Geología General

Silvia Rosas

(b)

(a)

(d)
(c)
(a) nebula begins to contract. (b) As a result of
A diffuse, roughly spherical, slowly rotating

rotating disk forms with matter concentrated at the center that

contraction and rotation, a flat, rapidly

will become the proto-Sun. (c) The enveloping disk of gas and dust forms grains that collide and

clump together into small chunks, or planetesimals. (d) The terrestrial planets build up by
multiple collisions and accretion of planetesimals by gravitational attraction. Accretion of gas by the giant outer planets is
now shown (from Press & Siever 2000, Tarbuck &Lutgens 2000 and Grotzinger et al. 2007). Geología General, S. Rosas

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 Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars – are closest to the Sun and are small and
The four inner planets –
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune – and their satellites are
rocky. The four giant outer planets –
mostly gaseous with rocky cores. The outermost planet (?) Pluto, is a snowball of methane, water, and rock. The
upper panel shows the planetary orbits drawn roughly to scale; the distance from Pluto to the Sun averages about 5.9
billion kilometers. The lower panel shows the relative sizes of the planets and the asteroid belt separating the inner and
outer planets (from Press & Siever 2000 and Grotzinger et al. 2007). Geología General, S. Rosas

Computer simulation of the Origin of the Moon by the impact of a Mars-sized

body on Earth (de Grotzinger et al. 2007). Geología General, S. Rosas

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 (a) (b) (c)

Early Earth (a) was probably a homogeneous mixture with no continents or

oceans. In the process of differentiation, iron sank to the center and light
material floated upward to form a crust (b). As a result, Earth is a
zoned planet (c) with a dense iron core, a crust of light rock, and a residual mantle
between them (from Press & Siever 2000).

Geología General, S. Rosas

estructura en capas de la
Visión de la
tierra (A) El núcleo interno, el
núcleo externo y el manto están
dibujados a escala pero el grosor de la corteza se
ha exagerado en unas cinco veces.
(B) Ampliación de la
corteza
externa de la
tierra. Muestra los
dos tipos de corteza
(oceánica y
continental), la
litósfera rígida y la
astenósfera blanda
(de Tarbuck y
Lutgens 2000).

Geología General, S. Rosas

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 An example of interacting
components of the Earth system.
Volcanic activity has contributed
enormous amounts of water,
carbon dioxide, and other gases
to the atmosphere and oceans
and solid materials to the
continents. Photosynthesis by
plants removed carbon dioxide
and added oxygen to the
primitive atmosphere. Hydrogen,
because it is light, easily escapes
into space (from Press & Siever
2000 and Grotzinger et al. 2007).

Geología General, S. Rosas

lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and

Earth’s
biosphere are linked. Driven by solar energy and
Earth’s internal heat, matter and energy cycle through them
and determine weather, influence the formation and modification of
rocks, and affect all living organisms (from Press & Siever 2000). Geología General, S. Rosas

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Earth’s outermost shell is the strong, solid lithosphere, composed of the crust
and top of the mantle. It rides on the weak, partly molten region of the mantle
called the asthenosphere. Layer thickness not to scale. Ocean depth and ocean crust
are about 5 km. Continental crust ranges from about 40 to 60 km. Lithosphere ranges from
about 100 to at least 200 km (from Press & Siever 2000).

Geología General, S. Rosas

Earth’s plates today. This flattened view of Earth’s land and undersea topography shows
plate boundaries, where plates separate ( ), collide ( ), or slide past each other
( ). Note that plates and continents are not identical. The South American Plate, for
example, is more extensive than the landmass that is the South American continent (from
Tarbuck & Lutgens 2000 and Press & Siever 2000). Geología General, S. Rosas

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 (a) (b)

(a) a divergent boundary, where plates A and

The three types of plate bundaries:
B separate, and a convergent boundary, where plates B and C collide; (b) a
transform fault boundary, where plates A and B slip past each other (from Press
& Siever 2000).

Geología General, S. Rosas

Geología General, S. Rosas

Plate motion away from a divergent boundary toward a

convergent boundary, with associated geologic activity.
The lithosphere grows at the spreading center,
accompanied by volcanism and earthquakes, and is
consumed by subduction at the convergent boundary.
Many geologic processes take place along a convergent boundary – the creation and
upwelling of magma, volcanism, mountain building, creation of a deep-sea trench, and
earthquakes. This representation is not to scale. The distance from a divergent to a
convergent boundary can be hundreds to thousands of kilometers. The vertical dimension
of continental features has been exaggerated to show detail (from Press & Siever 2000).

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Earth’s plates today. This flattened view of Earth’s land and undersea topography shows
plate boundaries, where plates separate ( ), collide ( ), or slide past each other
( ). Note that plates and continents are not identical. The South American Plate, for
example, is more extensive than the landmass that is the South American continent (from
Press & Siever 2000). Geología General, S. Rosas

The supercontinent Pangaea (“all lands”). Our current understanding of plate

motions on Earth leads us to believe that the geography of the world may have been
different 200 million years ago. At that time, all of the continents were probably
joined together as a single supercontinent, as shown here (from Press & Siever 2000).

Geología General, S. Rosas