Differentiation of the Earth.ppt

Differentiation of the Earth Differentiation is the process by which random chunks of primordial matter were transformed into a body whose interior is divided into concentric layers that differ from one another both physically and chemically. This occurred early in Earth’s history, when the planet got hot enough to melt. What was the starting point for differentiation? Heterogeneous/Hot starting model Initial layering as Earth solidified from gas Homogeneous/Cold starting model Little or no initial layering because Earth formed from the agglutination of cold, uniform particles Neither model seems to work completely When did differentiation happen? About 4.5 billion years ago After beginning of Earth’s accretion at 4.56 billion years ago Before the formation of the Moon’s oldest known rocks, 4.47 billion years ago Sources of heat to melt Earth Frequent and violent impacts There was likely one particularly large impact Moon aggregated from the ejected debris Earth’s spin axis was tilted Decay of radioactive elements This heat generation was greater in the past than today Basic processes of differentiation In a liquid or soft solid sphere, denser material sinks to the center and less dense material floats to the top. When rock is partially melted, the melt and the remaining solid generally have different chemistry and density. The melt is usually less dense than the “residue.” The melt is enriched in “incompatible” elements. The residue is enriched in “compatible” elements. Earth’s Core Iron, nickel, and other heavy elements were the densest material and formed the core. Core radius is 2900 km. They are about 1/3 of the planet’s mass Inner core is solid. Inner core radius=1200 km. Inner core is solid because pressure is too great for iron to melt at Earth’s current temperature. Outer core is liquid. Some of the iron in the outer core is iron sulfide. The Iron, Oxygen, Sulfur, Magnesium, and Silicon story There were large amounts of these five elements in the early Ear