When.com Web Search

Search results

  1. Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
  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. 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.

  5. 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 ...

  6. Delamination (geology) - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delamination_(geology)

    Geologic effects. Delamination of the lithosphere has two major geologic effects. First, because a large portion of dense material is removed, the remaining portion of the crust and lithosphere undergo rapid uplift to form mountain ranges. Second, flow of hot mantle material encounters the base of the thin lithosphere and often results in ...

  7. Tectonics - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tectonics

    Extensional tectonics is associated with the stretching and thinning of the crust or the lithosphere.This type of tectonics is found at divergent plate boundaries, in continental rifts, during and after a period of continental collision caused by the lateral spreading of the thickened crust formed, at releasing bends in strike-slip faults, in back-arc basins, and on the continental end of ...

  8. 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 ...

  9. 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 ...