UNDERSTANDING OUR PLANET Q/A #5 – Why asthenosphere is important to understand the dynamic of Earth’s crust?

UNDERSTANDING OUR PLANET Q/A #5 – Why asthenosphere is important to understand the dynamic of Earth’s crust?

by S.T. PradopoNo Comments
UNDERSTANDING OUR PLANET Q/A #5 - Why asthenosphere is important to understand the dynamic of Earth’s crust? - Asthenosphere is part of the upper mantle which is partially molten, a relatively narrow, and mobile zone of the mantle. The asthenosphere is a weak zone, formed of mostly solid rock (with perhaps a little magma mixed in), and flows very slowly, in a manner similar to the ice at a bottom of a glacier. The rigid lithosphere is believed to "float" or move about on the slowly flowing asthenosphere....
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UNDERSTANDING OUR PLANET Q/A #4 – What facts make it probable that Earth’s core is composed of mostly iron?

UNDERSTANDING OUR PLANET Q/A #4 – What facts make it probable that Earth’s core is composed of mostly iron?

by S.T. PradopoNo Comments
UNDERSTANDING OUR PLANET Q/A - What facts make it probable that Earth’s core is composed of mostly iron? - The analogy for this fact is big magnet theory. The magnetic field of the Earth is more or less like that would be produced if there were a giant bar magnet at the center of the Earth. This assumption is obtained according to the fact that the earth is dynamic. Pressure and movement attached to metal (iron) will make a magnetic power to such metal. Since the earth have a magnetic field (gravitation), it is assumed that beneath the earth must be metal material. In this case, the most powerful metal to be given a magnetic power is iron. The Earth's field sometimes switches polarity and compasses would point South. This happened last about 780,000 years ago and could happen again any millenia now. These facts confirm the existence of a fluid outer core made of pure metal. It is the motions in...
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UNDERSTANDING OUR PLANET Q/A #3 – What would Earth be like without solar heating?

UNDERSTANDING OUR PLANET Q/A #3 – What would Earth be like without solar heating?

by S.T. PradopoNo Comments
UNDERSTANDING OUR PLANET Q/A #3 - What would Earth be like without solar heating? - The life is impossible to find. There will be no existence of life in this world since all of the processes of living creatures need solar heat for their “fuel”. Plant produces food storage in their body tissues by photosynthesis which needs radiation from sunlight. On the other hand, solar heating also influence physical processes in the Earth. The Earth would probably not be fit for life. Hydrological cycle needs Sun radiation as trigger. Radiation heats the atmosphere. Therefore, unequal condition of atmospheric pressure will occur. This will move the air. From this point, weather will be influenced. Without the Sun, Earth would be an icy rock in space....
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UNDERSTANDING OUR PLANET Q/A #2- Why doesn’t Earth keep getting larger if the rocks is continually created?

UNDERSTANDING OUR PLANET Q/A #2- Why doesn’t Earth keep getting larger if the rocks is continually created?

by S.T. PradopoNo Comments
UNDERSTANDING OUR PLANET Q/A #2- Why doesn’t Earth keep getting larger if the rocks is continually created? - The concept of rock creation is similar as a cycle. The rocks that are formed on the outside of the earth come from the inside of the earth. Therefore, when rocks are formed on the outside of the earth, they leave empty spaces inside the earth. In reality, the "empty space inside" that I mentioned could be very small and is not deep in the earth's crust. Rocks are formed from lava (igneous rocks) or from part of the earth's crust (sedimentary rocks).Rocks are created at rift zones in the crust--they are also plowed into the mantle at subduction zones and melt.They don't add any weight to the earth because when the weight of the rocks is added to the weight of the rest of the earth, the total weight is the same as it was before the rocks were formed. Generally saying,...
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UNDERSTANDING OUR PLANET Q/A #1- Why some parts of the lower mantle hotter than other parts?

UNDERSTANDING OUR PLANET Q/A #1- Why some parts of the lower mantle hotter than other parts?

by S.T. PradopoNo Comments
UNDERSTANDING OUR PLANET Q/A #1- Why some parts of the lower mantle hotter than other parts? - First of all, the earth temperature is higher proportionally direct according to the pressure. This explains why the core is hotter than the lower mantle and  the lower mantle is hotter than the upper mantle. The major factor causing heat beneath the earth is fusion reactions in the core. This reaction is involving some radioactive element such as uranium (U), thorium (Th), potassium (K). In subduction zone crustal material goes down deep into the mantle. It is assumed that the subducted crustal materials will be uniformly distributed in the whole mantle. Yet, based on many studies, there are geophyscial as well as geochemical evidence that some of these crustal material can go as deep as core-mantle boundary.  Later on, the experts found particular zones where some of these crustal materials get concentrated. As mentioned before, these crustal materials are strongly enriched in heat producing...
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