THE lithosphere, which is the Earth's upper and rigid layer, has lower temperatures compared to other parts of the planet and a certain mobility in its dynamic structure. It is usually associated with the Earth's crust as it is also a thin layer that makes up the Earth's surface structure.
The lithosphere layer is above the asthenosphere, a layer that presents the rocks in a more pasty state, due to the high temperatures present in the planet's interior. The meeting zone between the lithosphere and the asthenosphere has an isotherm, that is, a constant temperature, which is approximately 1,200ºC. Thus, everything above that point of contact has enough temperatures to make the rocks remain rigid.
The structure of this layer is at the confluence between rocks and minerals. In fact, agglomerated minerals make up the rocks that together make up the lithosphere. Among the minerals, the predominant ones are silicon, aluminum and magnesium, and there are also a hundred other types less present, many of them valuable for human activities.
Already among the rocks, there are three main types, based on a classification drawn from their respective backgrounds. These rocks are called fiery (or magmatic), metamorphic and sedimentary.
It is important to point out that the lithosphere, due to the pressures and dynamics arising from the interior of the planet, is not continuous, that is, it presents ruptures or discontinuities, segmenting its structure into many different tectonic plates. The movement of these provides the formation of relief from actions known as endogenous or internal relief transformation agents, such as earthquakes and volcanism.
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In addition, the lithosphere is also transformed from the elements available on the surface, which are called exogenous or external relief transformation agents, such as wind, water and living things. These mold and wear the surface layers of the lithosphere, forming the soils and acting in erosive processes. Over thousands of years, mountains turn into plateaus, and the sediments (rock and soil particles) formed are deposited elsewhere, forming sedimentary basins.
We can say that the lithosphere is, above all, a dynamic system, as it is always in transformation, with the formation of new forms of relief and their wear, in addition to the constant transformation of solid types, with the constitution of the rock cycle.
What is the difference between the lithosphere and the earth's crust?
Basically, the lithosphere involves the crust and the most superficial and cooled layer of the mantle, the one that already presents a certain solidity and originates the first plutonic igneous rocks. But the main difference between the lithosphere and the earth's crust is the way our planet's internal structure is classified.
The Earth's crust is part of a concept that divides the Earth into crust, mantle and core, in addition to the discontinuities present between one layer and another. The lithosphere is part of the division that categorizes the planet into lithosphere (crust), asthenosphere (upper mantle), mesosphere (lower mantle and outer core) and endosphere (inner core).
By Me. Rodolfo Alves Pena
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
PENA, Rodolfo F. Alves. "What is a lithosphere?"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/o-que-e/geografia/o-que-e-litosfera.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
