rises over hot spots, that is to say hot areas inside the Earth.

TYPES OF VOLCANOES

Active volcanoes have had recent eruptions or are expected to have eruptions in the near future. Dormant volcanoes
no longer produce eruptions, but might erupt again in the future. Extinct volcanoes have stopped erupting and will
never erupt again. Shield volcanoes are the largest ones. This type of
magma has a temperature between 800 °C and 1200 °C and is called basaltic
magma. Composite volcanoes or stratovolcanoes are characterized by an
explosive eruption style. The resulting pressure causes the magma to foam
and explode violently. This type of magma has a temperature between 800
°C and 1000 °C and is called andesitic magma. Caldera volcanoes erupt
explosively. The lava erupted from caldera volcanoes is very viscous, with
temperatures ranging from 650 °C to 800 °C. It is called rhyolitic magma.

TSUNAMI
The passage of a tsunami involves the movement of water from the surface to the
sea floor which means its speed is controlled by water depth. The waves are
caused by large, undersea earthquakes at tectonic plate boundaries. When the
ocean floor at a plate boundary rises or falls suddenly, it displaces the water above
it and launches the rolling waves that will become a tsunami. Tsunamis are
sometimes caused by underwater land slides or volcanic eruptions, and,
especially in the past, they were also due to the impact of a large meteorite
plunging into an ocean. This retrieving of sea water is an important warning sign of
a tsunami, because the wave crest and its enormous volume typically hit shore about five minutes after it.
Tsunamis are usually composed of a series of waves, called a wave train, coming every five to go.