Plate Tectonics

plate tectonics
      Plate Tectonics is the theory supported by a wide range of evidence that considers
the earth's crust and upper mantle to be composed of several large, thin, relatively rigid
plates that move relative to one another. Slip on faults that define the plate
boundaries commonly results in earthquakes. Several styles of faults bound the plates,
including thrust faults along which plate material is subducted or consumed in the
mantle, oceanic spreading ridges along which new crustal material is produced,
and transform faults that accommodate horizontal slip (strike slip) between adjoining
plates. 

Mantle convection currents, ridge push and slab pull are three of the forces that have
been proposed as the main drivers of plate movement  
      There are a number of competing theories that attempt to explain what drives the
movement of tectonic plates. Three of the forces that have been proposed as the main
drivers of tectonic plate movement are:

 -mantle convection currents— warm mantle currents drive and carry plates of
lithosphere along a like a conveyor belt;

 -ridge push (buoyant upwelling mantle at mid-ocean ridges) — newly-formed

plates at oceanic ridges are warm, and so have a higher elevation at the oceanic
ridge than the colder, more dense plate material further away; gravity causes the
higher plate at the ridge to push away the lithosphere that lies further from the
ridge;

 -slab pull — older, colder plates sink at subduction zones, because as they cool,
they become more dense than the underlying mantle. The cooler sinking plate
pulls the rest of the warmer plate along behind it.

     Recent research has shown that the major driving force for most plate movement is
slab pull, because the plates with more of their edges being subducted are the faster-
moving ones. However ridge push is also presented in recent research to be a force
that drives the movement of plates.

What is Convection Current

        A convection current is a process which involves the movement of energy from
one place to another. Convection currents tend to move a fluid or gas particles from
one place to another. These are created as a result of the differences occurring within
the densities and temperature of a specific gas or a fluid
mportance of Convection Current
                                 What are convection currents in the earth?
Convection currents are the movement of fluid as a result of differential heating
or convection. In the case of the Earth, convection currents refer to the motion of
molten rock in the mantle as radioactive decay heats up magma, causing it to rise and
driving the global-scale flow of magma

                         What effect does convection have on Earth's interior?

Convection in the mantle is the same as convection in a pot of water on a
stove. Convection currents within Earth's mantle form as material near the core heats
up. As the core heats the bottom layer of mantle material, particles move more rapidly,
decreasing its density and causing it to rise.
                                How do we use convection in everyday life?
Everyday Examples of Convection

1. Boiling water - The heat passes from the burner into the pot, heating the water at
the bottom. ...
2. Radiator - Puts warm air out at the top and draws in cooler air at the bottom.
3. Steaming cup of hot tea - The steam is showing heat being transfered into the
air.

                                    What do convection currents cause?

Convection currents are the result of differential heating. Lighter (less dense), warm
material rises while heavier (more dense) cool material sinks. It is this movement that
creates circulation patterns known as convection currents in the atmosphere, in water,
and in the mantle of Earth.
                                         How does convection affect us?
Convection currents are part of what drives global circulation of the Earth's
atmosphere. ... Convection currents in the air and sea lead to weather. Magma in the
Earth's mantle moves in convection currents. The hot core heats the material above it,
causing it to rise toward the crust, where it cools
                            Why do convection currents cause plates to move?
Plates at our planet's surface move because of the intense heat in the Earth's core
that causes molten rock in the mantle layer to move. It moves in a pattern called
a convection cell that forms when warm material rises, cools, and eventually sink
down. As the cooled material sinks down, it is warmed and rises again
                              What happens when tectonic plates move?
When the plates move they collide or spread apart allowing the very hot molten
material called lava to escape from the mantle. When collisions occur they produce
mountains, deep underwater valleys called trenches, and volcanoes.
                          What will happen if the Earth has no tectonic plates?
Without tectonic forces, our lives will be greatly changed. Let's look at the social
implications first. Without plate tectonics, there will be far less human deaths from
natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and even tsunamis.
There would be much less destruction to the Earth.

                                  What happens if plate tectonics stopped?

If all volcanism stops, so does sea floor spreading—and thus plate tectonics as well.
And if plate tectonics stops, Earth eventually (through erosion) loses most or all of the
continents where most terrestrial life exists. In addition, CO2 is removed from the
atmosphere via weathering, causing our planet to freeze
                                            Will plate tectonics ever stop?
The computer model showed that in Earth's youth, its interior was too hot and runny to
push around the giant chunks of crust. After the planet's interior cooled for some 400
million years, tectonic plates began shifting and sinking. This process was stop-and-
go for about 2 billion years
                    What would happen if the convection currents stopped?
Answer 1: If all convection currents on Earth stopped that would be a natural
disaster. The amount of heat which the sun radiates at us sets the temperature of the
Earth's surface. ... So if convection completely stopped the high and low
temperatures would force people and animals to move away from the poles and
equator

Driving Forces of Plate Motion

    Lithospheric plates are part of a planetary scale thermal convection system. The
energy source for plate tectonics is Earth’s internal heat while the forces moving the
plates are the “ridge push” and “slab pull” gravity forces. 
It was once thought that mantle convection could drive plate motions. Early textbooks
showed mantle convection cells, like in a beaker of hot liquid on a Bunson burner,
pushing plates along from below. Convection in the mantle, certainly plays a role, but
doesn’t explain how some plates move faster than the convective currents beneath
them. What would cause that?  Current dynamic models have plates moving as part of
a gravity-driven convection system that pushes young hot plates away from spreading
ridges and pulls old cold plates down into subduction zones.

The Earth and Tectonic Plates

      Tectonic shift is the movement of the plates that make up Earth's crust. ... The
heat from radioactive processes within the planet's interior causes the plates to move,
sometimes toward and sometimes away from each other.                             
This movement is called plate motion, or tectonic shift.