We explain what they are and what are the natural components of the Earth. How they are distributed in the different layers of the planet.
The natural components of the Earth
The natural components of the Earth are the original chemical materials that make up the planet Earth, in whose presence, distribution and abundance the hand of man did not intervene.
Is about chemical elements and their combinations, mostly in solid state or liquid, since ours is a rocky planet. In this the Earth differs from the great planets fizzy like Jupiter or Saturn.
In fact, our planet is the largest, densest, and most massive of the rocky planets in the world. Solar system, with the greatest attraction gravitational, the oldest magnetic field and the speed of rotation highest.
It also emphasizes that it is the only planet on which it exists, that we know of, Water in a liquid state, and therefore familiar life forms: plants, animals, microbiotics and fungi. They all constitute the biome planetarium and are, in their own way, a natural component of it.
However, strictly related to what the Earth is made of, we can identify the following main elements:
- Iron (32.1%)
- Oxygen (30.1%)
- Silicon (15.1%)
- Magnesium (13.9%)
- Sulfur (2.9%)
- Nickel (1,8%)
- Calcium (1.5%)
- Aluminum (1.2%)
- Other minority elements (1.2%)
On the other hand, these elements are not evenly distributed inside our planet. On the contrary, they are distributed in different proportions between the Earth crust, the Earth's mantle and the Earth's core, which are the three great internal regions of the Earth.
As one enters its depths, in fact, the constitution becomes more homogeneous, until reaching the nucleus, composed almost entirely of iron (88.8%), with small amounts of nickel (5.8%), sulfur (4.5%) and less than 1% of other heavy elements.
In the crust, on the other hand, it is estimated that 47% of the planetary surface is made up of oxygen. For this reason, almost all the minerals that we find excavating in their upper layers are some type of oxides: silica (SiO2), alumina (Al2O3), lime (CaO), magnesia (MgO), potash (KOH), soda (NaCO3) oxide phosphorus (P2O5), titanium oxide (TiO2), iron oxide (FeO), etc.
On the other hand, water is an omnipresent compound on the earth's surface and in the upper layers of the planet. Due to the water cycle, is in shape liquid (oceans, lakes, rivers and underground deposits, being 97.5% salt water), solid (ice, snow and glaciers, which is 69% of the world's fresh water) and soda (such as water steam on the atmosphere).