Planet Earth (SCI350 Astronomy)
Planet Earth
Welcome to planet Earth. Although Earth's basic structure is similar to several other planets, Earth is the only planet that is able to sustain life. Actually, Earth is unique and special in many ways. Why does Earth, the third rock from the Sun, have the unique ability to allow humankind to thrive on its surface? What makes this revolving ball capable of providing an atmosphere so conducive to humankind's needs? Earth is the only planet that inhibits life because it meets all the requirements needed to enable life processes.
Earth's Unique Geology
The foundation (literally) for Earth's ability to inhabit life is its surface. Earth has two crusts: seafloor and continental. These two crusts are a result of Earth's unique process known as plate tectonics; ours is the only planet known to have this special feature. Radioactive decay keeps Earth's center hot which causes plate tectonics. These giant conveyor belts of Earth's lithosphere recycle seafloor crust, which eventually pushes up continental crust. Years ago, plate tectonics played a large role in the formation of mountain ranges and continents. As continent-bearing plates collide, the pressure pushes Earth's surface up; the result of this force creates mountains. Plate tectonics continually reshape Earth's continents; some scientists even speculate that our continents were once one giant continent. Earthquakes occur on plate boundaries and occur if plates become stuck while shifting. As unsettling as Earthquakes are, one enormous benefit they provide scientists with is seismic waves. Analysis of these waves offers a complete picture of Earth's interior. For example, we know that our interior is a metal core, which is surrounded by a mantle and a rocky crust.
Other factors that contribute to the shaping of Earth's surface are volcanoes and erosion. When molten rock makes its way to the surface through the...
More Earth Sciences
essays:
Plate Tectonics.
... molten rock, to rise from the Earth's interior to fill in the gap. The two plates move away from each other like two conveyor belts moving in opposite directions. Plate movement ...
Plate Tectonics
... away from the mid oceanic ridge as a result of mantle convection. Like many features on the Earth's surface, plates change over time. A plate that is composed partly or entirely of oceanic lithosphere can ...
The Atmosphere.
... life. Only the earth has conditions which support the presence of liquid water. The surface temperatures of these planets are governed by three factors: 1.)the amount of energy that they receive from the sun 2.)the composition of their atmospheres ...
Plate Tectonics
... it surfaces, the molten rock heaps up and cools to form the ridge, and it also moves out sideways away from the ridge like a pair of giant conveyor belts. At the ridge the rock being ...
The Role of Plate Tectonics, In Natural Disasters on the West Coast: How the Great Alaskian Earthquake, Eruprion of Mt. St. Hellens, and the Loma Prieta Earthquake are connected.
... below the ground surface. The statistics from all three geological occurrences proves that the role of plate tectonics widely influences the west coast. Movement of plates along the San ...
Plate Tectonics: History
... affect the lithosphere and the earth's surface. More recent examinations suggest that bombardment may play a central role in plate tectonics. The theory of plate tectonics is of the continental drift and seafloor spreading ...
Measurement of the structure and composition of the Earth's atmosphere
... the ground. Life on Earth is supported by the atmosphere, solar energy, and our planet's magnetic fields. The atmosphere absorbs the energy from the Sun, recycles ...
Evironmentalism.
... that recycling makes possible, The New York Times joined the media's misinformed recycling myth extravaganza in their June 30th, 1996 article, "Recycling is Garbage." From the beginning, pessimists and special-interest ...