Earth's layers.
There are 3 layers of our earth: Crust, Mantle, and the Core.
Crust:
Crust is the outermost layer, and the thinnest layer of our planet. It is made up of rocks and minerals. Crust is further divided into two types: Continental and Oceanic.
Continental crust is the part where we live and construct cities. The average thickness of continental crust is between 30 to 40 kilometers.
Oceanic crust lies at the bottom of ocean and the average thickness of oceanic crust is between 30 to 40 kilometers. Oceanic crust is denser than continental crust.
Mantle:
Mantle is mostly solid. It exists between the crust and the core of our earth. Mantle extends to 2900 kilometers below the crust. It makes up about 82 percent of the volume of our earth. It is divided into three types: lithosphere, Mesosphere, and Asthenosphere.
Core:
Core is the centre of the earth. It makes up 17 percent of the volume of our earth. It has two parts: inner and outer core. The outer core is in liquid form. Its temperature ranges between 3000 Celsius. The inner core is in solid form, and its temperature is about 5200 Celsius. The chemicals that make up core include: Iron, Carbon, Sulphur, Silicon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen.
Atmosphere of Earth:
The atmosphere of Earth is composed of different gases like 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, 0.9 % Argon, and 0.1% other gases. Furthermore, it is divided into five layers: Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, and Exosphere.
Troposphere:
It is the lowest layer of the atmosphere. It extends from the surface to about 11 kilometres. It contains air that is required by all the living organisms and it also contains all the clouds generated by weather.
Stratosphere:
It starts right above the Troposphere. It extends from 11 km to 55 km. It is home to the ozone layer, which keeps life on earth safe from the harmful UV rays of the Sun. This layer contains no clouds and no weather.
Mesosphere:
Mesosphere is the third atmospheric layer, which extends from 55 km to 85 km. Most meteors burn in this layer of the atmosphere. The top of the Mesosphere is the coldest place within the earth system. The temperatures drop down to minus 85 degree celsius at the top of Mesosphere.
Thermosphere:
It extends from 85 to 500 km above the surface of the earth. The International Space Station orbits in the Thermosphere.
Exosphere:
It extends from 500 to about 22000 km. Most satellites orbit in the exosphere.
0 Comments