answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

Heat comes from the core of the Earth. The heat rises to the mantle. Certain parts heat more than others due to different compositions/pressures, so there is movement within the mantle to even it out. Overall, the movement of the thermal energy rises still, so that creates the convection current within the mantle.

This creates locations where the heat from the mantle is more direct on the crust. These locations are called hotspots. The most common example of a hotspot is in Hawaii. It remains in the same place even as the continental and oceanic plates move over it. These hotspots are locations where hot rock (such as basalt) rises and penetrates the surface of the ocean floor or on land. The rock then spreads out and cools. This process and continues, with new rock coming up and the older layers being pushed aside, creating a striped pattern.

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: How do convection currents work in the mantle of the earth?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Continue Learning about Natural Sciences

How does convection currenctions work inside the earth?

Convection currents happen in the mantle and cause tectonic plates to drift. The earth is made up of the iron and nickel core, then the mantle then the crust. And the earths surface is made up of tectonic plates. These plates move due to convection currents.


What are the forces that drives the tectonic plates of the earth?

There are many possible forces or mechanism associated by continental movement.include;sea-floor spreadingthermal plume phenomenaslab-push at mid oceanic ridge.slab-pull at subduction zoneNote that all this mechanism work together


What makes convection currents more dense?

Basically, Density is the result of an amount of mass packed into a given space. The more mass packed into a space, the denser the object and the less mass, the less dense it is. Convection is heat transfer by fluid or liquid movement. It is found in the air (as wind) in the oceans (as currents) and in the mantle of the Earth (it affects plate movement). Warm air or water or mantle rises and is replaced by the cooler mass. In the case of the air and water, the cooler, denser air and water falls due to having more mass and gravity pulling on it. In the mantle, the cooler mantle is falling and its density allows the core's gravity to pull on it. But the deeper into the mantle, temperature increases instead of decreasing due to pressure in the outer and inner core. Density and convection work together to help keep the balance of systems in all areas of Earth's processes.


How does convection current works?

convection currents work when heated water cools then goes to the bottom then heats back up


What is a convection current current?

Convection currents are vertical movements of fluids driven by heat. Hot fluids rise because they are less dense than cold fluids which sink. The best example would be soup boiling - stuff in the soup comes to the surface over the flame and sinks back towards the edges of the pot. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current caused by the expansion of a liquid, solid, or gas as its temperature rises. The expanded material, being less dense, rises, while colder, denser material sinks. Material of neutral buoyancy moves laterally. Convection currents arise in the atmosphere above warm land masses or seas, giving rise to sea breezes and land breezes, respectively. In some heating systems, convection currents are used to carry hot water upwards in pipes. Convection currents in the hot, solid rock of the Earth's mantle help to drive the movement of the rigid plates making up the Earth's surface.

Related questions

How does convection currenctions work inside the earth?

Convection currents happen in the mantle and cause tectonic plates to drift. The earth is made up of the iron and nickel core, then the mantle then the crust. And the earths surface is made up of tectonic plates. These plates move due to convection currents.


How do convection currents work in the mantle?

What forces would lead to the movement of the plates over the surface of the earth? At this time it is believed this movement results from mantle convection. Deep within the earth there is a large amount of heat coming from two sources: the magma remnants of the Great Bombardment, and radiation from radioactive elements. This heat, in accordance with the 2 ndlaw of thermodynamics, must flow to a cooler place, and subsequently rises to the surface of the Earth. If the Earth were smaller, this heat would flow by conduction, but because of the relatively large size of the Earth, convection also takes place. Thus, as in heating a pot of water on a stove, convection currents are established within the earth, which bring warm material to the surface and send cooler material to the interior.


How convection currents work in the mantle?

What forces would lead to the movement of the plates over the surface of the earth? At this time it is believed this movement results from mantle convection. Deep within the earth there is a large amount of heat coming from two sources: the magma remnants of the Great Bombardment, and radiation from radioactive elements. This heat, in accordance with the 2 ndlaw of thermodynamics, must flow to a cooler place, and subsequently rises to the surface of the Earth. If the Earth were smaller, this heat would flow by conduction, but because of the relatively large size of the Earth, convection also takes place. Thus, as in heating a pot of water on a stove, convection currents are established within the earth, which bring warm material to the surface and send cooler material to the interior.


What are the forces that drives the tectonic plates of the earth?

There are many possible forces or mechanism associated by continental movement.include;sea-floor spreadingthermal plume phenomenaslab-push at mid oceanic ridge.slab-pull at subduction zoneNote that all this mechanism work together


What makes convection currents more dense?

Basically, Density is the result of an amount of mass packed into a given space. The more mass packed into a space, the denser the object and the less mass, the less dense it is. Convection is heat transfer by fluid or liquid movement. It is found in the air (as wind) in the oceans (as currents) and in the mantle of the Earth (it affects plate movement). Warm air or water or mantle rises and is replaced by the cooler mass. In the case of the air and water, the cooler, denser air and water falls due to having more mass and gravity pulling on it. In the mantle, the cooler mantle is falling and its density allows the core's gravity to pull on it. But the deeper into the mantle, temperature increases instead of decreasing due to pressure in the outer and inner core. Density and convection work together to help keep the balance of systems in all areas of Earth's processes.


What energy source drives convection?

Convection currents are driven by an uneven temperature. It is the rise and fall movement of matter from a hot region to a cool region.


How does convection current works?

convection currents work when heated water cools then goes to the bottom then heats back up


What is a convection current current?

Convection currents are vertical movements of fluids driven by heat. Hot fluids rise because they are less dense than cold fluids which sink. The best example would be soup boiling - stuff in the soup comes to the surface over the flame and sinks back towards the edges of the pot. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current caused by the expansion of a liquid, solid, or gas as its temperature rises. The expanded material, being less dense, rises, while colder, denser material sinks. Material of neutral buoyancy moves laterally. Convection currents arise in the atmosphere above warm land masses or seas, giving rise to sea breezes and land breezes, respectively. In some heating systems, convection currents are used to carry hot water upwards in pipes. Convection currents in the hot, solid rock of the Earth's mantle help to drive the movement of the rigid plates making up the Earth's surface.


How does seafloor spreading and subduction work together to recycle earth's crust?

As underwater volcanoes erupt, they push the sea floor away in both directions. As the plate moves toward the subduction zone, the plate moves under at the subduction zone. The crust moves back into the mantle where it melts. The convection currents carry the molten material back to the volcano where the cycle begins again.


Define convection currents?

a heat energy traveling upward from the hot lower mantle to the cooler upper mantle


How do the three types of heat transfer work together to heat the troposphere?

Convection currents move many weather systems on the earth. Solar radiation warms the earth. The solids heat faster and air over the shore area rises. Cooler air over the water rushes in to replace it. Convection currents also occur in the oceans Air cools as it rises and clouds form.


How does convection work with conduction to transfer energy with throughout the atmosphere?

it works by earth