The inaccessible earth.

Abstract

Aimed specifically at undergraduates and their teachers. In particular, the contributions of geophysics and geochemistry have been given equal weight, and mathematics has been kept to a minimum. The inaccessible Earth traces the establishment of the Earth's layered structure and explains how its density at depth is deduced from seismic and gravitational data. Density is the prime constraint on chemical composition which is deduced also by reference to theories of stellar evolution and planetary accretion, combined with evidence from the solar spectrum and meteorites. With this information as background, the second half of the text goes on to describe the probable composition and physical state of the present-day core, mantle and crust. The thermal and gravitational sources of dynamic processes in the core and mantle, which lead to the geomagnetic dynamo and the movements of plates, are also discussed. So too is the evolution of the crust through the eons of the Earth's history. -from Publisher