CHAPTER 3: OUR EARTH
) Inclusion
History of the Earth
The Earth’s history is recorded in the rocks of the crust. Scientists used an
assumption called uniformitarianism in order to relate what we know about
present-day processes to past events – the present is the key to the past.
Uniformitarianism states that the natural laws we know today have been constant
over the geologic past.
Earth’s Early Evolution
As materials continued to accumulate, the high velocity impact of
interplanetary debris and the decay of radioactive elements caused the
temperature of our planet to steadily increase. During this period of intense
heating Earth became hot enough that iron and nickel began to melt. This process
occurred rapidly on the scale of geologic time and produced Earth’s dense iron-rich
core. This early period of heating also resulted in a magma ocean, about hundred
kilometers deep. Within the magma ocean buoyant masses of molten rock rose
toward the surface and eventually solidified to produce a thin, primitive crust –
thus, the three major divisions of the Earth’s interior – a) the iron – rich core, b) the
thin primitive crust, and c) its thickest layer, the mantle. In addition, the light
materials – including water vapor, carbon dioxide and other gases escaped to form
a primitive atmosphere and shortly thereafter the oceans.
A.) Relative Dating
Earth scientists use five principles to discern the nature and
sequence of geological events and the relative ages of rocks.
1.) Original horizontality
Layers of sediments are deposited evenly, with each new layer laid
down nearly horizontally over older sediment.
2.) Superposition
In an unreformed sequence of sedimentary rocks, each layer is
older than the one above and younger than the one below.
3.) Cross-cutting
An igneous intrusion or fault that cuts through preexisting rock is
younger than the rock which it cuts.
4.
Inclusions are pieces of one rock type contained within one
another. Any inclusion is older than the rock containing it.
B.) Radiometric Dating
The actual age of a rock can be estimated by radiometric dating,
which entails measuring the ratio of radioactive isotopes to their decay
products.
Using both relative and radiometric dating, scientists learn the
sequence of events and how long ago each occurred. Radiometric dating
gives the age of sedimentary rocks in which the datable material is found.
The rock can be no older than the age of datable material within it.
Geologic Time Scale
The geologic time scale was developed through the use of relative dating,
and specific dates were applied to it via radiometric dating. The geologic time scale
is divided into three eras – the Paleozoic (time of ancient life), the Mesozoic (time
of middle life), and the Cenozoic (time of recent life). Each era is further divided
into periods and further into epochs. The largest span of time, the time period
preceding the Paleozoic is known as the Precambrian (the time of hidden life).
a.) The Precambrian Time
The era ranges from about 4.6 billion years ago, when the Earth
formed, to about 544 million years ago, when abundant microscopic life
appeared. Most of the rocks in this early part of Earth’s history have been
extensively eroded away, metamorphosed, obscured by overlaying strata
or recycled into the Earth’s interior.
The Earth’s earliest gases were hypothesized to be swept into
space by solar wind. As the planet slowly cooled, a more sustaining
atmosphere was formed. Gases brought to the surface by volcanic
processes created both a primitive atmosphere and an ocean. The first
atmosphere was rich in water vapor but very poor in free oxygen. The first
simple organisms were plants. During mid-Precambrian, organisms such as
blue green algae developed a simple version of photosynthesis.
Photosynthetic organisms require carbon dioxide to utilize the sun’s
energy. They keep the carbon dioxide to utilize the sun’s energy. They keep
 the carbon dioxide and expel oxygen. Within the release of free oxygen a
primitive ozone layer began to develop which reduced the amount of
harmful ultraviolet radiation reaching the Earth.
The most common Precambrian fossils are stromatolites. These
are not remains of actual organisms, rather indirect pieces of evidence of
algae. Many of the Precambrian fossils were preserved in hard, dense
chemical sedimentary rock known as chert. Fossils of plants date from
middle Precambrian, but fossils of animals date in the late Precambrian.
Towards the end of this period, fossil records revealed that diverse and
complete multi-celled organisms existed.
b.) The Paleozoic Era
Paleozoic era began about 544 million years ago and lasted about
300 million years, during which time sea levels rose and fell worldwide,
allowing shallow seas to cover the continents and marine life to flourish –
from marine invertebrates to fishes, amphibians and reptiles.
The Paleozoic era is divided into six major periods: a.) Cambrian,
b.) Ordovician, c.) Silurian, d.) Devonian, e.) Carboniferous, and f.) Permian.
Cambrian Period
Almost all marine organisms came into existence as evidenced by
abundant fossils. A most important event is the development of organisms having
the ability to secret calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate for the formation of
shells.
Ordovician Period
All major groups of animals that could be preserved as fossils had
appeared. This period marks the earliest appearance of vertebrates – the jawless
fish known as the agnatha.
Silurian Period
The Silurian brought about the emergence of terrestrial life, the earliest
being the terrestrial plants with well-developed circulatory system (vascular
plants). As plants move ashore so did other terrestrial organisms. Air-breathing
scorpions and millipedes were common during the period.
Devonian Period
This period is known as the “age of fishers”. Lowland forests of seed ferns,
scale trees and true ferns flourished. Sharks and bony fishes developed. Today the
lung fishes and coelacanth, a “living fossil” have such internal nostrils and breathe
in a similar way. The first amphibians made their appearance, although able to live
on land, they need to return to water to lay their eggs.
Carboniferous Period
Warm, moist climate conditions contributed to lash vegetation and dense
swampy forests. Insects under rapid evolution led to such diverse forms of giant
cockroaches and dragonflies. The evolution of the first reptiles took place with the
development of the amniotic egg, a porous shell containing a membrane that
provided an environment for an embryo.
Permian Period
The reptiles were well-suited to their environment that they ruled the
Earth for 200 million years. The two major groups of reptiles – diapsids and
synapsids dominated this period. Diapsids gave rise to the dinosaurs. Synapsids
gave rise to mammals.
c.) Mesozoic Era
Known as the age of reptiles, it is made up of three periods: Triasic, Jurassic,
and Creataceous. The most significant event was the rise of the dinosaurs. A
famous Jurassic deposit is the Morisson Formation, within which the world’s
richest storehouse of dinosaurs was preserved. True pines and redwoods
appeared and rapidly spread. Flowering plants arose and their emergence
accelerated the evolution of insects. A major event of this era was the breakup
of Pangea.
By the end of this period, the dinosaurs and reptiles were completely
wiped out.
d.) The Cenozoic Era
This era is known as the “age of mammals” because mammals
replaced reptiles as the dominant land animal. It is also sometimes called
“age of flowering plants” because angiosperms replaced gymnosperms as
 the dominant land plants. Cenozoic era is made up of two periods: Tertiary
and Quarternary. From oldest to youngest the periods are broken up into
the Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, and Pliocene for the Tertiary
period, and the Pleistocene and Holocene for the Quarternary period.
Climates cooled during this era, hence the widespread glaciation. This era
also brought about the advent of humans. The lowered sea level resulted
in the “land bridges” connections between land masses. One of these land
bridges provided the route for the human migration from Asia to North
America, also throughout the world.
Earth as a System
To fully understand our planet we must learn how its individual
components (land, water, air, and life forms) are interconnected. Earth as a system
is composed of numerous interacting parts or subsystems. Earth system science
attempts to integrate the knowledge from traditional sciences – geology,
atmospheric science, chemistry, biology, and so on. Earth is just a small part of a
larger system known as the solar system.
Earth system has a nearly endless array of subsystems in which matter is
recycled over and over again. The hydrologic cycle represents the unending
circulation of Earth’s water among the hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere, and
geosphere. Water enters the atmosphere by evaporation from the surface and by
transpiration from plants. Water vapor condenses in the atmosphere to form
clouds, which in turn produce precipitation that falls back to Earth.
Earth Subsystems
The physical environment of our Earth is traditionally divided into three
major spheres: the water portion, the hydrosphere, the gaseous envelop, the
atmosphere, and the solid part, the geosphere.
a.) Hydrosphere
The hydrosphere is a dynamic mass of water that is continuously
moving, evaporating from the oceans to the atmosphere, precipitating to
the land, and returning to the ocean. The global ocean is the most
prominent feature of the hydrosphere, blanketing nearly 71 percent of
Earth’s surface to an average depth of about 3, 800 meters. It accounts for
about 97 percent of Earth’s water. The hydrosphere also includes the fresh
water found in streams, lakes, and glaciers as well as that found
underground. In addition to providing fresh water for life, these streams,
glaciers and groundwater are responsible for sculpting and creating many
of our landforms.
b.) Atmosphere
It is a very shallow layer. One half lies below an altitude of 5.6
kilometers, and 90 percent occurs within 16 kilometers of Earth’s surface.
This thin blanket of air provides us with air that we breathe. It also protects
us from the sun’s dangerous ultraviolet radiation. The energy exchanges
that continually occur between the atmosphere and Earth’s surface and
between the atmosphere and space produce our weather and climate.
c.) Geosphere
The geosphere extends from the surface to the center of the
planet, a depth of 6, 400 kilometers, being the largest of the four spheres.
Most surface features give us a clue of the dynamic processes occurring at
the Earth’s interior. Soil, the thin layer of material on the surface, supports
the growth of plants. It contains the solid portion, a mixture of weathered
rock and organic matter from decayed plants and animals. Air and water
also occupy the open spaces between solid particles.
d.) Biosphere
The biosphere includes all life on Earth. Ocean life is concentrated
in the sunlit waters of the sea. Most life is on the surface, with tree roots
and borrowing animals reaching a few meters underground. Flying insects
and birds reach a kilometer above. Some varieties of life forms are adapted
to extreme temperature and darkness. On land, some bacteria thrive in
rocks as deep as 4 kilometers and in boiling hot springs. Air currents can
carry microorganisms many kilometers into the atmosphere. Plants and
animals depend on the physical environment for the basics of life; likewise,
they help and maintain balance in the ecosystem through countless
ecological interactions.
Earth’s Internal Structure
The Earth’s compositional (density) differences resulted in the formation
of three layers – the crust, mantle, and core. Based on physical properties, Earth is
also divided into layers.
Layers of the Earth
a.) Crust
The crust is the thin, topmost layer of the Earth. It is said that the
crust is divided into two layers: sial and sima. The sial is the uppermost
layer whose name is derived from the first two letters of the two most
abundant elements found in it, silicon (Si) and aluminum (Al). The sima is
the lower crust made up mostly of silicon (Si) and magnesium (Mg).
The earth’s thin rocky crust is of two different types – continental
crust and oceanic crust. The continental crust averages about 35
kilometers thick and exceeds 70 kilometers in mountainous regions. The
oceanic crust is roughly 7 kilometers thick and is composed of the dark
igneous rock basalt. The upper crust has a composition of granitic rock.
Continental rock has an average density of about 2.7 g/cm3. The rocks of
oceanic crust are younger and denser. Separating the crust and the Earth’s
second layer is a boundary called Mohorovicic discontinuity or simply
Moho discovered by a Croatian scientist, Andrija Mohorovicic in 1909.
b.) Mantle
More than 82 percent of Earth’s volume is contained in the mantle,
a solid rocky shell that extends to a depth of nearly 2, 900 kilometers. The
dominant rock type in the uppermost mantle is the periodite, which is
richer in the metals magnesium and iron. The upper mantle extends from
the crust mantle boundary to a depth of about 600 kilometers. The top
portion of the upper mantle is part of the stiff lithosphere and beneath it
is the asthenosphere which is also the source of volcanic magma. The top
portion of this layer has a temperature/pressure regime that results in a
small amount of melting. The rocks of the lithosphere get progressively
hotter and weaker with increasing depth. At the depth of the uppermost
asthenosphere, the rocks are close enough to their melting temperature.
The lower mantle is at the top of the core, at a depth of 2, 900 kilometers.
Because of an increase in pressure the mantle gradually strengthens with
depth. A boundary called Gutenberg discontinuity separates the mantle
and the Earth’s third layer. It was discovered by a German seismologist,
Beno Gutenberg in 1914.
c.) Core
The composition of the core is an iron-nickel alloy with minor
amounts of oxygen, silicon, and sulfur elements that readily form
compounds with iron. The core is divided into two regions. The outer core
is a liquid layer 2, 200 kilometers thick. It is the movement of this zone that
generates of Earth’s magnetic field. The inner core is a sphere with a radius
of 1, 216 kilometers. The iron in the inner core is solid due to the immense
pressures that exist in the center of the planet.
Our Earth is Unique
Our Earth is the only place in the universe that can support life. It is a
modest-sized planet that orbits an average-sized star, the sun. Life on Earth is
ubiquitous; it is found in boiling mudpots and hot sprints, in the deep oceans and
even under the Antarctic ice sheet. Many continental areas are too steep, too high,
or too cold for humans to inhabit. Yet, Earth is so hospitable to life.
Our planet has molten metallic core which enables it to hold a magnetic
field. This magnetic field prevents lethal cosmic rays from showering its surface and
stripping Earth’s atmosphere. It has liquid water and an active water cycle exist.
Earth’s proximity to a modest-size star, the sun, allowed enough time for the
evolution of humans. Earth’s primitive atmosphere was composed mostly of water
vapor and carbon dioxide without free oxygen. Fortunately, microorganisms
evolved that released oxygen into the atmosphere by the process of
photosynthesis. About 2.2 billion years ago, an atmosphere with free oxygen came
into existence. The oxygen rich atmosphere that makes higher life forms possible
developed.