Compressional (P)

Shear (S)

Pressure waves

Moves faster

able to propogate through liquids as well as solids

Cannot travel through liquids

liquid absorbs energy

Contains 82% of earth's volume

solide, rocky layer

2 parts- asthenosphere and mesosphere

An iron rich sphere having a radius of 349 km

Larger than the planet Mars

2 parts- outer and inner core

Lithosphere

Asthenosphere

Mesosphere

Weak sphere

allow plates to move upper mantle

Beneath the lithosphere

Primarily composed of the ultramafic mineral olivine

Lower mantle

Rigid layer

Inferred to be of varieties of the mineral perovskite

Composed mostly of iron nickel alloy

behaves like a liquid

Convective flow within outer core generates earth's magnetic flow

Composed of iron nickel alloy

stronger than outer core

behaves like a solid

Continental crust

Oceanic crust

Exceeds 70 km under some mountainous regions

Overall composition comparable to the felsic igneous rock granite

From 3- 15 km thick

Composed mainly of the mafic igneous rock basalt

Invisible 3 dimensional magnetic gradient

Exerts force on charged particles and magnetic materials

Generated within the earth's core

Detectable at the earth's core, in the atmosphere, and in space

Convective currents in the liquid, metal rich outer core generate electric currents

Electric currents generate/ are paired with magnetic fields

Sum of component fields resembles a solenoid magentic field

Earth's force field that protects us from solar wind and space radiation

Extension of the Earth's magnetic field into space

Energetic electrons take sprial trajectories along magnetic force lines toward the magnetic poles

Collide with O2 and N2 molecules in the atmosphere