Jami Henley
The Lithosphere
The area near the Earth can be divided into four interconnected “geo-spheres”,
one being the lithosphere. The lithosphere is the solid, rocky crust covering our entire
planet. The term lithosphere comes from the Greek word lithos, meaning rock. This upper
rigid layer of the Earth consists of the crust and the upper layer of the mantle. The crust is
inorganic and composed of many minerals (http://www.houseandhome.org/lithospherefacts).
The lithosphere is broken into giant puzzle pieces. These pieces move a little each
year as they slide on top of the asthenosphere, which causes earthquakes. It was actually
discovered by listening to the movement of the Earth’s crust through earthquakes, which
is called seismology. Scientists learned that the top of the mantle is just as rigid as the
crust (http://informsciencenetwork.com/geology/facts-lithosphere-4400565a).
There are two types of the lithosphere, the oceanic lithosphere and the continental
lithosphere. The oceanic lithosphere is associated with oceanic crust and exists in the
ocean basins. The oceanic crust is composed of mafic rocks or sima, which is rich in
magnesium. It is simpler than the continental crust and can be divided into three layers.
The continental lithosphere is associated with the continental crust. The continental crust
is the layer of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, which forms the continents
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithosphere).
The fact that the lithosphere comprises a significant part of the upper mantle has
an important effect on its rheology.
The lithosphere covers the Earth from the top of Mount Everest to the bottom of the
Mariana Trench. It is very important to the rock cycle
(http://www.universetoday.com/33148/lithosphere/).
References:
Barns, Johnathan. "Lithosphere Facts." House and Home. N.p., 14 March 2010.
Web. 22 Jan 2012. <http://www.houseandhome.org/lithosphere-facts>.
PAUL HANCOCK and BRIAN J. SKINNER. "lithosphere." The Oxford
Companion to the Earth. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 22 Jan. 2012
<http://www.encyclopedia.com>.
. "Facts about the Lithosphere." Inform Science . N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan 2012.
<http://informsciencenetwork.com/geology/facts-lithosphere-4400565a>.
. "Lithosphere ." . N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan 2012.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithosphere>.
Adams , James. "The lithosphere ." . N.p., 12 September 2009. Web. 22 Jan 2012.
<http://www.universetoday.com/33148/lithosphere/)>.