Earth
Famous "Blue Marble" photograph of Earth, taken from Apollo 17. | | Orbital characteristics | | Epoch J2000 | | Aphelion | 152,097,701 km
1.0167103335 AU | | Perihelion: | 147,098,074 km
0.9832898912 AU | | Semi-major axis: | 149,597,887.5 km
1.0000001124 AU | | Eccentricity: | 0.016710219 | | Orbital period: | 365.256366 days
1.0000175 yr | | Avg. orbital speed: | 29.783 km/s
107,218 km/h | | Inclination: | Reference (0)
7.25° to Sun's equator | | Longitude of ascending node: | 348.73936° | | Argument of perihelion: | 114.20783° | | Satellites: | 1 (the Moon) | | Physical characteristics | | Mean radius: | 6,371.0 km [2] | | Equatorial radius: | 6,378.1 km [1] | | Polar radius: | 6,356.8 km [1] | | Flattening: | 0.0033528 [1] | | Circumference: | 40,075.02 km (equatorial)
40,007.86 km (meridional)
40,041.47 km (mean) | | Surface area: | 510,065,600 km²
148,939,100 km² land (29.2 %)
For other uses, see World (disambiguation). ...
Look up Earth in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Image File history File links Earth_symbol. ...
Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 599 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (3000 × 3002 pixel, file size: 6. ...
The Blue Marble is a famous photograph of the Earth taken on 7 December 1972 by the crew of the Apollo 17 spacecraft at a distance of about 45,000 kilometers or about 28,000 miles. ...
Apollo 17 was the eleventh manned space mission in the NASA Apollo program. ...
Two bodies with a slight difference in mass orbiting around a common barycenter. ...
In astronomy, an epoch is a moment in time for which celestial coordinates or orbital elements are specified. ...
The J2000. ...
A diagram of Keplerian orbital elements. ...
The astronomical unit (AU or au or a. ...
A diagram of Keplerian orbital elements. ...
The semi-major axis of an ellipse In geometry, the term semi-major axis (also semimajor axis) is used to describe the dimensions of ellipses and hyperbolae. ...
(This page refers to eccitricity in astrodynamics. ...
The orbital period is the time it takes a planet (or another object) to make one full orbit. ...
In astronomy, a Julian year is a unit of time defined as exactly 365. ...
The orbital speed of a body, generally a planet, a natural satellite, an artificial satellite, or a multiple star, is the speed at which it orbits around the barycenter of a system, usually around a more massive body. ...
For the science fiction novella by William Shunn, see Inclination (novella). ...
Sol redirects here. ...
The Longitude of the ascending node (☊, also noted Ω) is one of the orbital elements used to specify the orbit of an object in space. ...
The argument of periapsis (ω) is the orbital element describing the angle between an orbiting bodys ascending node (the point where the body crosses the plane of reference from South to North) and its periapsis (the point of closest approach to the central body), measured in the orbital plane and...
A natural satellite is an object that orbits a planet or other body larger than itself and which is not man-made. ...
This article is about Earths moon. ...
World map showing the equator in red In tourist areas, the equator is often marked on the sides of roads The equator marked as it crosses Ilhéu das Rolas, in São Tomé and PrÃncipe. ...
A geographical pole is either of two fixed points on the surface of a spinning body or planet, at 90 degrees from the equator, based on the axis around which a body spins. ...
The flattening, ellipticity, or oblateness of an oblate spheroid is the relative difference between its equatorial radius a and its polar radius b: The flattening of the Earth is 1:298. ...
World map showing the equator in red In tourist areas, the equator is often marked on the sides of roads The equator marked as it crosses Ilhéu das Rolas, in São Tomé and PrÃncipe. ...
Meridional is a geographic term that means along a north-south direction, or relative to a meridian (opposite: zonal, east-west). ...
In mathematics, a spheroid is a quadric surface in three dimensions obtained by rotating an ellipse about one of its principal axes. ...
361,126,400 km² water (70.8 %) | | Volume: | 1.0832073×1012 km³ | | Mass: | 5.9736×1024 kg | | Mean density: | 5,515.3 kg/m³ | | Equatorial surface gravity: | 9.780327 m/s²[3]
0.99732 g | | Escape velocity: | 11.186 km/s
40,270 km/h
| | Sidereal rotation period: | 0.997258 d
23h 56m 04.09054s[3] | | Rotation velocity at equator: | 465.11 m/s | | Axial tilt: | 23.439281° | | Albedo: | 0.367 | Surface temp.:
Kelvin
Celsius | | min | mean | max | | 185 K | 287 K | 331 K | | -88.3 °C | 14 °C | 57.7 °C | | | Adjectives: | Terrestrial, Terran, Telluric, Tellurian, Earthly | | Atmosphere | | Surface pressure: | 101.3 kPa (MSL) | | Composition: | 78.08% N2
20.95% O2
0.93% Argon
0.038% Carbon dioxide
Trace water vapor (varies with climate) | Earth (IPA: /ɜrθ/) is the third planet from the Sun and is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System, in both diameter and mass. It is also referred to as the Earth, Planet Earth, Gaia, Terra,[4] and "the World". For other uses, see Volume (disambiguation). ...
For other uses, see Mass (disambiguation). ...
For other uses, see Density (disambiguation). ...
The surface gravity of a Killing horizon is the acceleration, as exerted at infinity, needed to keep an object at the horizon. ...
Earths gravity, denoted by g, refers to the attractive force that the Earth exerts on objects on or near its surface (or, more generally, objects anywhere in the Earths vicinity). ...
Meters per second squared is the SI derived unit of acceleration, defined by distance or displacement in metres divided by time in seconds and again divided by time in seconds. ...
The term g force or gee force refers to the symbol g, the force of acceleration due to gravity at the earths surface. ...
Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on mission STS-71. ...
On a prograde planet like the Earth, the sidereal day is shorter than the solar day. ...
In astronomy, axial tilt is the inclination angle of a planets rotational axis in relation to a perpendicular to its orbital plane. ...
Albedo is the ratio of reflected to incident electromagnetic radiation. ...
For other uses, see Temperature (disambiguation). ...
For other uses, see Kelvin (disambiguation). ...
Celsius is, or relates to, the Celsius temperature scale (previously known as the centigrade scale). ...
Terra Mater or Tellus Mater was a goddess personifying the Earth in Roman mythology. ...
Diurnal (daily) rhythm of air pressure in northern Germany (black curve is air pressure) Atmospheric pressure is the pressure at any point in the Earths atmosphere. ...
Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...
For considerations of sea level change, in particular rise associated with possible global warming, see sea level rise. ...
General Name, symbol, number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, period, block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless gas Standard atomic weight 14. ...
General Name, symbol, number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series nonmetals, chalcogens Group, period, block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless (gas) pale blue (liquid) Standard atomic weight 15. ...
General Name, symbol, number argon, Ar, 18 Chemical series noble gases Group, period, block 18, 3, p Appearance colorless Standard atomic weight 39. ...
Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom. ...
Water vapor or water vapour (see spelling differences), also aqueous vapor, is the gas phase of water. ...
This article is about the astronomical term. ...
Sol redirects here. ...
The inner planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, their sizes to scale. ...
This article is about the Solar System. ...
DIAMETER is a computer networking protocol for AAA (Authentication, Authorization and Accounting). ...
For other uses, see Mass (disambiguation). ...
For other uses, see Gaia. ...
Terra Mater or Tellus Mater was a goddess personifying the Earth in Roman mythology. ...
For other uses, see World (disambiguation). ...
Home to millions of species[5] including humans, Earth is the only place in the universe where life is known to have originated. Scientific theory indicates that the planet formed 4.54 billion years[6][7][8][9] ago, and life appeared on its surface within a billion years. Since then, Earth's biosphere has significantly altered the atmosphere and other abiotic conditions on the planet, enabling the proliferation of aerobic organisms as well as the formation of the ozone layer which, together with Earth's magnetic field, blocks harmful radiation, permitting life on land. For other uses, see Species (disambiguation). ...
This article is about modern humans. ...
For other uses, see Universe (disambiguation). ...
For other uses, see Life (disambiguation). ...
The word theory has a number of distinct meanings in different fields of knowledge, depending on their methodologies and the context of discussion. ...
Earth as seen from Apollo 17 Modern geologists consider the age of the Earth to be around 4. ...
For other uses, see Biosphere (disambiguation). ...
Air redirects here. ...
This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...
An aerobic organism or aerobe is an organism that has an oxygen based metabolism. ...
The ozone layer is a layer in Earths atmosphere which contains relatively high concentrations of ozone (O3). ...
Magnetic field lines shown by iron filings In physics, the space surrounding moving electric charges, changing electric fields and magnetic dipoles contains a magnetic field. ...
Earth's outer surface is divided into several rigid segments, or tectonic plates, that gradually migrate across the surface over periods of many millions of years. About 71% of the surface is covered with salt-water oceans, the remainder consisting of continents and islands; liquid water, necessary for all known life, is not known to exist on any other planet's surface.[10][11] Earth's interior remains active, with a thick layer of relatively solid mantle, a liquid outer core that generates a magnetic field, and a solid iron inner core. Earth cutaway from core to exosphere. ...
The tectonic plates of the world were mapped in the second half of the 20th century. ...
// For other uses, see time scale. ...
Annual mean sea surface salinity for the World Ocean. ...
Animated map exhibiting the worlds oceanic waters. ...
Animated, colour-coded map showing the various continents. ...
Impact from a water drop causes an upward rebound jet surrounded by circular capillary waves. ...
Earth cutaway from core to exosphere. ...
Earth cutaway from core to exosphere. ...
Earth interacts with other objects in outer space, including the Sun and the Moon. At present, Earth orbits the Sun once for every roughly 366.26 times it rotates about its axis. This length of time is a sidereal year, which is equal to 365.26 solar days.[12] The Earth's axis of rotation is tilted 23.4°[13] away from the perpendicular to its orbital plane, producing seasonal variations on the planet's surface with a period of one tropical year. Earth's only known natural satellite, the Moon, which began orbiting it about 4.53 billion years ago, provides ocean tides, stabilizes the axial tilt and gradually slows the planet's rotation. A cometary bombardment during the early history of the planet played a role in the formation of the oceans.[14] Later, asteroid impacts caused significant changes to the surface environment. Long term periodic changes in the Earth's orbit, caused by the gravitational influence of other planets, are believed to have given rise to the ice ages that have intermittently covered significant portions of Earth's surface in glacial sheets. Layers of Atmosphere - not to scale (NOAA)[1] Outer space, sometimes simply called space, refers to the relatively empty regions of the universe outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies. ...
Sol redirects here. ...
This article is about Earths moon. ...
The sidereal year is the time for the Sun to return to the same position in respect to the stars of the celestial sphere. ...
Solar time is based on the idea that, when the sun reaches its highest point in the sky, it is noon. ...
In astronomy, axial tilt is the inclination angle of a planets rotational axis in relation to a perpendicular to its orbital plane. ...
Fig. ...
The orbital plane of an object orbiting another is the geometrical plane in which the orbit is embedded. ...
A tropical year is the length of time that the Sun, as viewed from the Earth, takes to return to the same position along the ecliptic (its path among the stars on the celestial sphere). ...
A natural satellite is an object that orbits a planet or other body larger than itself and which is not man-made. ...
This article is about tides in the Earths oceans. ...
Comet Hale-Bopp Comet West For other uses, see Comet (disambiguation). ...
For other uses, see Asteroid (disambiguation). ...
Milankovitch cycles are the collective effect of changes in the Earths movements upon its climate, named after Serbian civil engineer and mathematician Milutin Milanković. The eccentricity, axial tilt, and precession of the Earths orbit vary in several patterns, resulting in 100,000 year ice age cycles of the...
Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ...
[edit] History -
Scientists have been able to reconstruct detailed information about the planet's past. Earth and the other planets in the Solar System formed 4.54 billion years ago[6] out of the solar nebula, a disk-shaped mass of dust and gas left over from the formation of the Sun. Initially molten, the outer layer of the planet Earth cooled to form a solid crust when water began accumulating in the atmosphere. The Moon formed soon afterwards, possibly as the result of a Mars-sized object (sometimes called Theia) with about 10% of the Earth's mass[15] impacting the Earth in a glancing blow.[16] Some of this object's mass would have merged with the Earth and a portion would have been ejected into space, but enough material would have been sent into orbit to form the Moon. Geological time put in a diagram called a geological clock, showing the relative lengths of the eons of the Earths history. ...
This article is about the Solar System. ...
This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...
Physics In physics, melting is the process of heating a solid substance to a point (called melting point) where it turns liquid. ...
The Big Splash. ...
This article is about Earths moon. ...
Outgassing and volcanic activity produced the primordial atmosphere. Condensing water vapor, augmented by ice delivered by comets, produced the oceans.[14] The highly energetic chemistry is believed to have produced a self-replicating molecule around 4 billion years ago, and half a billion years later, the last common ancestor of all life existed.[17] Cleveland Volcano in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska photographed from the International Space Station For other uses, see Volcano (disambiguation). ...
Water vapor or water vapour (see spelling differences), also aqueous vapor, is the gas phase of water. ...
Comet Hale-Bopp Comet West For other uses, see Comet (disambiguation). ...
There are various popular theories as to how the worlds oceans were formed over the past 4. ...
Last universal ancestor (LUA), the hypothetical latest living organism from which all currently living organisms descend. ...
The development of photosynthesis allowed the Sun's energy to be harvested directly by life forms; the resultant oxygen accumulated in the atmosphere and resulted in a layer of ozone (a form of molecular oxygen [O3]) in the upper atmosphere. The incorporation of smaller cells within larger ones resulted in the development of complex cells called eukaryotes.[18] True multicellular organisms formed as cells within colonies became increasingly specialized. Aided by the absorption of harmful ultraviolet radiation by the ozone layer, life colonized the surface of Earth.[19] The leaf is the primary site of photosynthesis in plants. ...
General Name, symbol, number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series nonmetals, chalcogens Group, period, block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless (gas) pale blue (liquid) Standard atomic weight 15. ...
For other uses, see Ozone (disambiguation). ...
General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series Nonmetals, chalcogens Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance transparent (gas) very pale blue (liquid) Atomic mass 15. ...
It has been suggested that Proto-mitochondrion be merged into this article or section. ...
Kingdoms Eukaryotes are organisms with complex cells, in which the genetic material is organized into membrane-bound nuclei. ...
Note: Ultraviolet is also the name of a 1998 UK television miniseries about vampires. ...
The ozone layer is a layer in Earths atmosphere which contains relatively high concentrations of ozone (O3). ...
As the surface continually reshaped itself, over hundreds of millions of years, continents formed and broke up. The continents migrated across the surface, occasionally combining to form a supercontinent. Roughly 750 million years ago (mya), the earliest known supercontinent, Rodinia, began to break apart. The continents later recombined to form Pannotia, 600–540 mya, then finally Pangaea, which broke apart 180 mya.[20] In geology, a supercontinent is a land mass comprising more than one continental core, or craton. ...
Depiction of Rodinia at time of initial breakup. ...
Pannotia is the name given to a hypothetical supercontinent that existed from about 600 to about 540 mya. ...
For other uses, see Pangaea (disambiguation). ...
Since the 1960s, it has been hypothesized that severe glacial action between 750 and 580 mya, during the Neoproterozoic, covered much of the planet in a sheet of ice. This hypothesis has been termed "Snowball Earth", and is of particular interest because it preceded the Cambrian explosion, when multicellular life forms began to proliferate.[21] This article is about the geological formation. ...
The Neoproterozoic Era is the unit of geologic time from 1,000 to 542 +/- 0. ...
One computer simulation of conditions during the Snowball Earth period. ...
The Cambrian explosion is the geologically kukko sudden appearance in the fossil record of the ancestors of familiar animals, starting about 542 million years ago (Mya). ...
Following the Cambrian explosion, about 535 mya, there have been five mass extinctions.[22] The last extinction event occurred 65 mya, when a meteorite collision probably triggered the extinction of the (non-avian) dinosaurs and other large reptiles, but spared small animals such as mammals, which then resembled shrews. Over the past 65 million years, mammalian life has diversified, and several mya, an African ape-like animal gained the ability to stand upright.[23] This enabled tool use and encouraged communication that provided the nutrition and stimulation needed for a larger brain. The development of agriculture, and then civilization, allowed humans to influence the Earth in a short time span as no other life form had,[24] affecting both the nature and quantity of other life forms. The Cambrian explosion is the geologically kukko sudden appearance in the fossil record of the ancestors of familiar animals, starting about 542 million years ago (Mya). ...
An extinction event (also known as: mass extinction; extinction-level event, ELE) occurs when there is a sharp decrease in the number of species in a relatively short period of time. ...
Orders & Suborders Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Theropoda Ornithischia Thyreophora Ornithopoda Marginocephalia Dinosaurs were vertebrate animals that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for over 160 million years, first appearing approximately 230 million years ago. ...
Subclasses & Infraclasses Subclass †Allotheria* Subclass Prototheria Subclass Theria Infraclass †Trituberculata Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria Mammals (class Mammalia) are warm-blooded, vertebrate animals characterized by the presence of sweat glands, including those that produce milk, and by the presence of: hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex...
The present pattern of ice ages began about 40 mya, then intensified during the Pleistocene about 3 mya. The polar regions have since undergone repeated cycles of glaciation and thaw, repeating every 40–100,000 years. The last ice age ended 10,000 years ago.[25] Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ...
The Pleistocene epoch (IPA: ) on the geologic timescale is the period from 1,808,000 to 11,550 years BP. The Pleistocene epoch had been intended to cover the worlds recent period of repeated glaciations. ...
[edit] Composition and structure Earth is a terrestrial planet, meaning that it is a rocky body, rather than a gas giant like Jupiter. It is the largest of the four solar terrestrial planets, both in terms of size and mass. Of these four planets, Earth also has the highest density, the highest surface gravity and the strongest magnetic field.[26] The inner planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, their sizes to scale. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
For other uses, see Jupiter (disambiguation). ...
The surface gravity of a Killing horizon is the acceleration, as exerted at infinity, needed to keep an object at the horizon. ...
Magnetic field lines shown by iron filings In physics, the space surrounding moving electric charges, changing electric fields and magnetic dipoles contains a magnetic field. ...
-
 Size comparison of inner planets (left to right): Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars The Earth's shape is very close to an oblate spheroid — a rounded shape with a bulge around the equator — although the precise shape (the geoid) varies from this by up to 100 meters.[27] The average diameter of the reference spheroid is about 12,742 km. More approximately the distance is 40,000 km/π because the meter was originally defined as 1/10,000,000 of the distance from the equator to the north pole through Paris, France.[28] The expression figure of the Earth has various meanings in geodesy according to the way it is used and the precision with which the Earths size and shape is to be defined. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1500x653, 488 KB)Terrestrial planet size comparisons. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1500x653, 488 KB)Terrestrial planet size comparisons. ...
[[Link titleBold text // ]] This article is about the planet. ...
Adjectives: Venusian or (rarely) Cytherean Atmosphere Surface pressure: 9. ...
Adjectives: Martian Atmosphere Surface pressure: 0. ...
Oblate also refers to a member of the Roman Catholic religious order of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, or in some cases to a lay or religious person who has officially associated himself (or herself) with a monastic community such as the Benedictines for reasons of personal enrichment without...
World map showing the equator in red In tourist areas, the equator is often marked on the sides of roads The equator marked as it crosses Ilhéu das Rolas, in São Tomé and PrÃncipe. ...
The GOCE project will measure high-accuracy gravity gradients and provide an accurate geoid model based on the Earths gravity field. ...
When a circles diameter is 1, its circumference is π. Pi or π is the ratio of a circles circumference to its diameter in Euclidean geometry, approximately 3. ...
The metre, or meter (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ...
For other uses, see North Pole (disambiguation). ...
This article is about the capital of France. ...
The rotation of the Earth creates the equatorial bulge so that the equatorial diameter is 43 km larger than the pole to pole diameter.[29] The largest local deviations in the rocky surface of the Earth are Mount Everest (8,848 m above local sea level) and the Mariana Trench (10,911 m below local sea level). Hence compared to a perfect ellipsoid, the Earth has a tolerance of about one part in about 584, or 0.17%, which is less than the 0.22% tolerance allowed in billiard balls.[30] Because of the bulge, the feature farthest from the center of the Earth is actually Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador.[31] This article is about rotation as a movement of a physical body. ...
An equatorial bulge is a planetological term which describes a bulge which a planet may have around its equator, distorting it into an oblate spheroid. ...
“Everest†redirects here. ...
For considerations of sea level change, in particular rise associated with possible global warming, see sea level rise. ...
This article is about the geographical feature. ...
3D rendering of an ellipsoid In mathematics, an ellipsoid is a type of quadric that is a higher dimensional analogue of an ellipse. ...
Tolerance in Final Fantasy is an allowance, given as a permissible range, in the nominal dimension or value specification of a manufactured object. ...
A close-up picture of American-style pool balls Billiard balls are used in cue sports, such as carom billiards, pool, and snooker. ...
The inactive stratovolcano Chimborazo is Ecuadors highest summit. ...
[edit] Chemical composition - See also: Abundance of elements on Earth
The mass of the Earth is approximately 5.98×1024 kg. It is composed mostly of iron (32.1%), oxygen (30.1%), silicon (15.1%), magnesium (13.9%), sulfur (2.9%), nickel (1.8%), calcium (1.5%), and aluminium (1.4%); with the remaining 1.2% consisting of trace amounts of other elements. Due to mass segregation, the core region is believed to be primarily composed of iron (88.8%), with smaller amounts of nickel (5.8%), sulfur (4.5%), and less than 1% trace elements.[32] The abundance of a chemical element measures how relatively common the element is, or how much of the element there is by comparison to all other elements. ...
The chemical compound silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is the oxide of silicon, chemical formula SiO2. ...
Aluminium oxide (or aluminum oxide) (Al2O3) is a chemical compound of aluminium and oxygen. ...
Calcium oxide (CaO), commonly known as lime, quicklime or burnt lime, is a widely used chemical compound. ...
Periclase occurs naturally in contact metamorphic rocks and is a major component of most basic refractory bricks. ...
Sodium oxide is a chemical compound with the formula Na2O. It is used in ceramics and glasses. ...
Iron(II) oxide, also called ferrous oxide, is a black-colored powder with the chemical formula FeO. It consists of the element iron in the oxidation state of 2 bonded to oxygen. ...
Potassium oxide is a compound of potassium and oxygen used mainly as a intermediate in inorganic synthesis. ...
Iron(III) oxide — also known as ferric oxide, Hematite, red iron oxide, synthetic maghemite, colcothar, or simply rust — is one of the several oxide compounds of iron, and has paramagnetic properties. ...
H2O and HOH redirect here. ...
Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania, is the naturally occurring oxide of titanium, chemical formula TiO2. ...
Phosphorus pentoxide, perhaps more accurately diphosphorus pentoxide, is so called because of its empirical formula P2O5, as should be expected of any element in oxidation number +5. ...
For other uses, see Mass (disambiguation). ...
For other uses, see Iron (disambiguation). ...
General Name, symbol, number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series nonmetals, chalcogens Group, period, block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless (gas) pale blue (liquid) Standard atomic weight 15. ...
Not to be confused with Silicone. ...
General Name, symbol, number magnesium, Mg, 12 Chemical series alkaline earth metals Group, period, block 2, 3, s Appearance silvery white solid at room temp Standard atomic weight 24. ...
This article is about the chemical element. ...
For other uses, see Nickel (disambiguation). ...
For other uses, see Calcium (disambiguation). ...
Aluminum redirects here. ...
// Dyamical mass segregation is the process by which heavier members of a gravitationally bound system, such as a star cluster or cluster of galaxies, tend to move toward the center, while lighter members tend to move farther away from the center. ...
The geochemist F. W. Clarke calculated that a little more than 47% of the Earth's crust consists of oxygen. The more common rock constituents of the Earth's crust are nearly all oxides; chlorine, sulfur and fluorine are the only important exceptions to this and their total amount in any rock is usually much less than 1%. The principal oxides are silica, alumina, iron oxides, lime, magnesia, potash and soda. The silica functions principally as an acid, forming silicates, and all the commonest minerals of igneous rocks are of this nature. From a computation based on 1,672 analyses of all kinds of rocks, Clarke deduced that 99.22% were composed of 11 oxides (see the table at right.) All the other constituents occur only in very small quantities.[33] Frank Wigglesworth With Colleagues Frank Wigglesworth Clarke (1847-1931), was a chemist, born in Boston, Massachusetts 19 March 1847. ...
Earth cutaway from core to exosphere. ...
[edit] Internal structure -
 Earth cutaway from core to exosphere. Not to scale. The interior of the Earth, like that of the other terrestrial planets, is chemically divided into layers. The Earth has an outer silicate solid crust, a highly viscous mantle, a liquid outer core that is much less viscous than the mantle, and a solid inner core. The crust is separated from the mantle by the Mohorovičić discontinuity, and the thickness of the crust varies: averaging 6 km under the oceans and 30–50 km on the continents.[34] Earth cutaway from core to exosphere. ...
Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ...
Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ...
A terrestrial planet or telluric planet is a planet which is primarily composed of silicate rocks. ...
A chemical substance is any material substance used in or obtained by a process in chemistry: A chemical compound is a substance consisting of two or more chemical elements that are chemically combined in fixed proportions. ...
The silicate minerals make up the largest and most important class of rock-forming minerals. ...
Earth cutaway from core to exosphere. ...
Earth cutaway from core to exosphere. ...
Earth cutaway from core to exosphere. ...
Ordovician ophiolite in Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland. ...
The geologic component layers of the Earth[35] are at the following depths below the surface:[36]
Depth
km | Layer | Density
g/cm³ | | 0–60 | Lithosphere (locally varies between 5 and 200 km) | — | | 0–35 | ... Crust (locally varies between 5 and 70 km) | 2.2–2.9 | | 35–60 | ... Uppermost part of mantle | 3.4–4.4 | | 35–2890 | Mantle | 3.4–5.6 | | 100–700 | ... Asthenosphere | — | | 2890–5100 | Outer core | 9.9–12.2 | | 5100–6378 | Inner core | 12.8–13.1 | The internal heat of the planet is most likely produced by the radioactive decay of potassium-40, uranium-238 and thorium-232 isotopes. All three have half-life decay periods of more than a billion years.[37] At the center of the planet, the temperature may be up to 7,000 K and the pressure could reach 360 GPa.[38] A portion of the core's thermal energy is transported toward the crust by Mantle plumes; a form of convection consisting of upwellings of higher-temperature rock. These plumes can produce hotspots and flood basalts.[39] The tectonic plates of the Lithosphere on Earth. ...
Earth cutaway from core to exosphere. ...
Earth cutaway from core to exosphere. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
Earth cutaway from core to exosphere. ...
General Name, symbol, number potassium, K, 19 Chemical series alkali metals Group, period, block 1, 4, s Appearance silvery white Standard atomic weight 39. ...
General Name, symbol, number uranium, U, 92 Chemical series actinides Group, period, block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery gray metallic; corrodes to a spalling black oxide coat in air Standard atomic weight 238. ...
General Name, Symbol, Number thorium, Th, 90 Chemical series Actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery white Standard atomic weight 232. ...
For other uses, see Isotope (disambiguation). ...
Half-Life For a quantity subject to exponential decay, the half-life is the time required for the quantity to fall to half of its initial value. ...
The initials GPA can refer, among other things, to Grade Point Average; see Grade (education) Guinness Peat Aviation General Practice Australia, a private, independent medical accreditation society Greyhound Pets of America This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same...
A lava lamp illustrates the basic concept of a mantle plume. ...
In geology, a hotspot is a location on the Earths surface that has experienced active volcanism for a long period of time. ...
Moses Coulee showing multiple flood basalt flows of the Columbia River Basalt Group. ...
[edit] Tectonic plates -
 A map illustrating the Earth's major plates. According to plate tectonics theory, the outermost part of the Earth's interior is made up of two layers: the lithosphere, comprising the crust, and the solidified uppermost part of the mantle. Below the lithosphere lies the asthenosphere, which forms the inner part of the mantle. The asthenosphere behaves like a superheated and extremely viscous liquid.[40] The tectonic plates of the world were mapped in the second half of the 20th century. ...
Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ...
Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ...
The tectonic plates of the Lithosphere on Earth. ...
Earth cutaway from core to exosphere. ...
Earth cutaway from core to exosphere. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
Viscosity is a measure of the resistance of a fluid to deformation under shear stress. ...
The lithosphere essentially floats on the asthenosphere and is broken up into what are called tectonic plates. These plates are rigid segments that move in relation to one another at one of three types of plate boundaries: convergent, divergent and transform. The last occurs where two plates move laterally relative to each other, creating a strike-slip fault. Earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain-building, and oceanic trench formation can occur along these plate boundaries.[41] Global earthquake epicentres, 1963–1998 The 14 major plates plus the Scotia Plate Plate tectonics map from NASA This is a list of tectonic plates on Earth. ...
In plate tectonics, a convergent boundary (convergent fault boundary, convergent plate boundary, or active margin) is where two tectonic plates slide towards each other and usually collide forming either a subduction zone with its associated island arc or an orogenic belt and associated mountain range. ...
In plate tectonics, a divergent boundary (divergent fault boundary or divergent plate boundary), (but also known as a constructive boundary or an extensional boundary) is a linear feature that exists between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other. ...
In plate tectonics, a transform boundary (also known as transform fault boundary, transform plate boundary, transform plate margin, slip boundary or conservative plate boundary) is said to occur when tectonic plates slide and grind against each other along a transform fault. ...
Old fault exposed by roadcut near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. ...
This article is about the natural seismic phenomenon. ...
Cleveland Volcano in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska photographed from the International Space Station For other uses, see Volcano (disambiguation). ...
// Orogeny (Greek for mountain generating) is the process of mountain building, and may be studied as a tectonic structural event, as a geographical event and a chronological event, in that orogenic events cause distinctive structural phenomena and related tectonic activity, affect certain regions of rocks and crust and happen within...
The oceanic trenches are hemispheric-scale long but narrow topographic depressions of the sea floor. ...
The main plates are:[42]
Notable minor plates include the Indian Plate, the Arabian Plate, the Caribbean Plate, the Nazca Plate off the west coast of South America and the Scotia Plate in the southern Atlantic Ocean. The Australian Plate actually fused with Indian Plate between 50 and 55 million years ago. The fastest-moving plates are the oceanic plates, with the Cocos Plate advancing at a rate of 75 mm/yr[43] (3.0 in/yr) and the Pacific Plate moving 52–69 mm/yr (2.1–2.7 in/yr). At the other extreme, the slowest-moving plate is the Eurasian Plate, progressing at a typical rate of about 21 mm/yr (0.8 in/yr).[44] The African plate, shown in pinkish-orange The African Plate is a tectonic plate covering the continent of Africa and extending westward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. ...
A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ...
The Antarctic plate is shown in blue on this map The Antarctic Plate is a continental tectonic plate covering the continent of Antarctica and extending outward under the surrounding oceans. ...
Categories: Plate tectonics | Geology stubs ...
The Eurasian plate, shown in green The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate covering Eurasia (a landmass consisting of the traditional continents of Europe and Asia) except that it does not cover the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent, and the area east of the Verkhoyansk Range in East Siberia. ...
For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ...
For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...
The North American plate, shown in brown The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, extending eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Cherskiy Range in East Siberia. ...
North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ...
This article is about Siberia as a whole. ...
The South American plate, shown in purple The South American Plate is a tectonic plate covering the continent of South America and extending eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. ...
South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ...
The Pacific plate, shown in pale yellow The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean. ...
The Indian plate, shown in red Due to continental drift, the India Plate split from Madagascar and collided with the Eurasian Plate resulting in the formation of the Himalayas. ...
The Arabian plate is shown in bright yellow on this map The Arabian Plate is a continental tectonic plate covering the Arabian peninsula and extending northward to Turkey. ...
Detail of tectonic plates from: Tectonic plates of the world. ...
The Nacza plate, shown in light blue The Nazca Plate, named after the Nazca region of southern Peru, is an oceanic tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin off the west coast of South America. ...
South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ...
The Scotia plate, shown in blue-green towards the bottom of the map The Scotia Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate bordering the South American Plate on the north, the South Sandwich microplate to the east, and the Antarctic Plate on the south and west. ...
The Indian plate, shown in red Due to continental drift, the India Plate split from Madagascar and collided with the Eurasian Plate resulting in the formation of the Himalayas. ...
The Cocos plate, shown in gray-blue, off the Pacific coast of Central America The Cocos Plate (Chocos Plate) is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Central America, named for Cocos Island, which rides upon it. ...
The Pacific plate, shown in pale yellow The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean. ...
The Eurasian plate, shown in green The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate covering Eurasia (a landmass consisting of the traditional continents of Europe and Asia) except that it does not cover the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent, and the area east of the Verkhoyansk Range in East Siberia. ...
[edit] Surface -
The Earth's terrain varies greatly from place to place. About 70.8%[45] of the surface is covered by water, with much of the continental shelf below sea level. The submerged surface has mountainous features, including a globe-spanning mid-ocean ridge system, as well as undersea volcanoes,[29] oceanic trenches, submarine canyons, oceanic plateaus and abyssal plains. The remaining 29.2% not covered by water consists of mountains, deserts, plains, plateaus, and other geomorphologies. A landform comprises a geomorphological unit. ...
This is a list of lists of extreme points of the world, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other locations on the landmasses, continents or countries. ...
Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 561 pixel Image in higher resolution (1617 × 1133 pixel, file size: 1. ...
Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 561 pixel Image in higher resolution (1617 × 1133 pixel, file size: 1. ...
For other uses, see Terrain (journal). ...
Bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to topography. ...
The National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) provides scientific stewardship, products and services for geophysical data describing the solid earth, marine, and solar-terrestrial environment, as well as earth observations from space. ...
Sediment Rock Mantle The global continental shelf, highlighted in cyan The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent, which is covered during interglacial periods such as the current epoch by relatively shallow seas (known as shelf seas) and gulfs. ...
Oceanic Ridge Oceanic crust is formed at an oceanic ridge, while the lithosphere is subducted back into the asthenosphere at trenches. ...
Cleveland Volcano in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska photographed from the International Space Station For other uses, see Volcano (disambiguation). ...
The oceanic trenches are hemispheric-scale long but narrow topographic depressions of the sea floor. ...
A Submarine canyon is a steep-sided valley on the seafloor of the continental slope. ...
An oceanic plateau is an undersea large igneous province, the equivalent of continental flood basalts such as the Deccan Traps in India and the Snake River Plain in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. ...
Abyssal plains are flat or very gently sloping areas of the deep ocean basin floor. ...
Mount Cook, a mountain in New Zealand A mountain is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. ...
A dune in the Egyptian desert In geography, a desert is a landscape form or region that receives little precipitation. ...
In geography, a plain is a large area of land with relatively low relief. ...
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