Lesson 1Primary reference sources and where to extract real data: recommended textbooks, review papers, and institutional data repositories (e.g., USGS, IRIS, DOI links)This part guides you to reliable data sources on Earth composition and structure. It points out key textbooks, review papers, and institutional repositories, and shares tips for accessing, citing, and keeping quantitative datasets up to date.
Core textbooks on Earth structure and compositionKey review papers and classic reference modelsUSGS, IRIS, and other institutional portalsUsing DOIs and citation practices for datasetsDownloading, formatting, and documenting dataLesson 2Physical states and rheology: solids, partially molten zones, liquid outer core, solid inner core; factors controlling phase (pressure, temperature, composition)This part discusses physical states and flow behaviour across Earth's interior, from brittle crust to ductile mantle and liquid core. You'll link phases to pressure, temperature, composition, and gases, and look at partially molten and weak zones.
Elastic, brittle, and ductile deformation regimesAsthenosphere and low-velocity zonesPartial melt generation and segregationViscosity controls: T, P, grain size, and fluidsRheology of the liquid outer core and solid inner coreLesson 3Outer core composition: Fe-Ni alloy with light elements (S, O, Si, C, H); measured constraints from seismology and cosmochemistryThis part checks outer core composition as a liquid Fe–Ni alloy with light elements. You'll combine seismology, density shortfalls, and space chemistry arguments to assess possible components and their effects on the geodynamo.
Seismic evidence for a liquid metallic outer coreDensity deficit relative to pure liquid ironCandidate light elements: S, O, Si, C, and HCosmochemical and experimental constraintsImplications for convection and the geodynamoLesson 4Typical densities and density ranges: average values for continental crust, oceanic crust, upper/lower mantle, outer core, inner core with sources (kg/m^3)This part shows typical density ranges for main Earth layers and explains how they're figured out. You'll connect density to composition, pressure, and mineral phases, and learn to use reference models and tables for calculations.
Densities of continental and oceanic crustUpper and lower mantle density structureOuter and inner core density estimatesMethods: seismology, gravity, and mineral physicsUsing PREM and similar reference Earth modelsLesson 5Mantle composition: peridotite end-members (olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, garnet); major elements (Mg, Fe, Si, O) and trace elementsThis part analyses mantle mineralogy led by peridotite, focusing on olivine, pyroxenes, and garnet. You'll link major and trace element chemistry to phase stability, melting behaviour, and geophysical signs of mantle structure.
Olivine structure, chemistry, and stability fieldOrthopyroxene and clinopyroxene in mantle rocksGarnet versus spinel facies in the upper mantleMajor element budgets: Mg, Fe, Si, and OTrace elements and mantle melting signaturesLesson 6Bulk elemental abundances of Earth: Fe, O, Si, Mg, S, Ni, Al, Ca; source datasets and where to find themThis part reviews bulk Earth elemental abundances, highlighting Fe, O, Si, Mg, and other main parts. You'll learn how estimates come from chondrites, mantle samples, and models, and practise finding and reading global compositional data.
Chondritic reference models for bulk EarthPartitioning of Fe, Ni, and siderophile elementsSilicate Earth versus total Earth compositionGlobal budgets of O, Si, Mg, and volatile SUsing published compilations and online databasesLesson 7Inner core composition: predominantly Fe-Ni with possible light-element admixture; crystallinity and seismic constraintsThis part explores inner core composition led by Fe–Ni alloy, possible light elements, and crystal structure. You'll check seismic limits, anisotropy, and phase relations, and weigh up models for inner core growth and layering.
Fe–Ni alloy and candidate light elementsSeismic velocities, anisotropy, and layeringSolidification, latent heat, and core growthCrystal structure: bcc, hcp, and phase relationsConstraints from high-pressure laboratory experimentsLesson 8Crust composition: continental vs oceanic; major oxides (SiO2, Al2O3, FeO, CaO, Na2O, K2O, MgO) and typical minerals (feldspars, quartz, mica, pyroxene, olivine)This part compares continental and oceanic crust compositions, stressing major oxides, standard mineralogy, and tectonic settings. You'll read whole-rock data, link oxides to minerals, and contrast felsic, intermediate, and mafic crustal areas.
Average continental crustal oxide compositionAverage oceanic crust and mid-ocean ridge basaltsLinking oxides to minerals: quartz and feldsparsMafic versus felsic crustal sections and layeringCrustal evolution through magmatism and recycling
