Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The transition between the inner core and outer core is located approximately 5,150 km (3,200 mi) beneath Earth's surface. Earth's inner core is the innermost geologic layer of the planet Earth. It is primarily a solid ball with a radius of about 1,220 km (760 mi), which is about 19% of Earth's radius [0.7% of volume] or 70% of the Moon's radius.
The Earth's terrain varies greatly from place to place. About 70.8% [18] of the surface is covered by water. The sea floor has mountainous features, including a globe-spanning mid-ocean ridge system, as well as undersea volcanoes, [19] oceanic trenches, submarine canyons, oceanic plateaus, and abyssal plains.
The planets of the Solar System are divided into two groups: the four inner planets are the terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars), with relatively small sizes and rocky surfaces. The four outer planets are the giant planets , which are dominated by hydrogen and helium and have lower mean densities.
Earth orbits the Sun, making Earth the third-closest planet to the Sun and part of the inner Solar System. Earth's average orbital distance is about 150 million km (93 million mi), which is the basis for the astronomical unit (AU) and is equal to roughly 8.3 light minutes or 380 times Earth's distance to the Moon.
Moho Discontinuity– The line between the crust and the Earth's mantle. Earth's mantle – The part of the interior of the planet Earth between the crust and the core. By diffusion of seismic waves Lithosphere – The rigid, outermost shell of a terrestrial-type planet or natural satellite that is defined by its rigid mechanical properties.
During the Permian all the Earth's major land masses, except portions of East Asia, were collected into a single supercontinent known as Pangaea. Pangaea straddled the equator and extended toward the poles, with a corresponding effect on ocean currents in the single great ocean ( Panthalassa , the universal sea ), and the Paleo-Tethys Ocean , a ...
Get AOL Mail for FREE! Manage your email like never before with travel, photo & document views. Personalize your inbox with themes & tabs. You've Got Mail!
Systems geology emphasizes the nature of geology as a system – that is, as a set of interacting parts that function as a whole. [1] [2] [3] The systems approach involves study of the linkages or interfaces between the component objects and processes at all levels of detail in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the solid Earth ...