C3. The Active Earth. «The Past, Present, and Possible Future of Humanity and the Biosphere»

...under construction...
We are creatures bound to the surface of the Earth. What is it like inside?
A fairly simple metaphor describing Earth's structure: Earth as an egg
Another everyday metaphor: Earth as an onion
Here one of the methods for studying Earth's structure is shown: recording the propagation characteristics of seismic waves
Continental crust has lower density than oceanic crust
The foundation of continental crust is granite
How igneous rocks form still remains largely unclear
Since the crust floats on the mantle, it bends downward beneath mountain ranges
The cause of activity at Earth's surface is the movement of the mantle
It is precisely the movement of the mantle that causes the movement of tectonic plates. Alfred Wegener did not know about this phenomenon
The mantle moves tectonic plates. Their collision can develop according to various scenarios
One of the places on Earth where plate tectonics can be observed is Iceland
Geothermal heat makes the landscape of Iceland unusual
The San Andreas Fault is one of the most active
Life often thrives in fault zones
The cause of earthquakes lies in tectonics
The uplift of mountain ranges is also a consequence of plate tectonics
It is possible to calculate how tectonic plates will move in the future
Tectonics is closely related to volcanism
Yellowstone National Park in America is located above a supervolcano
Pieces of crust sink into the mantle
Earth's liquid core
And at the very center of the Earth lies its solid inner core