STUDY OF INTERIOR OF EARTH

SEISMOLOGY: It is a branch of geophysics that deals with the study of elastic or seismic
waves generated within the earth during earthquake.
In every earthquake elastic waves of three main types are generated at the focus of the
earthquake. These are named as P-waves, S-waves and L-waves. P waves are Primary waves, S
waves are Shear waves and L waves are Love waves. The P and S waves travel through the body
of the earth and hence distinguished as body waves. The L-waves are confined mostly to near the
surface of earth and hence they are called surface waves. The seismic waves travel in all
direction from the focus.
The three types of waves are recorded during each earthquake in a definite sequence. The waves
travel with characteristic velocities through different media, so that from their arrival times many
important conclusions can be drawn regarding the nature of materials lying in their paths.
The interpretation of internal structure of earth from the study of seismic waves is based on
detection of abrupt changes in the velocity of P and S waves during their travel. A major change
in the velocities of seismic waves at some specific depths below the surface in numerous records
can be taken to mean there is a change in the nature of material at that particular depth. Such
major change in velocities of seismic waves is called seismic discontinuity. The two most
significant discontinuities are Mohorovicic discontinuity and Mantle- Core discontinuity.
Mohorovicic discontinuity: This is the first major discontinuity that marks the lower limit of
crust. It is observed that both P and S waves undergo a sharp increase in their velocities when
they reach this depth. It occurs at 30-40 Km below the continents, 5-6 Km below the oceans and
60-70 Km below the mountains. This layer demarcates the boundary between crust and mantle.
Mantle - Core discontinuity: The seismic waves that cross the mohorovicic discontinuity
continue to travel downwards with almost uniform increase in their velocities as density is
expected to increase with depth. At a depth 2900 Km below the surface, there is another major
discontinuity where P waves become sluggish and suffer a decrease in their velocities, while, S
waves are stopped from travelling further. This discontinuity demarcates the boundary between
the mantle and the core.

The final picture developed of the internal structure of Earth has three zones or shells namely,
The Crust, the Mantle and the Core.

THE CRUST
It is the uppermost layer of the earth that extends to variable depth below the mountain (75km),
continents (35km) and ocean (5km). The mohorovicic discontinuity marks the lower boundary of
the crust. Study of seismic wave reveals following details about thickness if the crust
The continental crust is further distinguished into three layers A.B and C.
The A layer or upper layer
Thickness of the layer is betwwen2-10km
It is mostly made up of sedimentary rocks
The p waves velocities range from 1.8 to 5.0 km/sec.
The B layer or middle layer
The thickens of the layer 20km or more
The layer also called as granite layer and is made of granites and gneisses.
B layer of the crust is exposed on the surface because the overlying layer could have been
removed due to prolonged erosion by weathering agents. The granite is mostly made up of
silicate of aluminum and potassium; it is also called as SIAL (Si- silica, Al Alumina)
The velocity the P waves 5 to 6.2 km/sec
C layer or lower layer
The thickness of the layers varies from 25 to 49 km under the continents.
P waves velocity is 6 to 7.6 km/sec
This layer is also called as basaltic layer. It is made up of predominantly basic minerals and
hence named as SIMA (si- silica ma; Magnesium)
The oceanic crust

It is an extension of C layer.
A and B layers being practically absent.
THE MANTLE
It is the second concentric shell of the earth that lies beneath the crust. The depth of the mantle is
approximately 2900km.
The mantle is the thick layer of hot, solid rock between the Earth's crust and the molten iron core.
It makes up the bulk of the Earth, accounting for two-thirds of the planet's mass. The high
temperatures within the mantle cause the silicate material to be sufficiently ductile such that it
can flow on very long timescales. Convection of the mantle is expressed at the surface through
the motions of tectonic plates. It has been subdivided into and upper and lower mantle.
Upper mantle
Lithosphere- this is the weak spot in the upper mantle that allows for intrusion and the shifting of
plate
Lower mantle
The lower mantle extends from 670 to 2900km. The asthenosphere lies below the lithosphere and
represent rock close to its melting point.
THE CORE
It is the inner most concentric shell of the Earth. The core boundary begins at depth of 2900km
from the surface and extends to the center of the earth of 6371 km.
It can be distinguished into two distinct zones the outer core and inner core.

Outer Core:
The outer core comprises the region from a depth of 2900km to 4580km below the earth surface
and behaves more like a liquid. S waves from the earthquake shocks reaching the outer core are
not transmitted though this zone. (S waves cannot travel through liquids).
Inner Core:
The inner core has a thickness of around 1790km and is believed to be a solid metallic body.
The chemical composition of the inner core is chiefly of iron and nickel.