EXERCISE 1.11 Thinking about Pressure in the Earth Name: Course: Section: Date H

Question

EXERCISE 1.11 Thinking about Pressure in the Earth Name: Course: Section: Date Hydrostatic and lithostatic pressures are caused by the weight of the overlying water and rock, respectively, and these pressures, in turn, depend on the density of the overlying material. You calculated earlier that water has a density of 1 g/cm3, whereas rock in the crust beneath continents has an average density of about 2.8 g/cm (a) Why does lithostatic pressure increase more rapidly with depth than hydrostatic pressure? (b) The geobaric gradient beneath continents is about 1 Kbar for every 3.3 km of depth. On the top of the diagram used in Exercise 1.4 for the geothermal gradient, construct a scale showing pressure from 1 to 3 Kbar and draw the geobaric gradient in a different color. What is the lithostatic pressure at a depth of 8 km below the surface of a continent? What are the temperature and pressure conditions in the Earth at a depth of 3.5 km? Kbar C at 5.6 km? Kbar Kbar

Explanation / Answer

a) Rock has a higher density in comparison to water. Pressure is basically the gravitational pull on the overlying mass , and Rock has more mass per unit thickness than water (about a factor of 3 ).

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse E
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.