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Sial refers to the upper or continental material of the earth's crust

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10y ago

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Why is the sima layer found beneath the sial layer?

The sima layer is found beneath the sial layer because it is denser and rich in magnesium and iron minerals, making it heavier. This difference in composition and density creates the stratification of Earth's crust, with sima underlying sial.


What is the main difference between the two layers of the mantle?

Chances are, you're on land right now. Scientists would say you are living on the sial. The sial is the part of the crust that is above water. It's a continental plate floating over the globe. Right underneath the sial is the sima. The sima is the layer of the Earth's crust that covers the entire planet. The sial is different in that it can begin and end where the plates do. You can think of the sima as the ocean floors. Under the sima is the mantle. When you consider the mantle is when you really start talking about the inner workings of the planet.


The earths crust is made of?

The Earth's crust is made up of a variety of materials, including mostly solid rocks such as granite, basalt, and sandstone. It also contains minerals like quartz, feldspar, and mica. The crust is divided into large tectonic plates that float on the semi-fluid layer of the mantle underneath.


How were the continents formed?

Some geologists consider that the rocks near the surface of the Earth can be divided into two broad classes. Sial which contains less dense minerals, and Sima which contains denser minerals.(These names may have been overtaken, but the principle holds.)The Sial floats on the molten layers in the Earth, and the Sima is of similar density to the molten layers, so it sinks that far.Earlier than about 800 Ma (million years ago) there was a single continent we call Pangaea. With an ocean around it.This eventually divided into two super continents called Gondwana and Laurasia. The southern and northern continents respectively. A few hundred Ma these super continents in turn started to break up, and creating Australia, S Africa, and so on.This process is named Continental Drift or Plate Tectonics.This breakup may have been merely the latest episode of similar events in the past.About 80 Ma the Indian sub continent left Africa, from near Madagascar, and migrated north to collide with the Eurasian plate.


What are the three layers of the mantle?

Lithosphere is the layer clostest to the earths crust. It is the layer that contains the sial and sima. Asthenosphere is the next layer clostest to the earths crust. Mesosphere is the inner most layer of the mantle than it goes to the core... Outer core, and inner core