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Tag: Earth

Accurate and accessible science graphics, including illustration and data visualisation, of our lovely planet Earth. Dive into observations and models of the Earth to learn more about, understand, and appreciate it as our one home.

Earth Internal Heat Flow

Earth’s internal heat flow from the core, mantle and crust to the surface through conduction, convection, and advection.




Earth’s internal heat flow and its sources and transfer modes. Estimates of the total heat flow from Earth’s interior to the surface range from 43 to 49 terawatts (TW), with a commonly cited value of ~46 TW. Earth’s heat originates from a combination of radiogenic heat produced by radioactive decay (estimated 15–41 TW) and primordial heat left from planetary formation and core crystallisation (estimated 12–30 TW). Apart from conduction through the solid inner core, the Earth’s heat loss drives convection in the outer core as well as mantle convection, enabling solid-state flow in the mantle, which includes plate tectonics at the surface. Through the crust, heat transfers via conduction and even advection (through magma channels in, e.g., volcanoes).

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Magnetic Seafloor Anomalies

Global map of magnetic anomalies imprinted onto the seafloor of the Earth in form of characteristic stripes and other patterns.


Global map of magnetic anomalies imprinted onto the seafloor of the Earth in form of characteristic magnetic stripes and other patterns. The magnetic anomalies are not only observable on the seafloor, but also provide insight into the subsurface structure and composition of the Earth’s crust. Anomalies trending parallel to the isochrons (lines of equal plate age) in the oceans reveal the temporal growth of oceanic plate and crust: seafloor spreading.

Ever so often the Earth’s magnetic field flips its polarity in an occurrence called a geomagnetic reversal. These reversals throughout Earth’s history are recorded in solidifying rocks, such as in the ones making up the growing oceanic crust at mid-oceanic ridges. The successive bands of ocean floor representing alternating magnetic polarity parallel with mid-ocean ridges was important evidence for seafloor spreading, the concept central to the acceptance of the early theory of plate tectonics.

The data plotted is from the global Earth Magnetic Anomaly Grid (EMAG2) and was compiled from satellite, ship and airborne magnetic measurements.

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Pangea

Reconstruction of the supercontinent Pangea (or Pangaea) that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras.

Reconstruction of the supercontinent Pangea (or Pangaea) that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. During the Carboniferous approximately 335 Million years ago, Pangea assembled from the earlier continental fragments of Gondwana, Euramerica, and Siberia, and started to break apart about 200 Million years ago, at the end of the Triassic and beginning of the Jurassic. Pangea extended between Earth’s northern and southern polar regions and was surrounded by the Panthalassa Ocean and the Paleo-Tethys and subsequent Tethys Oceans. Pangea is the most recent supercontinent to have existed and the first that was reconstructed by geoscientists.

Here shown is not only the position of the continents, but also the reconstruction of the Earth’s surface paleotopography and paleobathymetry from Scotese & Wright (2018) paleo-digital elevation model (PaleoDEMS). The Scientific colour map ‘bukavu‘ is used to represent data accurately and to all readers.

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Earthquake distribution map (poster)

Global map of seismicity showing the distribution of large 5.8+ magnitude historic earthquakes derived from seismic wave measurements.

Global map of seismicity showing the distribution of large 5.8+ magnitude historic earthquakes derived from seismic wave measurements after the compilation by Hayes (2018). Shown are individual epicentres coloured by depth. For individual earthquake maps see: s-ink.org/historic-earthquake-distribution .

The Scientific colour map ‘oslo‘ is used to represent earthquake depth accurately and to all readers.

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Global Moho depth

Global maps of the Mohorovičić discontinuity, i.e., the Moho depth, across the Earth based on ESA’s satellite observations and the project GEMMA.

Global maps of the Mohorovičić (Moho) discontinuity across the Earth based on observations by ESA’s GOCE gravity satellite and the GEMMA project. While the Moho depth is relatively constant below sea floor, it varies by more than 70 km below continental plates. The Moho is the boundary between the Earth’s crust and its mantle. It is defined by an abrupt density variation of rock causing a change in velocity of seismic waves as they pass through the discontinuity. The Scientific colour map ‘tokyo‘ is used to represent the Moho depth data accurately and to all readers.

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Dynamic Earth (animation)

Earth’s surface elevation and mantle density animated through space and time.

Earth’s surface elevation and mantle density animated through space and time. The Cenozoic (66 – 0 Ma) paleogeography and paleo mantle density anomalies are from Straume et al. (2024). The present day topography is from https://www.gebco.net, while the mantle density anomalies are converted from relative seismic shear wave velocities (SMEAN2; Jackson et al., 2017). The Scientific colour maps ‘oleron‘ and ‘vik‘ are used to represent data accurately and to all readers.

  • Creator: Eivind O. Straume
  • This version: 20.02.2024
  • License: Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)
  • Specific citation: These animations by Eivind Straume based on Straume et al. (2024) are available via the open-access s-ink.org repository.
  • Related reference: Straume, E. O., Steinberger, B., Becker, T. W., & Faccenna, C. (2024). Impact of mantle convection and dynamic topography on the Cenozoic paleogeography of Central Eurasia and the West Siberian Seaway. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 630, 118615. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2024.118615

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Planetary body sizes

Artistic compilation of the sun, planets, dwarf planets, and the largest moons of our solar system. All planetary radii are to scale.

Artistic compilation of planetary bodies, including the sun, and the planets, dwarf planets, and the largest moons of our solar system. All planetary radii are to scale. Shown are the sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth with the Moon, Mars, Jupiter with Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa, Saturn with Titan and Rhea, Uranus with Titania, Neptune with Triton, and Pluto with Charon, Eris, Naumea, Makemake, and Gonggong.

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Paleotopography

Reconstruction of the Earth’s surface paleotopography and paleobathymetry between present day and 540 Million years ago as still images.

Reconstruction of the Earth’s surface paleotopography and paleobathymetry between present day and 540 Million years ago as still images. Shown is the Scotese & Wright (2018) paleo-digital elevation model (PaleoDEMS) based on tectonic plate reconstruction. The Scientific colour map ‘bukavu‘ is used to represent data accurately and to all readers.

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Paleotopography (animated)

Animated reconstruction of the Earth’s surface paleotopography and paleobathymetry between present day and 540 Million years ago.

Animated reconstruction of the Earth’s surface paleotopography and paleobathymetry between present day and 540 Million years ago. Shown is the Scotese & Wright (2018) paleo-digital elevation model (PaleoDEMS) based on tectonic plate reconstruction. The Scientific colour map ‘bukavu‘ is used to represent data accurately and to all readers.

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