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Convection Currents
The mantle is made of much denser, thicker material, because of this the plates "float" on it like oil floats on water.
Many geologists believe that the mantle "flows" because of convection currents. Convection currents are caused by the very hot material at the deepest part of the mantle rising, then cooling, sinking again and then heating, rising and repeating the cycle over and over. The next time you heat anything like soup or pudding in a pan you can watch the convection currents move in the liquid. When the convection currents flow in the mantle they also move the crust. The crust gets a free ride with these currents. A conveyor belt in a factory moves boxess like the convection currents in the mantle moves the plates of the Earth.
Convection currents are caused by the inner core, which is the Inner layer of the Earth.
Convection currents begin due to the extreme heat of the inner core. The inner core heats up the very bottom of the mantle. The heated up substances within the mantle has a higher temperature than those higher in the mantle and closer to the surface of the earth. The particles of the heated substances spread out because they are moving more quickly, and they become less dense and rise to the top of the mantle, pushing the cooler substances down towards the bottom of the mantle. Thus, the process of convection continues.
Convection currents are caused by the heat from the inner core. A layer in the mantle, called the asthenosphere, is fluid-like and is heated by the core, thus inducing convection currents to form.
Earths outer core.
The heat from the gradual decay of long lived radioisotopes creates areas of upwelling within the mantle material. The material that rises causes adjacent material to descend to fill the void. This motion occurs over very broad areas, and is what drives sea floor spreading and plate tectonics. It all boils down to nuclear decay.
Lottie Von
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What will happen to the convections currents in the mantle if Earth's interior eventually cools down?
the convection currents will stop
How are convection currents in the mantle and in the oceans similar How are they different?
The ocean currents are colder than the currents in the mantle,and the are located in different areas.
Which statement best explains how convection currents can occur in earths mantle?
Earth's rotation causes mantle convention. But you already knew that! :P
What in earths mantle causes tectonic plates to move?
Convection currents in the mantle are what causes tectonic plates to move. Uneven heating of the mantle results from radioactive decay of some long-lived isotopes in the mantle, which are not evenly distributed.
What causes convection currents it the mantle?
Heat from the core and the mantle itself causes convection currents in earth's mantle.
What will happen to the convection currents in the mantle if the earths interior cools down?
the convection currents will stop
What creates the currents in the mantle of the earth?
they are convection currents, caused by the heating effect of the earths core
Which forces responsible for earths crust and lithosphere floating on the mantle?
convection currents in the upper mantle
What would a change in the earths core have an effect on?
convection currents in the mantle
What are convection currents in earths mantle?
the heat makes it rise up
The driving forces of tectonic plates are related to convection currents in Earth's?
mantle.
What process causes earths plates to move?
The process of 'earth plates moving' is Alfred Wageners theory of continental drift. This theory proposes that convenction currents in the earths mantle provides a 'cushion' on which the plates can move.
