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  2. Lithosphere - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithosphere

    Lithosphere. A lithosphere (from Ancient Greek λίθος (líthos) 'rocky' and σφαίρα (sphaíra) 'sphere') is the rigid, [1] outermost rocky shell of a terrestrial planet or natural satellite. On Earth, it is composed of the crust and the lithospheric mantle, the topmost portion of the upper mantle that behaves elastically on time scales ...

  3. Lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithosphere–asthenosphere...

    Lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary. A diagram of the internal structure of Earth. The lithosphere consists of the crust and upper solid mantle (). The green dashed line marks the LAB. The lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (referred to as the LAB by geophysicists) represents a mechanical difference between layers in Earth's inner structure.

  4. Earth's crust - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth's_crust

    Earth's crust is its thick outer shell of rock, referring to less than one percent of the planet's radius and volume. It is the top component of the lithosphere, a solidified division of Earth 's layers that includes the crust and the upper part of the mantle. [1] The lithosphere is broken into tectonic plates whose motion allows heat to escape ...

  5. Foreland basin - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreland_basin

    A foreland basin is a structural basin that develops adjacent and parallel to a mountain belt. Foreland basins form because the immense mass created by crustal thickening associated with the evolution of a mountain belt causes the lithosphere to bend, by a process known as lithospheric flexure. The width and depth of the foreland basin is ...

  6. Plate tectonics - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_tectonics

    Plate tectonics (from Latin tectonicus, from Ancient Greek τεκτονικός (tektonikós) 'pertaining to building') [1] is the scientific theory that Earth 's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3–4 billion years ago. [2][3][4] The model builds on the concept of continental drift ...

  7. Lithospheric flexure - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithospheric_flexure

    Cartoon showing the isostatic vertical motions of the lithosphere (grey) in response to a vertical load (in green) In geology, lithospheric flexure (also called regional isostasy) is the process by which the lithosphere (rigid, thin outer layer of the Earth) bends under the action of forces such as the weight of a growing orogeny or changes in ice thickness related to glaciation.

  8. Internal structure of Earth - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_structure_of_Earth

    The internal structure of Earth are the layers of the Earth, excluding its atmosphere and hydrosphere. The structure consists of an outer silicate solid crust, a highly viscous asthenosphere, and solid mantle, a liquid outer core whose flow generates the Earth's magnetic field, and a solid inner core. Scientific understanding of the internal ...

  9. Climate system - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_system

    The five components of the climate system all interact. They are the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the cryosphere, the lithosphere and the biosphere. [1]: 1451 Earth's climate system is a complex system with five interacting components: the atmosphere (air), the hydrosphere (water), the cryosphere (ice and permafrost), the lithosphere (earth's upper rocky layer) and the biosphere (living things).