EARTH’S STRUCTURE
AND LANDFORMS
ENVIRONMENT
The earth is the only planet in the solar system that supports life.
This is because conditions suitable for life are found only on the
earth. However, the conditions are not the same everywhere on
earth. It is hot at some places, while at others it is cold. The
landforms, soil and other conditions also differ from place to place.
Different organisms live and thrive in different places. This is
because each organism is made in such a way that it can live under
a particular set of conditions. The physical and biological condition
in which an organism lives makeup it’s environment.
Those components of an organism's
environment that are provided by nature
form its natural environment. Our natural
environment has two types of components.
Physical components such temperature,
light, air, water, soil, landforms, etc., make
up our physical environment. And, plants
and animals around us make up Our
biological environment.
Not everything around us is nature's gift. Roads, bridges,
buildings, electricity, and so on, are man's creations. They
affect our lives. We are also affected by the social, economic,
political and other conditions in which we live. All these
conditions and man-made things are also a part of our
environment
Changes in the environment Any change
in the environment affects an organism.
The environment, too, is affected by the
actions of the organisms that are a part
of it. Usually, nature works in such a way
that the components of the environment
hardly change over long periods of time.
For example, respiration of
living organisms, decay of organic matter and burning of
fuels use up oxygen and release carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere. At the same time, green plants absorb
carbon dioxide and release oxygen during
photosynthesis. This keeps the amounts of these gases in
the air constant. However, we are cutting down trees in
large numbers and at the same time burning more fuel.
This is increasing the amount of carbon dioxide and
upsetting the balance of gases in the air. This is one way in
which we are changing our environment.
SPHERES OF EARTH
Spheres of the earth The land and water bodies of the earth and the
layer of air surrounding the earth form a part of our natural
environment. You know that the earth can be divided into three
zones, or spheres-the lithosphere (sphere of rock), the hydrosphere
(sphere of water) and the atmosphere (sphere of air). Life exists
only in some parts of these spheres. For example, organisms can
survive only up to a certain height in the atmosphere and up to a
certain depth below the surface of the earth. The parts of different
spheres in which life exists together form the biosphere, or the
sphere of life. In other words, the biosphere is the part of the earth
where living organisms are found. Any change in the biosphere
affects all living beings.
There are some natural processes that change landforms and thus
the environment in which we live. To understand them we first
need to know about the structure of the earth.
Structure of the Earth
Layers of the Earth
The earth is a huge sphere with a radius of about 6,400 km. To find out the inner
structure of the earth, we would have to go down right up to its centre. Obviously,
that is not possible. So, scientists have taken the help of earthquakes to determine the
struture of the earth. During earthquakes, vibrations are produced. Just as the
vibrations of a string of a musical instrument produce sound waves, the earth's
vibrations produce seismic waves. Seismic waves travel through different materials
inside the earth at different speeds. They also get bent when they pass from one kind
of material to another. By observing the path and speed of a seismic wave, scientists
can find out the types and arrangement of the materials through which it passed.
From such observations we now know that the earth consists of three concentric
layers-the crust, the mantle and the core.The crust The uppermost layer of the earth is
known as the crust. The crust is very thin, with an average thickness of about 35 km.
If we could think of the earth as an egg, the crust could be regarded as the shell.
However, the crust is not uniformly thick at all places. It is thinner under the oceans
and thicker
under the continents.iron and nickel, and is called nife (ni is for nickel and fe is for
ferrum-Latin for iron).
The temperatures at the core are high enough to melt all metals. The study of seismic
waves shows that the outer part of the core is molten, while its innermost part is solid.
The upper part of the continental crust, which is
rich in silica and aluminium, is called sial (si is for
silica and al is for aluminium). The lower part of
the continental crust and the whole of the oceanic
crust are composed mainly of denser materials rich
in silica and magnesium. They are together called
sima (si is for silica and ma is for magnesium). The
surface of the crust is also quite uneven. For
example. Mount Everest, the highest mountain
peak in the world, is 8,848 metres above sea level,
while the world's deepest point, located in the
Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean, is 11,034
metres below sea level.
The mantle Below the crust lies the mantle. It extends up to a depth of about
2,900 km. Its chief constituents are silicates of iron and magnesium. Both the
temperature and the density of the mantle increase with increasing depth
towards the centre of the earth.
The mantle has two parts--the upper mantle and the lower mantle. The
upper mantle is about 670 km thick, while the lower mantle is nearly 2,200
km thick. The top layer of the upper mantle is solid. Below this layer lies a
soft layer. Because of the high temperatures in this layer, the rocks here are
in a soft state, a stage they reach just before melting. This layer begins a
depth of about 50 km and extends roughly up to a depth of 300 km. The
lithosphere, which comprises the crust and the hard uppermost part of the
mantle, floats on this soft layer. Below this layer, the rocks of the upper
mantle become harder with depth.
The core The innermost layer of the earth is called the core. It is about 3.500
km thick. It is the densest layer. It is believed to be made up of heavy metals
like iron and nickel, and is called nife (ni is for nickel and fe is for ferrum-Latin
for iron).
The temperatures at the core are high enough to melt all metals. The study of
seismic waves shows that the outer part of the core is molten, while its
innermost part is solid.
ROCKS
The earth's lithosphere is made up of rocks. Actually, lithos' in Greek means
rock. The word 'rock' usually brings to mind hard materials like marble, granite
and sandstone. However, for geoscientists, rock also includes soft and loose
materials like clay, sand, gravel, silt, and in fact everything that forms the
lithosphere of the earth.
Rocks are made up of minerals. Minerals are naturally occurring chemical
compounds. The minerals feldspar and quartz (silica) are common constituents
of rocks. Minerals vary in colour, texture, hardness and lustre. Diamond is the
hardest known mineral. Even some edible substances, like halite, or rock salt,
are minerals. Some rocks contain useful minerals from which metals, like iron,
copper and gold, can be extracted. These minerals are called ores. Rocks like
marble, granite, basalt and sandstone are good building materials.
IGNEOUS ROCKS
Deep below the earth's surface, rocks are in a molten state called magma. When magma
cools and solidifies, it forms a very hard rock known as igneous rock (igneous means 'of
fire'). Much of the earth's crust is made up of igneous rocks. Igneous rocks are called
primary rocks, as these were the first rocks formed when the earth's crust solidified.
Igneous rocks are formed either on the surface of the earth or below it.
Extrusive igneous rocks are formed when magma cools and solidifies on reaching the
surface. The magma that reaches the surface is known as lava. As the lava cools and
solidifies rapidly on the surface, the minerals present in it form very small crystals.
Rocks formed in this manner have a fine-grained texture due to the presence of these
tiny crystals. The texture, however, is not visible to the naked eye. Basalt, andesite and
rhyolite are examples of extrusive Igneous rocks.
Below the earth's surface, the process of cooling of magma is much slower. The slow
cooling allows large
crystals of minerals to form. Igneous rocks formed in this way are, therefore, coarse
grained. They are known as intrusive igneous rocks. Granite and gabbro are examples of
such rocks.
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
Running water, wind and moving ice carry small particles of rock. When these
rock particles are deposited on land or on the beds of oceans or rivers. they are
called sediments. Sediments are deposited in layers. They harden over the years
because of the weight of the layers above and the presence of cementing
materials like lime. When the layers are formed under water, the weight of the
water also helps in hardening Rocks formed by the deposition and hardening of
layers of sediment are called sedimentary rocks. Such rocks are usually made up
of layers of different composition. Sandstone, limestone, shale, gravel, clay and
conglomerate are examples of sedimentary rocks.
Coal, too, is a sedimentary rock. But unlike other sedimentary rocks, the coal that
we see today was formed by the remains of organisms, mainly plants. which got
buried with other sediments millions years ago. The high pressure and
temperature under the earth's surface converted these remains into carbon,
which is the main constituent of coal.
