The Earth’s Structure

The earth is composed of four different layers but if you were to look at it from space you wouldn’t be able to tell. You can only see what is shown on the outside. Have you ever wondered what’s underneath the surface we see and what goes on beneath the surface? It’s mostly blue because it’s made up of water. Then you have the brown and green patches of land; the white you may see those are the clouds in the sky. So what are the layers of earth and how is this important? Scientist have so much more research that is unknown but so far they have a theory about what is believed to be the earth’s layers.

The earth is divided into four different layers from exterior to interior; while each layer is composed of different material and is believed by geologists and scientist that each feature serves a different purpose. The outer layer is the crust, then you have next layer that is called the mantle, then the outer core, and the last layer is the known as the inner core.

The Lighter material is more on the exterior of earth with heavier material being more on the interior of the earth.The crust being the outer layer, and the part of earth we live on. It’s also the thinnest layer being beneath the ocean and below the continents made up of loose rocks like granite and basalt. I think of this particular layer as the crust of a pie or even a boiled egg because it’s thin and breaks up in what scientist believe to be plate tectonics.

The mantel is the largest and thickest layer and the materials it is made of are just rock. There is part in the material that’s referred to as the asthenosphere, this material is the part of the mantle that allows the plates of earth to move.The outer core is an important layer because it creates the magnetic field for earth, while also creating a barrier to protect the earth from the sun. The inner core is dense, and assumed to be completely made out of solid metal like iron. The core is thought to be the most unique layer of the earth. This particular layer is the hottest and is said to be even hotter than the sun.

Scientist can’t really say for sure if their theory is correct. However, the research they have conducted from earthquakes and volcanoes. They are able to measure the movements of seismic waves that are created from earthquakes is how scientist were able to discover what materials the layers are composed of. Geologists believe the interior of the earth has what they call the mantle convection, they believe this process is the reason why the heat is what causes the materials to be able to move within the mantle. The hot material flows upward while cool materials flow downward.

You may not be able to see it from space that the earth it’s composed of four different layers. Earth appears to be a giant blue planet that is made up of just water, land and clouds. Seemingly as far as we can see to be one layer but we know there is far more that is to be discovered underneath the earth’s surface.

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