Class6 - Introduction To Earth System

Heat transfer within the Earth
Three main mechanisms of heat transfer operate within the Earth;

these are conduction, convection and advection.
Conduction- the most familiar mechanism, since it is the process of

heat transfer experienced when the handle of a pan becomes hot.
Convection -involves the movement of hot material from regions that

are hotter to those that are cooler and the return of cool material to
warmer regions.
Advection -The final process of transferring heat is when molten
material (magma) moves up through fractures in the lithosphere
and remains there. This is termed advection and operates when
magma spreads out at the surface as a lava flow or, if it is injected,
cools and crystallises within the lithosphere itself.
The effect is the same in both cases, since heat is transferred by the
molten rock from deeper levels where melting is taking place to
shallower levels where it solidifies, losing its heat by conduction
into the overlying crust.
Under the conditions prevailing deep within the Earth
the solid rocks of the mantle can flow when subject to surface loads,
leading to isostatic readjustment of surface elevations.
The mantle can also flow when subject to temperature differences

in a process known as solid-state convection and, whilst rates may
be no more than a few centimetres per year, it is the most efficient
form of heat transfer within all but the outermost part of the
mantle.
Near the Earth’s surface the rocks are too cold and rigid to permit
convection, so conduction is the most significant process.
The age of the Earth and its layers
Earth has been given as being around 4.6 Ga.

But where is the evidence for this?
To find out just how old the Earth is we once again have to
return to meteorites and radioactivity, for, in addition to being
sources of heat in planetary systems, radioactivity also allows
absolute ages to be determined from measurements of long-
lived radioactive isotopes and their daughters.
Example- U-Th-Pb, K-Ar, Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd

Primitive carbonaceous chondrites are thought to be amongst the least
differentiated material in the Solar System. Among other things,
they contain chondrules and calcium- and aluminium-rich inclusions
(CAIs).
Chondrules are millimetre-sized spherical droplets believed to have

been produced when mineral grain assemblages were flash heated and
cooled quickly. CAIs are typically centimetre-sized and consist of the first
minerals to condense at equilibrium from a gas of solar composition.
A detailed study of CAIs and chondrules yielded a 206Pb/207Pb isotope
age for CAIs is 4567.2 ±0.6 Ma, whereas that of chondrules is 4564.0
±1.2 Ma.
What is the difference between the ages of CAIs and chondrules, and
how old then are carbonaceous chondrites?
The data give an interval of 3.2 ±1.8 Ma between formation of the CAIs
and chondrules – carbonaceous chondrites must have formed at or after
the time of formation of the chondrules i.e. 4564 Ma.
Even though the difference between these two ages is small, it is greater
than the combined uncertainty associated with the two ages – they are
significantly different. The difference represents a real difference in the
timing of the formation of the CAIs and chondrules.
These data show that the oldest components of meteorites, and hence
the Solar System, must be close to 4.57 Ga old
Rb and Sr, both elements are lithophile , so it is unlikely that they
were fractionated by the separation of a metallic phase from a
silicate fraction.
However, Rb, being a Group 1 alkali metal, is significantly more

volatile than Sr, a Group 2 element similar to Ca, which is one of
the early condensing elements .
Hence the Rb/Sr fractionation may relate to the loss of a volatile

phase; the age indicates when the Rb/Sr ratio in ordinary
chondrites was last disturbed.
Dihedral angle, θ
The dihedral angle
is that formed by the liquid in
contact with two solid grains,
which in the case of the
mantle will be silicate or
oxide grains.
If θ is <60°, the melt will fill channels between the solid grains and
form an interconnecting network, even in small melt fractions.
If θ is >60°, the melt is confined to pockets at grain corners and cannot
easily move, unless the melt fraction is greater than 10%.
If melt is able to connect, its rate of migration is quite rapid, and

can be calculated using Darcy’s law:
v = (k/η) Δ ρ g,
Δ ρ is the density difference between silicate melt and solid
v is the velocity of the melt relative to the solid matrix,
k is the permeability, η is the viscosity of the melt measured in Pa
s,
Permeability can be defined as:
K=a^2Φ/24π
where a is the mean grain radius and Φ is the melt fraction.
Question
Taking a grain radius, a, of 10^–3 m (1 mm), Φ of 0.1
(10% volume melt), Δρ of 3500 kg m^–3, g of 9.8 m
s^–2 (the acceleration due to gravity on Earth) and a
viscosity, , η of 0.005 Pa s, calculate the migration
velocity of Fe–Ni metal (give your answer in kilometres
per year). (Note: 1 Pa s = 1 kg m–1 s–1)
If θ is >60° then melts will be isolated at grain corners,
creating an impermeable silicate framework through
which metallic melts cannot segregate.
For this reason core formation is thought by many to occur
only after the silicate framework has broken down after
extensive silicate melting (>40%).
At these high degrees of melting the grain boundary

framework will no longer be interlocked, but rather
crystals will be floating in a silicate liquid – a crystal mush.
In such a mush, dense molten metal droplets would sink,

but to achieve such high degrees of melting requires
enormous amounts of heat.
It is important to note that there is no independent
evidence that a magma ocean ever existed on Earth.
Any early formed crust has long since been destroyed by

impacts, erosion and plate recycling.
The evidence also suggests that the Earth had a huge proto-
atmosphere, formed by degassing of the Earth’s interior.
This would have provided a thermal blanket that retained the

heat generated during accretion and sustained the magma
ocean.

Class6 - Introduction To Earth System

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Class6 - Introduction To Earth System

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Class6 - Introduction To Earth System

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Heat transfer within the Earth

Three main mechanisms of heat transfer operate within the Earth;

Conduction- the most familiar mechanism, since it is the process of

Convection -involves the movement of hot material from regions that

The mantle can also flow when subject to temperature differences

Earth has been given as being around 4.6 Ga.

Example- U-Th-Pb, K-Ar, Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd

Chondrules are millimetre-sized spherical droplets believed to have

However, Rb, being a Group 1 alkali metal, is significantly more

Hence the Rb/Sr fractionation may relate to the loss of a volatile

If melt is able to connect, its rate of migration is quite rapid, and

At these high degrees of melting the grain boundary

In such a mush, dense molten metal droplets would sink,

Any early formed crust has long since been destroyed by

This would have provided a thermal blanket that retained the

You might also like