The Earth’s Internal Heat

• Heat energy plays a

vital role in our
planet. It is one of
the extreme factors
in what makes the
world livable.
• If you think of a volcano, you know
Earth must be hot inside.
• The heat inside of our planet moves
continents,
build mountains
and causes earthquakes,
but where does all this heat
inside the earth come from?
 A JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF
THE EARTH
• The three main layers
of Earth are the crust,
the mantle, and the
core. These layers
vary greatly in size,
composition,
temperature, and
pressure.
• The Crust of the earth is a very
thin layer when compared to
the 3 other layers.
• The Mantle is the largest layer of the earth
being a estimated 1800 miles thick.
• The mantle is composed of very hot
dense rock called magma, because of the
high temperatures with the Mantle, the
rock is kept in a semi-liquefied state.
• The Outer Core is composed of
liquefied metals such as nickel and
iron. It is kept in it liquefied state
because of the immense heat with i
this layer.
• The Inner Core is also composed of metals
however they are not kept in a liquefied state.
• It is believed that the temperature and pressure
at depth is so great that the metals are
squeezed tightly together restricting movement,
so much that the particles have to vibrated in
place almost like a solid structure.
• Sources of heat in our planet can be
identified as Primordial and Radiogenic
heat.

• Sources of heat in our planet can be

identified as Primordial and Radiogenic
heat.
Primordial Heat
• Primordial heat is the internal heat
energy accumulated by dissipation in
a planet during its first few million
years of evolution.
• Primordial heat is all of the heat left
over from when the Earth formed
Radiogenic Heat
• the thermal energy released as a result of
spontaneous nuclear disintegration
• It involves the disintegration of natural
radioactive elements inside the earth – like
Uranium, Thorium and Potassium.
Uranium is a special kind of element
because when it decays, heat (radiogenic)
is produced.
• Both sources of heat whether
primordial or radiogenic
undergo heat transfer and it
plays an important role to the
continuous changes and
development of our planet.
Three mechanisms for heat transfer: conduction, convection and
radiation.
 Sources of Heat and Heat
Transfer
• Conduction
- the process by which heat
energy is transmitted
through collisions between
neighboring atoms or
molecules
 Heat transfer: the mechanisms

A diffusive process wherein

molecules transmit their kinetic
energy to other molecules by
colliding with them.
 Sources of Heat and Heat
Transfer
• Convection
- the process by which heat energy is
transmitted through collisions between
neighboring atoms or molecules
 Heat transfer: the mechanisms

A process associated with the

motion of the medium. When a
hot material flows into a cold
material, it will heat the region
- and vise versa.
 Sources of Heat and Heat
Transfer
• Radiation
-the least important mode of heat transport
in the Earth. The process of heat
exchange between the Sun and the Earth,
through radiation, controls the
temperatures at the Earth's surface.
 Heat transfer: the mechanisms

The transfer of heat via electromagnetic radiation. Example - the

Sun.
• In the Earth, both conduction and convection are
important.

• In the lithosphere, the temperature gradient is

controlled mainly by conduction.

• Convection in the lithosphere does play a role in:

• Mid-ocean ridges in the form of hydrothermal ocean
circulation.
• Volcanism and emplacement of magmatic bodies.
Warming of spoon
`
 Plate Tectonics
CHAPTER

18
• Three factors cause the movement of Earth’s tectonic plates:
mantle convection, ridge push, and slab pull.

• Forces at plate boundaries produce landscape features such as

mountains, trenches, and island arches.
What’s inside the Earth’s
Mantle?
• Figure A shows a convection cell, warm material
rises (up to the surface of the earth) and cool
material sinks. These cooled materials will
eventually turn to land formation. In mantle
convection, the heat source is the core. The
core of the earth is very hot. It is nearly as hot as
the surface of the sun – about 6000˚C.
• Convection current is relevant to the movement
of tectonic plate because the heat builds up
pressure underneath the crust (tectonic plates).
As they become unstable, they push against
each other (subduction) and rise upwards or one
goes under the other.
• Figure B shows the process of
conduction on how air molecules
come in contact with the warmer
surface of the land or ocean, resulting
to the increase of its thermal energy
through conduction. The thermal
energy of the core is transferred to
the surface of the earth and the lower
levels of ocean by conduction.
 EXPLORING INSIDE EARTH
• Geologists have used two main types of
evidence to learn about Earth’s interior:
direct evidence from rock samples and
indirect evidence from seismic waves.
 Evidence from Rock Samples…
• Rocks from inside Earth
give geologists clues about
Earth’s structure.
Geologists have drilled
holes as much as 12 km
deep into Earth. The drills
bring up samples of rock
that can be used to make
inferences about conditions
deep inside Earth.
• Sometimes, forces
inside Earth blast rocks
to the surface from
depths of more than
100 km. These rocks
provide more
information about
Earth’s interior.
 Evidence from Seismic Waves…
• Since geologists cannot look inside Earth, they must
rely on indirect methods of observation. When
earthquakes occur, they produce seismic waves.
Geologists record seismic waves and study how they
travel through Earth. The speed of the seismic waves
and the paths they take reveal the structure of the
planet.
• Using data collected from seismic waves,
geologists have learned the Earth’s interior
is made up of several layers. Each layer
surrounds the layer beneath it, like the
layers of an onion.
 A JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF
THE EARTH
• The three main layers
of Earth are the crust,
the mantle, and the
core. These layers
vary greatly in size,
composition,
temperature, and
pressure.
 Temperature…
• About 20 meters below Earth’s
surface, rock begins to get warmer.
For every 40 meters that you
descend from that point, the
temperature rises 1 degree Celsius.
This rapid rise of temperature
continues for several tens of km,
and continues to grow hotter and
hotter approaching the core. The
high temperatures inside Earth are
a result of heat left over from the
formation of the planet.
 Pressure…
• The more you descend into Earth’s interior, the
amount of pressure increases. Pressure results
from a force pressing on an area. Because of the
weight of the rock above, pressure inside Earth
increases as you go deeper. The deeper you go,
the greater the pressure.
 THE CRUST
• The crust is the layer
of rock that forms
Earth’s outer skin.
The crust is a layer of
solid rock that
includes both dry
land and the ocean
floor. This layer of
the Earth is much
thinner than the
layers beneath it.
• The crust beneath the ocean is called
oceanic crust, which consists mostly of
rocks such as basalt. Basalt is dark rock
with a fine texture.

BASALT
 GRANITE

• Continental crust, crust that forms the

continents, consists mainly of rocks such as
granite. Granite is a rock that usually is light in
color and has a coarse texture.
 THE MANTLE

• Below Earth’s crust is the mantle.

Earth’s mantle is made up of rock that
is very hot, but solid. Scientists divide
the mantle into layers based on the
physical characteristics of those
layers. Overall, the mantle is nearly
3000 km thick.
 The Lithosphere…
• The upper most part of the mantle and the crust
together form a rigid layer called the
lithosphere. In Greek, “lithos” means “rock.”
 The Asthenosphere…
• Below the lithosphere is a layer
that is hotter and under
increasing pressure. Like road
tar is softened by the heat of
the sun, this part of the mantle
is somewhat soft- it can bend
like plastic. This soft layer of
the mantle is called the
asthenosphere. In Greek,
“asthenes” means “weak.”
Although this layer is softer
than the rest of the mantle, it is
still solid.
 The Lower Mantle…

• Below the asthenosphere, the

mantle is solid. This solid
material extends all the way to
Earth’s core.
 THE CORE
• Beneath the mantle
is Earth’s core.
The core is made
mostly of the
metals iron and
nickel. It consist of
two parts- a liquid
outer core and solid
inner core.
 The Inner and Outer Cores…
• The outer core is
a layer of molten
metal that
surrounds the
inner core.
Despite
pressure from
the rock above,
it is liquid.
• The inner core is a dense ball of solid metal. In
the inner core, extreme pressure squeezes the
atoms of iron and nickel so much that they
cannot spread out and become liquid.
 The Core and Earth’s Magnetic
Field…
• Scientists believe
that movements in
the Earth’s liquid
outer core create
Earth’s magnetic
field. Because
Earth has a
magnetic field, the
planet acts as a
giant bar magnet.