Composition, components, structure and properties of the geographical envelope of the Earth

Advances in the field of seismology have given humanity more detailed knowledge about the Earth and the layers from which it consists. Each layer has its own properties, composition and characteristics, which affect the main processes occurring on the planet. The composition, structure and properties of the geographical envelope are determined by its main components.

Representations about the Earth at different times

Since ancient times, people have sought to understand the formation and composition of the Earth. The earliest assumptions were purely unscientific in nature, in the form of myths or religious fables with the participation of the gods. In the period of antiquity and the Middle Ages, several theories arose about the origin of the planet and its proper composition. The most ancient theories represented the earth in the form of a flat sphere or a cube. Already in the 6th century BC Greek philosophers began to argue that the earth is actually round and has minerals and metals in its composition. In the 16th century Edmund Halley suggested that the Earth consists of concentric spheres, and inside it is hollow. In the early 19th century, mining and the industrial revolution contributed to the rapid development of earth science. It was found that rock formations were located in order of their formation in time. Simultaneously, geologists and naturalists began to understand that the age of the fossil can be determined from the geological point of view.

Research of chemical and geological composition

The structure and properties of the geographic shell differs from the other layers in chemical and geological composition, and there are huge differences in temperature and pressure. Modern scientific understanding of the Earth's internal structure is based on inferences made with the help of seismic monitoring along with measurements of gravitational and magnetic fields. By the beginning of the 20th century, the development of radiometric dating, which is used to determine the age of minerals and rocks, made it possible to obtain more accurate data on the true age of the Earth, which is approximately 4-4.5 billion years. The development of modern methods of mining of minerals and precious metals, as well as growing attention to the importance of minerals and their natural distribution, also contributed to stimulating the development of modern geology, including knowledge of which strata are part of the geographical envelope of the earth.

Structure and properties of the geographical shell

The geosphere includes the hydrosphere, descending to about ten kilometers above sea level, the crust and part of the atmosphere, extending to a height of 30 kilometers. The largest distance of the shell varies within forty kilometers. This layer is affected by both terrestrial and cosmic processes. Substances are found in 3 physical states, and can consist of the smallest elementary particles, such as atoms, ions and molecules, and also include many additional multicomponent structures. The structure of the geographical envelope, as a rule, is considered in the form of a community of natural and social phenomena. Components of the geographical envelope are represented in the form of rocks in the earth's crust, air, water, soil and biogeocenosis.

Characteristic features of the geosphere

The structure and properties of the geographical envelope imply the presence of an important number of characteristic features. These include: integrity, circulation of matter, rhythm and constant development.

1. Integrity is determined by the results of the ongoing exchange of substances and energy, and the combination of all components connects them into one material whole, where the transformation of any of the links can lead to global changes in all others.
2. The geographic envelope is characterized by the presence of a cyclic circulation of matter, for example, atmospheric circulation and ocean surface currents. More complex processes are accompanied by a change in the aggregate composition of matter (the water cycle in nature). In other cycles there is a chemical transformation of matter or a so-called biological cycle.
3. Another feature of the shell is its rhythm, that is, the repetition in time of various processes and phenomena. It is caused mostly by the will of astronomical and geological forces. There are 24 hour rhythms (change of day and night), annual rhythms (change of seasons), rhythms occurring during the century (for example, 30-year cycles in which there are fluctuations in climate, glaciers, lake levels and river volumes). There are even rhythms that occur over the centuries (for example, the alternation of the phase of a cool and humid climate with a hot and dry phase, occurring once every 1800-1900 years). Geological rhythms can last from 200 to 240 million years and so on.
4. The structure and properties of the geographical envelope are directly related to the continuity of development.

Continuous development

There are some results and features of continuous development. First, there is a local division of continents, oceans and the seabed. This distinction is influenced by spatial features of the geographical structure, including geographical and altitudinal zoning. Secondly, there is a polar asymmetry, manifested in the presence of significant differences in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. This is manifested, for example, in the distribution of continents and oceans, climatic belts, composition of flora and fauna, types and forms of reliefs and landscapes. Thirdly, development in the geosphere is inextricably linked with spatial and natural heterogeneity. This, in the long run, leads to the fact that different levels of the evolutionary process can be observed simultaneously in different regions. For example, the ancient glacial period in different parts of the earth began and ended at different times. In certain natural areas, the climate becomes more humid, while in others a completely opposite picture is observed.

Lithosphere

The structure of the geographical envelope includes such a component as the lithosphere. This is a solid, outer part of the earth, extending to a depth of about 100 kilometers. This layer includes the bark and the upper part of the mantle. The most durable and hard layer of the Earth is associated with such a concept as tectonic activity. The lithosphere is divided into 15 large lithospheric plates: North American, Caribbean, South American, Scottish, Antarctic, Eurasian, Arabian, African, Indian, Philippine, Australian, Pacific, Juan de Fuca, Coco and Nazca. The composition of the geographic envelope of the Earth in these areas is characterized by the presence of various types of rocks of the lithospheric crust and mantle. The lithospheric crust is characterized by a continental gneiss and an oceanic gabbro. Below this boundary, in the upper layers of the mantle, peridotite occurs, the rocks mainly consist of minerals of olivine and pyroxene.

Interaction of components

The geographical envelope includes four natural geospheres: lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere. Water evaporates from the seas and oceans, the winds move the air currents to the land, precipitation forms and falls out there, which return to the world ocean in various ways. The biological cycle of the vegetable kingdom is the transformation of the inorganic into organic matter. After the death of living organisms, organic substances return to the earth's crust, transforming gradually into inorganic ones.

The most important properties

Geographic shell properties:

1. The ability to accumulate and convert the energy of sunlight.
2. The presence of free energy, necessary for a large number of diverse natural processes.
3. A unique ability to produce biological diversity and serve as a natural environment for life.
4. The properties of the geographical envelope include a huge variety of chemical elements.
5. Energy comes from both the cosmos and from the depths of the earth.

The uniqueness of the geographical envelope lies in the fact that at the junction of the lithosphere, the atmosphere and the hydrosphere, organic life has arisen. It is here that the entire human society has emerged and is developing, using the necessary resources for its life. The geographic envelope covers the entire planet, therefore it is called a planetary complex, which includes rocks in the crust, air and water, soil and enormous biological diversity.