Earth's Interior

Flashcards covering essential vocabulary and concepts related to Earth's interior.

Seismology

The study of seismic waves to understand Earth's interior.

S waves

Seismic waves that only move through solids.

P waves

Seismic waves that travel faster than S waves and can move through both solids and liquids.

Moho

The boundary between the Earth's crust and the mantle, also known as the Mohorovicic discontinuity.

Peridotite

A dense, coarse-grained igneous rock that is the main constituent of the Earth's mantle.

Asthenosphere

The semi-fluid layer beneath the lithosphere, extending to about 410 km depth.

Lithosphere

The rigid outer layer of Earth, including the crust and upper mantle.

Geothermal Gradient

The rate at which temperature increases with depth below the Earth's surface.

Geodynamo

The process by which Earth's magnetic field is generated by the motion of conductive fluids in its outer core.

Seismic Tomography

A technique that uses seismic waves from many earthquakes to create images of Earth's interior, akin to a CT scan.