Structure of the Earth Flashcards

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering the different layers of the Earth, their physical properties, and significant human drilling achievements.

Z-44 Chayvo well

The deepest well on Earth (as of 2023) finished by Exxon Neftegas in 2012, reaching a total depth of $12376\,m$.

Kola Superdeep Borehole

A borehole in western Russia that remains the deepest in terms of true vertical depth; drilling stopped in 1992 when temperatures reached $180\,^\circ C$.

Crust

The thinnest and coolest outside layer of the Earth, approximately $40\,km$ thick, made of solid rock and broken into tectonic plates.

Mantle

The thickest layer of the Earth, $2900\,km$ thick, made of semi-solid rock that accounts for 84% of the Earth's total volume.

Outer Core

A liquid layer of molten iron and nickel, approximately $2200\,km$ to $2260\,km$ thick, responsible for the Earth's magnetic field.

Inner Core

A solid ball made of mostly iron and nickel at the center of the Earth, $1200\,km$ thick and reaching temperatures up to $6400\,^\circ C$.

Continental Crust

One of the two types of Earth's crust that has different properties compared to the oceanic crust.

Oceanic Crust

One of the two types of Earth's crust that makes up the solid rock layer beneath the oceans.

Convection Currents

The movement within the mantle caused by heat that leads to the movement of tectonic plates.

Tectonic Plates

Large segments of the Earth's solid rock crust that break it up and move on the mantle.

Exxon Neftegas

The company responsible for finishing the Z-44 Chayvo well in 2012.

Burj Khalifa

The world's tallest skyscraper, used as a comparison for the Z-44 Chayvo well which is 15 times its height.

84%

The percentage of the Earth's total volume that is composed of the mantle.

10 to 20 metres

The approximate depth through the crust that the effects of weather, the Sun, and the seasons can reach.

Magnetic Field

Controlled by the constant movement of the liquid outer core around the inner core.

Semi-solid Rock

The material state of the mantle, allowing it to move in large convection cells.

Iron and Nickel

The two primary metals that compose both the inner and outer cores of the Earth.

$$5200\,^\circ C$$

One of the recorded temperatures the inner core can reach at the Earth's center.

$$4000-6000\,^\circ C$$

The temperature range provided for the very hot liquid outer core.

One third

The fraction of the crust's thickness that the deepest well (Z-44 Chayvo) managed to penetrate.