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Radioactive isotopes which are distributed unevenly in the mantle cause uneven heating which leads to convection currents. Hotter lava rises, cooler lava sinks, and circular currents are formed.
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
Wiki User
∙ 10y agoEarth's crust and the solid rocky and brittle upper mantle are known as the lithosphere. This is broken up into a number of different sections or pieces known as tectonic plates.
Underlying the lithosphere is the asthenosphere made up of the softer mantle rocks that behave as a viscous fluid (like an extremely thick treacle).
Heat within the earth causes the asthenosphere to convect. This movement causes the overlying lithosphere to move as well.
Also where mantle material rises to shallower depths it undergoes a process known as decompression melting. This causes the formation of magma which rises to Earth's surface. This hot (and therefore lower density) material forms a raised area in the Earth's crust known as a mid-ocean-ridge. Gravity acts to try and pull the buoyant hot new crust back down and this force is transferred horizontally through the crust in a process known as "Ridge Push". As the material cools and travels away from the mid-ocean -ridge it sinks slightly back down due to it's increased density and so lower buoyancy.
Ultimately this dense oceanic crust may meet a tectonic plate composed of continental crust which has a lower density and is more buoyant than the oceanic crust. Because of this the denser oceanic crust is forced down below the continental crust. This process is known as subduction. The force of gravity acting on the subducting slab is transferred into the rest of the slab acting to pull it towards the subduction zone. This process is known as "slab pull".
Wiki User
∙ 8y agoThe lower mantle, near the core, is hotter than the upper mantle near the crust. The cooler mantle material will there fore tend to sink while the hooter material will tend to rise. The mantle is hot enough that the rock in it is soft, though it is under too much pressure to actually melt, and can therefore flow over the course of millions of years.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoSort of. the tectonic plates of the earth move which causes earth quakes and mountains.
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoWhy does the mantle move within Earth?
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoyes it is
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Earth's magnetic field results from the spinning of the?
The earths magnetic field results from deep in the earths core. Magnetic conduction from within the earths core is believed to be the cause of this.
Is the mantle heated mainly by the heat conducted from the core?
No, the main heat source for the mantle (as well as the core) is radioactive decay of elements like uranium within the mantle itself (or core, respectively). Heat rising from the core into the already hot mantle does set up the differential heat profile that drives much of the mantle convection, but even without the additional core heat the mantle would convect (but slower) so that its heat would rise to the crust.
Is earth's magnetism related to the circulation of molten material within Earths core?
TRUE (this is the correct answer)
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.
Describe continental drift theory?
continents move about as plates of crust and upper mantle, on more mobile layer of asthenophere in the mantle. Movement driven by mantle convection and isostasy. Bumps between continents = mountain chains bump continental with oceanic = island arc vocanoes and subduction of oceanic plate
Where you the earths mantle located?
The mantle lies between the crust and the outer core of Earth's interior, and is not within the crust.
What is the Movement within the earth that cause buried rock to be exposed at the earths surface?
The movement within the Earth that causes buried rock to be exposed at the Earth's surface is called uplift. It refers to the vertical elevation of the Earth's surface.
Which temperature is inferred to exist within Earths plastic mantle?
2000 celcius
How are plates motions connected with motions within the rest of the earths mantle?
convection currents in the mantle provide the basic driving forces for plate motions.
What is directly linked to heat convection within earths interior?
Tectonic Plate Movement
Is the heat source for the convection currents in the mantle for the sun?
The difference in temperature and density is the cause of convection currents in the earths mantle. Convection currents are the flow that transfers heat within a fluid.
What the major division of the earth?
There 4 major divisions within the Earths surface: Inner core, outer core, mantle and the crust. The crust and mantle however are separated by a Moho plane.
Is heat source for the convection currents in the mantle the sun?
The difference in temperature and density is the cause of convection currents in the earths mantle. Convection currents are the flow that transfers heat within a fluid.
Is the heat source for the convection current in the mantle in the sun?
The difference in temperature and density is the cause of convection currents in the earths mantle. Convection currents are the flow that transfers heat within a fluid.
What are the major division of earth?
There 4 major divisions within the Earths surface: Inner core, outer core, mantle and the crust. The crust and mantle however are separated by a Moho plane.
Movement of the stapes causes stimulation of fluid within the?
Cochlea
How is the theory of plate tectonics related to the radioactive decay of elements within earths interior?
As elements decay within the Earth's interior, they release energy. This energy creates movement within the magma (along with the rotation of the Earth and heat) and this movement causes the plates of the Earth to move, hence the geography of the planet is different to thousands and millions of years ago.
