The Early Earth:

Its Development Through

the Years

Changing Earth
Exploring Geology and Evolution

Senior High School Department

Lesson 1

Understanding Earth

A Dynamic and
Evolving Planet
REVIEW
VIDEO CLIP
Objectives
At the end of the lesson, the students should
be able to:

a) understand how the Earth’s core, mantle,

and crust formed,
b) understand how the atmosphere evolved
into the kind of atmosphere that we have
today, and
c) describe the different Earth’s subsystems.
 Origin of the Universe

Did it begin with a Big Bang?

 In the Big Bang theory, the

universe began
approximately 13.7 billion
years ago.
 An infinitely tiny, extremely
dense point or singularity
made of pure energy
expanded and cooled.
 Origin of the Universe

 How do we know? Evidence for the Big Bang:

 the universe is expanding

from a central point.
 The entire universe has a
pervasive and constant
background radiation,
thought to be the faint
afterglow of the Big Bang.
 Our Solar System
Its Origin and Evolution

 The Solar System formed from a rotating cloud of

interstellar matter about 4.6 billion years ago.
 This cloud, upon condensing, collapsed under the
influence of gravity and flattened into a rotating disk.
 The sun, planets, and moons formed within this disk.
 Why Earth is a Dynamic and
Evolving Planet

Earth has continuously changed during its 4.6 billion

years of existence as a result of interactions between
its various subsystems and cycles.
 What is geology?
Geology is the study of the Earth.

 Physical geology is concerned with the

materials and processes which compose and
operate on the surface of, and within, Earth.

 Historical geology is concerned with the

origin and evolution of Earth's continents,
oceans, atmosphere, and life.
 Earth
Its Place in Our Solar System

 Earth formed from a swirling debris of nebular

materials 4.6 billion years ago, accreting as a
solid body and soon thereafter differentiated into
a layered planet during a period of internal
heating.
 Earth
Hadean Era

 Earliest time of the Earth formation, from 4.6 to

4.0 billion years ago.
 It is called Hadean because the Earth at that time
was like a fiery hell, with its molten condition and
rampant volcanic activities.
 Earth
 Into the very young Earth

 As the molten mass rotated, the chemical

elements differentiated to become the Earth’s
mantle and core.
 Chemical differentiation
 is the grouping together of the elements in a molten
mass according to their densities (e.g Fe and Ni are
grouped together because they were among the heavier
elements. They made up the Earth’s core)
 Earth
 Into the very young Earth

 The lighter elements like Si, Al, O and Mg, and

some of the Fe, occupied the outer layer of the
earth to form the Earth’s crust.
 Earth
 Into the very young Earth

 The surface of the Earth (molten mass) eventually

cooled off to form the Earth’s crust.
 At that time, the Earth had a primordial gaseous
layer or an atmosphere composed of H2 and He.
 Earth
 Into the very young Earth

 ~4.5 billion years ago, the

solid layer of the Earth
was cracked into
pieces, when the Earth
collided with an
extraterrestrial object
about the size of the
Mars.
 Earth
 Into the very young Earth

 The collision had essentially altered the early

Earth:
1. by spewing some of its mantle materials into outer
space to become the Earth’s only satellite- the moon.
2. by injecting the element carbon (C) into the Earth,
and
3. By breaking the Earth’s solid crust into jigsaw puzzle
like fragments
Computer Simulations by H.J. Melosh
(University of Arizona)
 Earth
 Into the very young Earth

 Therefore, the moon was born out of Earth’s

mantle.
 Lunar rocks brought back to the Earth by the Apollo
mission have the same composition as the rocks on
Earth that are derived from the mantle material, such as
those erupted by volcanoes in the ocean floor.
 Earth
 Into the very young Earth

 This explanation about the origin of the moon is

known as the Giant-Impact Hypothesis or the
Big Splash.
 Earth
 Into the very young Earth

 The breaking of the Earth’s crust through the collision

initiated the Localized volcanic activities on the
Earth’s surface, confined along the crustal features.
 The fracturing of the crust formed the tectonic plates
and became the centers of active volcanic areas,
where magma can be extruded or erupted onto the
Earth’s crust.
 Earth
 Into the very young Earth

 Magma
 also referred to as molten silicate
melt or molten rock mass, when
spewed into the Earth’s surface, is
referred to as lava.
 When volcanoes erupt, they
spew not just molten rock
materials, but also large
volumes of gases. This process
of gas release by volcanoes is
called volcanic outgassing.
 Earth
 The Early Atmosphere

 The extensive and intensive volcanisms during the

early Earth led to:
1. The new formation of the Earth’s Atmosphere
(different from the largely H2 and He of the primordial
atmosphere)
2. The increased in surface temperature of the Earth as
the eruptions added more heat to the already hot
surface of the Earth at that time.
 This 2nd Generation Atmosphere was dominated by
Carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4) and Water Vapor
(green house gases)
 No free oxygen (O2) because the oxygen was bound to
Carbon.
 Earth
 The Early Atmosphere

 The primordial atmosphere

evolved into a multi-gas
component atmosphere as
volcanoes continued their
gaseous emissions through
rampant eruptions.
 The Earth also started to
cool off, and gaseous
water condensed to form
liquid water.
 Earth
 The Early Atmosphere

 The change in the early atmosphere led to the

formation of the Earth’s primordial ocean.
 Primordial ocean – largely made up of hydrogen
cyanide (HCN) solution (highly poisonous to
humans.)
 Earth
 The Early Atmosphere

 The submerged volcanic areas along the boundaries

of the broken crust formed the Earth’s first
hydrothermal vents.
 Hydrothermal vents spew not just lava but also hot
solutions of metallic elements, such as Cu, Ag, Au,
Pb, and Zn.
 The early atmosphere is also
highly electrically charged
(lightning was a common
occurrence).
 Earth
 The Early Atmosphere

 Cyanobacteria (earliest life forms) started to

evolve.
They used Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in
manufacturing their own food through Photosynthesis,
producing Oxygen in the atmosphere as one of the by-
products.
 Earth
 The Present Atmosphere

 The Earth we know and see today has gone

through radical changes.
 Today, the earth atmosphere is dominated by
Nitrogen (78%) , Oxygen (21%) gases and 1%
of Carbon dioxide, Argon, etc.
 The Evolution of the chemical and physical Earth
promoted the evolution of life.
 How does the Earth support
Life?
 The principal subsystems of the
earth are the:

 Atmosphere
 Biosphere
 Hydrosphere
 Lithosphere
 4.6 Billion Years of Interaction

Lithosphere

Hydrosphere Biosphere

Atmosphere
 The Earth’s Subsystems
 Atmosphere (Air)

 The atmosphere is the layer of gases that

surrounds Earth. The air we breathe is part of the
atmosphere.
 The atmosphere also protects Earth from much of
the sun’s harmful radiation.
 About 78% of Earth’s
atmosphere is nitrogen gas.
About 21% is oxygen gas. The
rest is made up of other
gases, such as argon and
carbon dioxide.
 The Earth’s Subsystems
 Hydrosphere (Water)

 All the water on Earth makes up the hydrosphere.

 Almost all the water in the hydrosphere is salty.
(97%)
Fresh
 Only 3% is fresh
water water.
is found
in streams, lakes, and
rivers. It is also frozen
in glaciers and the
polar ice sheets and is
found underground in
soil and bedrock.
 The Earth’s Subsystems
 Lithosphere (Geosphere-Earth)

 The lithosphere includes the crust and upper mantle

which forms the solid outer layers of the Earth.
 Some natural
processes, such as
volcanic eruptions,
bring matter from
Earth’s interior to its
surface. Other natural
processes move
surface matter into
Earth’s interior.
 The Earth’s Subsystems
 Biosphere (Life)

 The biosphere is made up of all Earth’s living

things.
 Organic matter from dead organisms is also part
 Once
of the this
biosphere.
organic matter has
decomposed, it becomes part
of the other three spheres.
 The biosphere extends from
within Earth’s crust to a few
kilometers above Earth’s
surface.
The interaction of these subsystems has resulted in a
dynamically changing planet in which matter and
energy are continuously recycled into different forms.
VIDEO CLIP
How does the study of geology benefit us?

 Understanding how the Earth’s subsystems

work will help ensure the survival of the
human species.

 It will help us to understand how our

actions affect the delicate balance between
these systems.