The rigid outermost rocky shell of a terrestrial planet or natural satellite. On Earth it is composed of the crust and the lithospheric mantle, the topmost portion of the upper mantle that behaves elastically on time scales of up to thousands of years or more; crust and upper mantle are distinguished from each other by chemistry and mineralogy. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Origin Year1914 is the publication year of the Journal of Geology paper series in which Joseph Barrell introduced the term lithosphere; the underlying concept of a strong outer layer was first described by A. E. H. Love in 1911. Connections
Associated With
The asthenosphere lies directly below the lithosphere; the rigid shell rides on the weak layer.
Source Asthenosphere (Wikipedia)
Originally defined for continental crust and mantle, isostasy has since been interpreted in terms of lithosphere and asthenosphere.
Source Isostasy (Wikipedia)
In Discipline
Source Lithosphere (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Lithosphere (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
A lithosphere is the rigid outermost rocky shell of a terrestrial planet or natural satellite.
References section, Barrell 1914 citation
Barrell, J. (1914). The Strength of the Earth's Crust. Journal of Geology. 22.
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