Lithosphere/rocks

Table 8.1 shows the general distribution of water masses in the hydrosphere. Although H2O occurs mainly in oceans, 19% of the earth s H2O mass is still trapped in lithospheric rocks. A nonnegligible H2O mass (about 1%) is also fixed in crystalline form as ice. 

In the case of solid substances the reference species is often set at the most stable solid compounds in lithospheric rocks. For example, metallic iron is most stable in the form of its oxides. The standard chemical exergy of metallic iron can then be obtained from the standard affinity Aaf of the formation of iron oxide, Fe +0.75O2 = 0.5Fe2O3 A° = e e + 0.75s 2 - 0.5 pe2Oj and = 0 hence e°c = A° -0.75e° . Table 10.3 shows the standard molar chemical exergy of a few substances relative to the solid reference species in the lithosphere at the standard temperature and pressure. 

The weight G is calculated during modeling for every time step. The density of lithospheric rocks pi(Z,t) is a function of temperature T(Z,f) and pressure P(Z,t) ... 

The phenomena described above are parts of the tectonic cycle, a geological cycle that describes how tectonic plates move relative to each other, magma rises to form new solid rocks, and solid lithospheric rocks sink to become melted, thus forming new magma. The tectonic cycle is illustrated in Figure 17.2. 

The outer shell of the earth, consisting of the upper mantle and the crust (Figure I4. lO), is formed of a number of rigid plates. These plates are 20 in number and are shown in Figure 14.1 I. Of these, six or seven are major plates, as can be seen in the map. The edges of these plates define their boundaries and the arrows indicate the direction of their movement. These plates contain the continents, oceans and mountains. They almost float on the partially molten rock and metal of the mantle. The outer shell, known as the lithosphere, is about 70 to 1,50 km thick. It has already moved great distances below the etirth s surface, ever since the earth was formed and is believed to be in slow and continuous motion all the time. The plates slide on the molten mantle and move about lO to 100 mm a year in the direction shown by the arrows. The movement of plates is believed to be the cause of continental drifts, the formation of ocean basins and mountains and also the consequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. 

Tatsumi Y, Hamilton DL, Nesbitt RW, (1986) Chemical characteristics of fluid phase released from a subducted lithosphere and origin of arc magmas evidence from high-pressure experiments and natural rocks. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 29 293-309... 

The course taken by any particular fossilization process is, therefore, determined by the physical and chemical factors prevalent in the environment of the dead remains. The physical factors include temperature, degree of aeration, and rate of flow of groundwater. The nature of minerals and rocks, and of the groundwater at the site of burial, are the most important chemical factors. Reconstructing and explaining the processes undergone by dead remains, from the time of death to when they are fully fossilized, is the concern of taphonomy, the study of the processes taking place when dead remains pass from the biosphere to the lithosphere (see Textbox 69). 

E. L. Shock (1990) provides a different interpretation of these results he criticizes that the redox state of the reaction mixture was not checked in the Miller/Bada experiments. Shock also states that simple thermodynamic calculations show that the Miller/Bada theory does not stand up. To use terms like instability and decomposition is not correct when chemical compounds (here amino acids) are present in aqueous solution under extreme conditions and are aiming at a metastable equilibrium. Shock considers that oxidized and metastable carbon and nitrogen compounds are of greater importance in hydrothermal systems than are reduced compounds. In the interior of the Earth, CO2 and N2 are in stable redox equilibrium with substances such as amino acids and carboxylic acids, while reduced compounds such as CH4 and NH3 are not. The explanation lies in the oxidation state of the lithosphere. Shock considers the two mineral systems FMQ and PPM discussed above as particularly important for the system seawater/basalt rock. The FMQ system acts as a buffer in the oceanic crust. At depths of around 1.3 km, the PPM system probably becomes active, i.e., N2 and CO2 are the dominant species in stable equilibrium conditions at temperatures above 548 K. When the temperature of hydrothermal solutions falls (below about 548 K), they probably pass through a stability field in which CH4 and NII3 predominate. If kinetic factors block the achievement of equilibrium, metastable compounds such as alkanes, carboxylic acids, alkyl benzenes and amino acids are formed between 423 and 293 K. 

Zinc is the 24th most abundant element in the earth s crust. The Zn concentration in the lithosphere is 50-70 mg/kg (Vinogradoc, 1959 Adriano, 2001). Basic igneous rocks contain higher Zn (70-130 mg/kg) than metamorphic and sedimentary rocks (80 mg/kg). Carbonate and limestones contain low Zn (16-20 mg/kg) (Aubert and Pinta, 1977). The total Zn concentration in the soils of the world ranges from 10 to 300 mg/kg (Swaine, 1955), with average concentrations from 50 to 100 mg/kg (Aubert and Pinta, 1977). Arid and semi-arid soils vary from trace levels (subdesert soils) to 900 mg/kg (saline alkali soils) (Aubert and Pinta, 1977). The average Zn concentration in the arid and semi-arid soils of the U.S. (62.9 mg/kg) is... 

Copper is found in the rocks and minerals of the earth s crust, occurring usually as sulfides and oxides, and sometimes as metallic copper (USEPA 1980). The mean concentration of copper in the upper lithosphere ranges from 70 to 100 mg/kg, ranking 14th among the trace elements in this... 

Xenoliths from Siberian continental lithosphere, with Archean model ages, had b Li as low as +0.5 (Eouman et al. 2000). If these values accurately represent the Archean mantle, they suggest the potential for Li isotopic evolution in the Earth, from lighter compositions in the ancient mantle to what is seen in present-day MORE. In spite of the analytical challenges presented by ultramafic rocks, more data from these materials are crucial to an understanding of Li in the mantle, and in resolving questions about the appropriateness of the accepted MORE mantle range. 

Hydrosphere The water porUon of the earth, as distinguished from the solid (lithosphere) and gaseous (atmosphere) parts. This includes water in lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, glaciers, icebergs, the ocean, pore waters, and that which is trapped in crustal rocks. 

Geosphere is used here analogous to lithosphere as the rocky outer crust of the earth (the sedimentary and igneous rock record). 

---