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Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only
Earth
astronomical object known to harbor life. This is
enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one
in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water.
Almost all of Earth's water is contained in its global
ocean, covering 70.8% of Earth's crust. The
remaining 29.2% of Earth's crust is land, most of
which is located in the form of continental
landmasses within Earth's land hemisphere. Most of
Earth's land is somewhat humid and covered by
vegetation, while large sheets of ice at Earth's polar
deserts retain more water than Earth's groundwater,
lakes, rivers and atmospheric water combined.
Earth's crust consists of slowly moving tectonic
plates, which interact to produce mountain ranges,
volcanoes, and earthquakes. Earth has a liquid outer
The Blue Marble, Apollo 17, December 1972
core that generates a magnetosphere capable of
deflecting most of the destructive solar winds and Designations
cosmic radiation. Alternative The world, the globe, Sol
names III, Terra, Tellus, Gaia,
Earth has a dynamic atmosphere, which sustains Mother Earth
Earth's surface conditions and protects it from most
Adjectives Earthly, terrestrial, terran,
meteoroids and UV-light at entry. It has a
tellurian
composition of primarily nitrogen and oxygen.
Water vapor is widely present in the atmosphere, Symbol 🜨 and ♁
forming clouds that cover most of the planet. The Orbital characteristics
water vapor acts as a greenhouse gas and, together Epoch J2000[n 1]
with other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, Aphelion 152 097 597 km
particularly carbon dioxide (CO2), creates the
Perihelion 147 098 450 km[n 2]
conditions for both liquid surface water and water
vapor to persist via the capturing of energy from the Semi-major axis 149 598 023 km[1]
Sun's light. This process maintains the current Eccentricity 0.016 7086[1]
average surface temperature of 14.76 °C (58.57 °F), Orbital period 365.256 363 004 d[2]
at which water is liquid under normal atmospheric (sidereal) (1.000 017 420 96 aj)
pressure. Differences in the amount of captured Average orbital 29.7827 km/s[3]
energy between geographic regions (as with the speed
equatorial region receiving more sunlight than the Mean anomaly 358.617°
polar regions) drive atmospheric and ocean currents,
Inclination 7.155° – Sun's equator;
producing a global climate system with different
climate regions, and a range of weather phenomena 1.578 69° – invariable
such as precipitation, allowing components such as plane;[4]
nitrogen to cycle. 0.000 05° – J2000 ecliptic

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Earth is rounded into an ellipsoid with a Longitude of −11.260 64° – J2000


circumference of about 40,000 km. It is the densest ascending node ecliptic[3]
planet in the Solar System. Of the four rocky planets, Time of 2023-Jan-04[5]
it is the largest and most massive. Earth is about perihelion
eight light-minutes away from the Sun and orbits it, Argument of 114.207 83°[3]
taking a year (about 365.25 days) to complete one perihelion
revolution. Earth rotates around its own axis in Satellites 1, the Moon
slightly less than a day (in about 23 hours and 56
Physical characteristics
minutes). Earth's axis of rotation is tilted with
Mean radius 6 371.0 km[6]
respect to the perpendicular to its orbital plane
around the Sun, producing seasons. Earth is orbited Equatorial 6 378.137 km[7][8]
radius
by one permanent natural satellite, the Moon, which
orbits Earth at 384,400 km (1.28 light seconds) and Polar radius 6 356.752 km[9]
is roughly a quarter as wide as Earth. The Moon's Flattening 1/298.257 222 101
gravity helps stabilize Earth's axis, causes tides and (ETRS89)[10]
gradually slows Earth's rotation. Tidal locking has Circumference 40 075.017 km equatorial[8]
made the Moon always face Earth with the same
40 007.86 km
side.
meridional[11][n 3]
Earth, like most other bodies in the Solar System, Surface area 510 072 000 km2[12][n 4]
formed 4.5 billion years ago from gas and dust in the
Land: 148 940 000 km2
early Solar System. During the first billion years of
Water: 361 132 000 km2
Earth's history, the ocean formed and then life
developed within it. Life spread globally and has Volume 1.083 21 × 1012 km3[3]
been altering Earth's atmosphere and surface, Mass 5.972 168 × 1024 kg[13]
leading to the Great Oxidation Event two billion Mean density 5.513 g/cm3[3]
years ago. Humans emerged 300,000 years ago in
Surface gravity 9.806 65 m/s2[14]
Africa and have spread across every continent on
(exactly 1 g0)
Earth. Humans depend on Earth's biosphere and
natural resources for their survival, but have Moment of 0.3307[15]
inertia factor
increasingly impacted the planet's environment.
Humanity's current impact on Earth's climate and Escape velocity 11.186 km/s[3]
biosphere is unsustainable, threatening the Synodic rotation 1.0 d
livelihood of humans and many other forms of life, period (24h 00 m 00s)
and causing widespread extinctions.[23] Sidereal rotation 0.997 269 68 d[16]
period (23h 56 m 4.100s)
Equatorial 0.4651 km/s[17]
Etymology rotation velocity
Axial tilt 23.439 2811°[2]
The Modern English word Earth developed, via Albedo 0.367 geometric[3]
Middle English, from an Old English noun most
0.306 Bond[3]
often spelled eorðe.[24] It has cognates in every
Germanic language, and their ancestral root has Temperature 255 K (−18 °C)
been reconstructed as *erþō. In its earliest (blackbody temperature)[18]
attestation, the word eorðe was used to translate the Surface temp. min mean max
many senses of Latin terra and Greek γῆ gē: the [n 5] −89.2 °C 14.76 °C 56.7 °C
ground, its soil, dry land, the human world, the Surface 0.274 μSv/h[22]
surface of the world (including the sea), and the equivalent dose
globe itself. As with Roman Terra/Tellūs and Greek rate
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Gaia, Earth may have been a personified goddess in Absolute −3.99


Germanic paganism: late Norse mythology included magnitude (H)
Jörð ("Earth"), a giantess often given as the mother Atmosphere
of Thor.[25] Surface 101.325 kPa (at sea level)
pressure
Historically, "Earth" has been written in lowercase.
Composition by 78.08% nitrogen (dry air)
Beginning with the use of Early Middle English, its
volume 20.95% oxygen (dry air)
definite sense as "the globe" was expressed as "the
earth". By the era of Early Modern English, ≤1% water vapor (variable)
capitalization of nouns began to prevail, and the 0.9340% argon
earth was also written the Earth, particularly when 0.0415% carbon dioxide
referenced along with other heavenly bodies. More 0.00182% neon
recently, the name is sometimes simply given as
0.00052% helium
Earth, by analogy with the names of the other
planets, though "earth" and forms with "the earth" 0.00017% methane
remain common. [24] House styles now vary: Oxford 0.00011% krypton
spelling recognizes the lowercase form as the more 0.00006% hydrogen
common, with the capitalized form an acceptable Source:[3]
variant. Another convention capitalizes "Earth"
when appearing as a name, such as a description of the "Earth's atmosphere", but employs the
lowercase when it is preceded by "the", such as "the atmosphere of the earth". It almost always
appears in lowercase in colloquial expressions such as "what on earth are you doing?"[26]

The name Terra /ˈtɛrə/ occasionally is used in scientific writing and especially in science fiction to
distinguish humanity's inhabited planet from others,[27] while in poetry Tellus /ˈtɛləs/ has been
used to denote personification of the Earth.[28] Terra is also the name of the planet in some
Romance languages, languages that evolved from Latin, like Italian and Portuguese, while in other
Romance languages the word gave rise to names with slightly altered spellings, like the Spanish
Tierra and the French Terre. The Latinate form Gæa or Gaea (English: /ˈdʒiː.ə/) of the Greek poetic
name Gaia (Γαῖα; Ancient Greek: [ɡâi̯ .a] or [ɡâj.ja]) is rare, though the alternative spelling Gaia has
become common due to the Gaia hypothesis, in which case its pronunciation is /ˈɡaɪ.ə/ rather than
the more classical English /ˈɡeɪ.ə/.[29]

There are a number of adjectives for the planet Earth. The word "earthly" is derived from "Earth".
From the Latin Terra comes terran /ˈtɛrən/,[30] terrestrial /təˈrɛstriəl/,[31] and (via French)
terrene /təˈriːn/,[32] and from the Latin Tellus comes tellurian /tɛˈlʊəriən/[33] and telluric.[34]

Natural history

Formation
+0.0002
The oldest material found in the Solar System is dated to 4.5682 −0.0004 Ga (billion years) ago.[35]
By 4.54 ± 0.04 Ga the primordial Earth had formed.[36] The bodies in the Solar System formed and
evolved with the Sun. In theory, a solar nebula partitions a volume out of a molecular cloud by
gravitational collapse, which begins to spin and flatten into a circumstellar disk, and then the
planets grow out of that disk with the Sun. A nebula contains gas, ice grains, and dust (including

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primordial nuclides). According to nebular theory,


planetesimals formed by accretion, with the
primordial Earth being estimated as likely taking
anywhere from 70 to 100 million years to form.[37]

Estimates of the age of the Moon range from 4.5 Ga


to significantly younger.[38] A leading hypothesis is
that it was formed by accretion from material loosed
from Earth after a Mars-sized object with about 10%
of Earth's mass, named Theia, collided with
Earth.[39] It hit Earth with a glancing blow and some
A 2012 artistic impression of the early Solar of its mass merged with Earth.[40][41] Between
System's protoplanetary disk from which Earth approximately 4.1 and 3.8 Ga, numerous asteroid
and other Solar System bodies were formed impacts during the Late Heavy Bombardment caused
significant changes to the greater surface
environment of the Moon and, by inference, to that of
Earth.[42]

After formation
Earth's atmosphere and oceans were formed by volcanic activity and outgassing.[43] Water vapor
from these sources condensed into the oceans, augmented by water and ice from asteroids,
protoplanets, and comets.[44] Sufficient water to fill the oceans may have been on Earth since it
formed.[45] In this model, atmospheric greenhouse gases kept the oceans from freezing when the
newly forming Sun had only 70% of its current luminosity.[46] By 3.5 Ga, Earth's magnetic field
was established, which helped prevent the atmosphere from being stripped away by the solar
wind.[47]

As the molten outer layer of Earth cooled it


formed the first solid crust, which is thought to
have been mafic in composition. The first
continental crust, which was more felsic in
composition, formed by the partial melting of
this mafic crust.[49] The presence of grains of
the mineral zircon of Hadean age in Eoarchean
sedimentary rocks suggests that at least some
felsic crust existed as early as 4.4 Ga, only
Pale orange dot, an artist's impression of Early Earth, 140 Ma after Earth's formation.[50] There are
featuring its tinted orange methane-rich early two main models of how this initial small
atmosphere [48] volume of continental crust evolved to reach its
current abundance:[51] (1) a relatively steady
growth up to the present day,[52] which is
supported by the radiometric dating of continental crust globally and (2) an initial rapid growth in
the volume of continental crust during the Archean, forming the bulk of the continental crust that
now exists,[53][54] which is supported by isotopic evidence from hafnium in zircons and
neodymium in sedimentary rocks. The two models and the data that support them can be
reconciled by large-scale recycling of the continental crust, particularly during the early stages of
Earth's history.[55]

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New continental crust forms as a result of plate tectonics, a process ultimately driven by the
continuous loss of heat from Earth's interior. Over the period of hundreds of millions of years,
tectonic forces have caused areas of continental crust to group together to form supercontinents
that have subsequently broken apart. At approximately 750 Ma, one of the earliest known
supercontinents, Rodinia, began to break apart. The continents later recombined to form Pannotia
at 600–540 Ma, then finally Pangaea, which also began to break apart at 180 Ma.[56]

The most recent pattern of ice ages began about 40 Ma,[57] and then intensified during the
Pleistocene about 3 Ma.[58] High- and middle-latitude regions have since undergone repeated
cycles of glaciation and thaw, repeating about every 21,000, 41,000 and 100,000 years.[59] The
Last Glacial Period, colloquially called the "last ice age", covered large parts of the continents, to
the middle latitudes, in ice and ended about 11,700 years ago.[60]

Origin of life and evolution


Chemical reactions led to the first self-replicating molecules about four billion years ago. A half
billion years later, the last common ancestor of all current life arose.[61] The evolution of
photosynthesis allowed the Sun's energy to be harvested directly by life forms. The resultant
molecular oxygen (O2) accumulated in the atmosphere and due to interaction with ultraviolet solar
radiation, formed a protective ozone layer (O3) in the upper atmosphere.[62] The incorporation of
smaller cells within larger ones resulted in the development of complex cells called eukaryotes.[63]
True multicellular organisms formed as cells within colonies became increasingly specialized.
Aided by the absorption of harmful ultraviolet radiation by the ozone layer, life colonized Earth's
surface.[64] Among the earliest fossil evidence for life is microbial mat fossils found in 3.48 billion-
year-old sandstone in Western Australia,[65] biogenic graphite found in 3.7 billion-year-old
metasedimentary rocks in Western Greenland,[66] and remains of biotic material found in
4.1 billion-year-old rocks in Western Australia.[67][68] The earliest direct evidence of life on Earth
is contained in 3.45 billion-year-old Australian rocks showing fossils of microorganisms.[69][70]

During the
Neoproterozoic,
1000 to 539 Ma, much
of Earth might have
been covered in ice.
This hypothesis has
been termed "Snowball
Earth", and it is of
particular interest
because it preceded the
Cambrian explosion,
when multicellular life An artist's impression of the Archean, the eon after Earth's formation, featuring
forms significantly round stromatolites, which are early oxygen-producing forms of life from billions of
increased in years ago. After the Late Heavy Bombardment, Earth's crust had cooled, its water-
complexity. [72][73] rich barren surface is marked by continents and volcanoes, with the Moon still
orbiting Earth half as far as it is today, appearing 2.8 times larger and producing
Following the
strong tides.[71]
Cambrian explosion,
535 Ma, there have
been at least five major mass extinctions and many minor ones.[74] Apart from the proposed
current Holocene extinction event, the most recent was 66 Ma, when an asteroid impact triggered
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the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs and other large reptiles, but largely spared small animals
such as insects, mammals, lizards and birds. Mammalian life has diversified over the past 66 Mys,
and several million years ago, an African ape species gained the ability to stand upright.[75][76] This
facilitated tool use and encouraged communication that provided the nutrition and stimulation
needed for a larger brain, which led to the evolution of humans. The development of agriculture,
and then civilization, led to humans having an influence on Earth and the nature and quantity of
other life forms that continues to this day.[77]

Future
Earth's expected long-term future is tied to that of
the Sun. Over the next 1.1 billion years, solar
luminosity will increase by 10%, and over the next
3.5 billion years by 40%.[78] Earth's increasing
surface temperature will accelerate the inorganic
carbon cycle, possibly reducing CO2 concentration to
levels lethally low for current plants (10 ppm for C4
photosynthesis) in approximately
100–900 million years. [79][80] A lack of vegetation
would result in the loss of oxygen in the atmosphere,
Conjectured illustration of the scorched Earth
making current animal life impossible.[81] Due to the after the Sun has entered the red giant phase,
increased luminosity, Earth's mean temperature may about 5–7 billion years from now
reach 100 °C (212 °F) in 1.5 billion years, and all
ocean water will evaporate and be lost to space,
which may trigger a runaway greenhouse effect, within an estimated 1.6 to 3 billion years.[82] Even
if the Sun were stable, a fraction of the water in the modern oceans will descend to the mantle, due
to reduced steam venting from mid-ocean ridges.[82][83]

The Sun will evolve to become a red giant in about 5 billion years. Models predict that the Sun will
expand to roughly 1 AU (150 million km; 93 million mi), about 250 times its present radius.[78][84]
Earth's fate is less clear. As a red giant, the Sun will lose roughly 30% of its mass, so, without tidal
effects, Earth will move to an orbit 1.7 AU (250 million km; 160 million mi) from the Sun when the
star reaches its maximum radius, otherwise, with tidal effects, it may enter the Sun's atmosphere
and be vaporized.[78]

Physical characteristics

Size and shape


Earth has a rounded shape, through hydrostatic equilibrium,[85] with an average diameter of
12,742 kilometres (7,918 mi), making it the fifth largest planetary sized and largest terrestrial
object of the Solar System.[86]

Due to Earth's rotation it has the shape of an ellipsoid, bulging at its Equator; its diameter is 43
kilometres (27 mi) longer there than at its poles.[87][88] Earth's shape furthermore has local
topographic variations. Though the largest local variations, like the Mariana Trench (10,925 metres
or 35,843 feet below local sea level),[89] only shortens Earth's average radius by 0.17% and Mount

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Everest (8,848 metres or 29,029 feet above local sea


level) lengthens it by only 0.14%.[n 6][91] Since Earth's
surface is farthest out from Earth's center of mass at
its equatorial bulge, the summit of the volcano
Chimborazo in Ecuador (6,384.4 km or 3,967.1 mi) is
its farthest point out.[92][93] Parallel to the rigid land
topography the Ocean exhibits a more dynamic
topography.[94]

To measure the local variation of Earth's topography,


geodesy employs an idealized Earth producing a
shape called a geoid. Such a geoid shape is gained if
the ocean is idealized, covering Earth completely and
without any perturbations such as tides and winds. Earth's western hemisphere showing
The result is a smooth but gravitational irregular topography relative to Earth's center instead of
geoid surface, providing a mean sea level (MSL) as a to mean sea level, as in common topographic
reference level for topographic measurements.[95] maps

Surface
Earth's surface is the boundary between the atmosphere, and
the solid Earth and oceans. Defined in this way, it has an area
of about 510 million km2 (197 million sq mi).[12] Earth can be
divided into two hemispheres: by latitude into the polar
Northern and Southern hemispheres; or by longitude into the
continental Eastern and Western hemispheres.

Most of Earth's surface is ocean water: 70.8% or


361 million km2 (139 million sq mi).[96] This vast pool of salty
water is often called the world ocean,[97][98] and makes Earth
with its dynamic hydrosphere a water world[99][100] or ocean
world.[101][102] Indeed, in Earth's early history the ocean may A composite image of Earth, with its
have covered Earth completely. [103] The world ocean is different types of surface
discernible: Earth's surface
commonly divided into the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean,
dominating Ocean (blue), Africa with
Indian Ocean, Antarctic or Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean,
lush (green) to dry (brown) land and
from largest to smallest. The ocean covers Earth's oceanic Earth's polar ice in the form of
crust, with the shelf seas covering the shelves of the continental Antarctic sea ice (grey) covering the
crust to a lesser extent. The oceanic crust forms large oceanic Antarctic or Southern Ocean and
basins with features like abyssal plains, seamounts, submarine the Antarctic ice sheet (white)
volcanoes, [87] oceanic trenches, submarine canyons, oceanic covering Antarctica.

plateaus, and a globe-spanning mid-ocean ridge system.[104] At


Earth's polar regions, the ocean surface is covered by seasonally variable amounts of sea ice that
often connects with polar land, permafrost and ice sheets, forming polar ice caps.

Earth's land covers 29.2%, or 149 million km2 (58 million sq mi) of Earth's surface. The land
surface includes many islands around the globe, but most of the land surface is taken by the four
continental landmasses, which are (in descending order): Africa-Eurasia, America (landmass),
Antarctica, and Australia (landmass).[105][106][107] These landmasses are further broken down and
grouped into the continents. The terrain of the land surface varies greatly and consists of

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mountains, deserts, plains, plateaus, and other


landforms. The elevation of the land surface varies
from a low point of −418 m (−1,371 ft) at the Dead
Sea, to a maximum altitude of 8,848 m (29,029 ft) at
the top of Mount Everest. The mean height of land
above sea level is about 797 m (2,615 ft).[108]

Land can be covered by surface water, snow, ice,


artificial structures or vegetation. Most of Earth's
land hosts vegetation,[109] but considerable amounts
of land are ice sheets (10%,[110] not including the Relief of Earth's crust
equally large area of land under permafrost)[111] or
deserts (33%)[112]

The pedosphere is the outermost layer of Earth's land surface and is composed of soil and subject
to soil formation processes. Soil is crucial for land to be arable. Earth's total arable land is 10.7% of
the land surface, with 1.3% being permanent cropland.[113][114] Earth has an estimated
16.7 million km2 (6.4 million sq mi) of cropland and 33.5 million km2 (12.9 million sq mi) of
pastureland.[115]

The land surface and the ocean floor form the top of Earth's crust, which together with parts of the
upper mantle form Earth's lithosphere. Earth's crust may be divided into oceanic and continental
crust. Beneath the ocean-floor sediments, the oceanic crust is predominantly basaltic, while the
continental crust may include lower density materials such as granite, sediments and metamorphic
rocks.[116] Nearly 75% of the continental surfaces are covered by sedimentary rocks, although they
form about 5% of the mass of the crust.[117]

Earth's surface topography comprises both the topography of the ocean surface, and the shape of
Earth's land surface. The submarine terrain of the ocean floor has an average bathymetric depth of
4 km, and is as varied as the terrain above sea level. Earth's surface is continually being shaped by
internal plate tectonic processes including earthquakes and volcanism; by weathering and erosion
driven by ice, water, wind and temperature; and by biological processes including the growth and
decomposition of biomass into soil.[118][119]

Tectonic plates
Earth's mechanically rigid outer layer of Earth's crust and upper mantle, the lithosphere, is divided
into tectonic plates. These plates are rigid segments that move relative to each other at one of three
boundaries types: at convergent boundaries, two plates come together; at divergent boundaries,
two plates are pulled apart; and at transform boundaries, two plates slide past one another
laterally. Along these plate boundaries, earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain-building, and
oceanic trench formation can occur.[121] The tectonic plates ride on top of the asthenosphere, the
solid but less-viscous part of the upper mantle that can flow and move along with the plates.[122]

As the tectonic plates migrate, oceanic crust is subducted under the leading edges of the plates at
convergent boundaries. At the same time, the upwelling of mantle material at divergent boundaries
creates mid-ocean ridges. The combination of these processes recycles the oceanic crust back into
the mantle. Due to this recycling, most of the ocean floor is less than 100 Ma old. The oldest
oceanic crust is located in the Western Pacific and is estimated to be 200 Ma old.[123][124] By

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comparison, the oldest dated continental crust is


4,030 Ma,[125] although zircons have been found preserved as
clasts within Eoarchean sedimentary rocks that give ages up to
4,400 Ma, indicating that at least some continental crust
existed at that time.[50]

The seven major plates are the Pacific, North American,


Eurasian, African, Antarctic, Indo-Australian, and South
American. Other notable plates include the Arabian Plate, the Earth's major plates, which are:[120]
Caribbean Plate, the Nazca Plate off the west coast of South Pacific Plate ·
America and the Scotia Plate in the southern Atlantic Ocean. African Plate[n 7] ·
The Australian Plate fused with the Indian Plate between North American Plate ·
50 and 55 Ma. The fastest-moving plates are the oceanic plates, Eurasian Plate ·
with the Cocos Plate advancing at a rate of 75 mm/a
Antarctic Plate ·
(3.0 in/year)[126] and the Pacific Plate moving 52–69 mm/a
Indo-Australian Plate ·
(2.0–2.7 in/year). At the other extreme, the slowest-moving
plate is the South American Plate, progressing at a typical rate South American Plate
of 10.6 mm/a (0.42 in/year).[127]

Internal structure
Earth's interior, like that of the other terrestrial planets,
Geologic layers of Earth[128]
is divided into layers by their chemical or physical
(rheological) properties. The outer layer is a chemically
distinct silicate solid crust, which is underlain by a highly
viscous solid mantle. The crust is separated from the
mantle by the Mohorovičić discontinuity.[130] The
thickness of the crust varies from about 6 kilometres
(3.7 mi) under the oceans to 30–50 km (19–31 mi) for
the continents. The crust and the cold, rigid, top of the
Illustration of Earth's cutaway, not to scale
upper mantle are collectively known as the lithosphere,
Depth[129] Component Density
which is divided into independently moving tectonic (km) layer name (g/cm3)
plates.[131]
0–60 Lithosphere[n 8] —
Beneath the lithosphere is the asthenosphere, a relatively 0–35 Crust[n 9] 2.2–2.9
low-viscosity layer on which the lithosphere rides.
35–660 Upper mantle 3.4–4.4
Important changes in crystal structure within the mantle
occur at 410 and 660 km (250 and 410 mi) below the 660–2890 Lower mantle 3.4–5.6
surface, spanning a transition zone that separates the 100–700 Asthenosphere —
upper and lower mantle. Beneath the mantle, an 2890–5100 Outer core 9.9–12.2
extremely low viscosity liquid outer core lies above a
5100–6378 Inner core 12.8–13.1
solid inner core.[132] Earth's inner core may be rotating
at a slightly higher angular velocity than the remainder
of the planet, advancing by 0.1–0.5° per year, although both somewhat higher and much lower

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rates have also been proposed.[133]


The radius of the inner core is about one-fifth of that of Earth.
The density increases with depth. Among the Solar System's planetary-sized objects, Earth is the
object with the highest density.

Chemical composition
Earth's mass is approximately 5.97 × 1024 kg (5.970 Yg). It is composed mostly of iron (32.1% by
mass), oxygen (30.1%), silicon (15.1%), magnesium (13.9%), sulfur (2.9%), nickel (1.8%), calcium
(1.5%), and aluminium (1.4%), with the remaining 1.2% consisting of trace amounts of other
elements. Due to gravitational separation, the core is primarily composed of the denser elements:
iron (88.8%), with smaller amounts of nickel (5.8%), sulfur (4.5%), and less than 1% trace
elements.[134][49] The most common rock constituents of the crust are oxides. Over 99% of the
crust is composed of various oxides of eleven elements, principally oxides containing silicon (the
silicate minerals), aluminium, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, or sodium.[135][134]

Internal heat
The major heat-producing isotopes within Earth are
potassium-40, uranium-238, and thorium-232.[136]
At the center, the temperature may be up to 6,000 °C
(10,830 °F),[137] and the pressure could reach
360 GPa (52 million psi).[138] Because much of the
heat is provided by radioactive decay, scientists
postulate that early in Earth's history, before isotopes
with short half-lives were depleted, Earth's heat
production was much higher. At approximately
3 Gyr, twice the present-day heat would have been
produced, increasing the rates of mantle convection
A map of heat flow from Earth's interior to the
and plate tectonics, and allowing the production of
surface of Earth's crust, mostly along the
uncommon igneous rocks such as komatiites that are oceanic ridges
rarely formed today.[139][140]

The mean heat loss from Earth is 87 mW m−2, for a global heat loss of 4.42 × 1013 W.[141] A portion
of the core's thermal energy is transported toward the crust by mantle plumes, a form of
convection consisting of upwellings of higher-temperature rock. These plumes can produce
hotspots and flood basalts.[142] More of the heat in Earth is lost through plate tectonics, by mantle
upwelling associated with mid-ocean ridges. The final major mode of heat loss is through
conduction through the lithosphere, the majority of which occurs under the oceans.[143]

Gravitational field
The gravity of Earth is the acceleration that is imparted to objects due to the distribution of mass
within Earth. Near Earth's surface, gravitational acceleration is approximately 9.8 m/s2 (32 ft/s2).
Local differences in topography, geology, and deeper tectonic structure cause local and broad
regional differences in Earth's gravitational field, known as gravity anomalies.[144]

Magnetic field

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth 10/50

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