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im not one-hundred percent sure but i would think that its a recycling process that takes 1000's perhaps 100's of 1000's to millions of years to take place and also varying by the density of the material

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How are mountains formed when a plated with an oceanic crust meets one with a cnotinental crust?

The oceanic plate is more dense than the continental plate, and will subduct, or move underneath, the lighter continental plate. The result is that the continental plate is uplifted. As the oceanic crust goes deeper and deeper, the temperatures become higher, causing the subducting crust to eventually melt into the mantel. The heat and gas pressure from the melting of the subducting crust may eventually seek release in the form of a volcano. The rate of crustal movement is slow, measured in a small number of inches per year, but the volcanism and crustal uplifting and folding eventually create mountains.


What is the process in which fragments become embedded or stuck to a continental plate?

Fragments become embedded or stuck to a continental plate through the process of accretion, where pieces of oceanic crust or island arcs are added to the edge of a continent. This can happen through subduction, where the oceanic plate is forced beneath the continental plate, or through collision, where two plates come together and the fragments become attached to the continental margin.


What is the difference between a volcanoe and a mountain?

Technically, a volcano is a type of mountain. Mountains are formed by two continental tectonic plates colliding. The compressing plates forms folds in the crust, and if no or a small amount of erosion has occurred to wear down these folds, they continue to rise and break to form a mountain, which build on top of each other and form mountain ranges. (Lots of mountains) Volcanoes are formed by a continental plate and an oceanic plate colliding, where the denser oceanic plate undergoes 'subduction' and slips under the less dense continental plate. The heat and pressure from the oceanic plate causes uplifting of magma from the earth's mantle, which rises to the surface, therefore creating a volcano. There has to be a crack in the crust so a volcano can form and for the magma to rise through, while mountains are the crumpling of two landmasses. However, volcanoes may also later become mountains if they become completely dormant and no more lava (magma ).


How are convergent plate margins characterized?

Convergent plate margins are characterized as collision zones between plates and may involve continental to continental crust, continental to oceanic crust, or oceanic to oceanic crust. Those that involve oceanic crust result in subduction of the more dense plate into the Earth's mantle. Continental to continental plate collisions result in uplift of the surface features and mountain building and the margin may eventually become welded together.


Where is old seafloor destroyed?

Oceanic crust isn't destroyed because it's old; it is, in fact, destroyed due to destructive plate boundaries. This is where a continental plate and an oceanic plate move towards each other. As the oceanic crust is denser, it is pushed under the continental plate. Here it is forced into the mantle of the earth, where it is destroyed due to heat and convection currents.

Related Questions

How can oceanic sediments became part of continental mountains?

In an ocean-continent convergence, the collision of ocean and continental crust causes the accretion of marine sedimentary deposits to the edge of the continent. These sediments, then, are forced up through normal mountain building orogenic uplift and compression (and faulting). In another method, as the underlying oceanic crust area of a plate tips down at a subduction zone, its ocean-floor sediment can be scraped off along the front edge of the overriding continental plate. The result is an increase in the width and thickness of the overriding plate, and thus, a mountain range. This is seen well at the convergence of the Nazca plate and South American plate (Peru-Chile Trench or Atacama Trench) forming the Andes Mountains - which are actually originally volcanic in origin, but are being buttressed by the new sediments.


How are mountains formed when a plated with an oceanic crust meets one with a cnotinental crust?

The oceanic plate is more dense than the continental plate, and will subduct, or move underneath, the lighter continental plate. The result is that the continental plate is uplifted. As the oceanic crust goes deeper and deeper, the temperatures become higher, causing the subducting crust to eventually melt into the mantel. The heat and gas pressure from the melting of the subducting crust may eventually seek release in the form of a volcano. The rate of crustal movement is slow, measured in a small number of inches per year, but the volcanism and crustal uplifting and folding eventually create mountains.


What is the process in which fragments become embedded or stuck to a continental plate?

Fragments become embedded or stuck to a continental plate through the process of accretion, where pieces of oceanic crust or island arcs are added to the edge of a continent. This can happen through subduction, where the oceanic plate is forced beneath the continental plate, or through collision, where two plates come together and the fragments become attached to the continental margin.


What is the difference between a volcanoe and a mountain?

Technically, a volcano is a type of mountain. Mountains are formed by two continental tectonic plates colliding. The compressing plates forms folds in the crust, and if no or a small amount of erosion has occurred to wear down these folds, they continue to rise and break to form a mountain, which build on top of each other and form mountain ranges. (Lots of mountains) Volcanoes are formed by a continental plate and an oceanic plate colliding, where the denser oceanic plate undergoes 'subduction' and slips under the less dense continental plate. The heat and pressure from the oceanic plate causes uplifting of magma from the earth's mantle, which rises to the surface, therefore creating a volcano. There has to be a crack in the crust so a volcano can form and for the magma to rise through, while mountains are the crumpling of two landmasses. However, volcanoes may also later become mountains if they become completely dormant and no more lava (magma ).


What two plates converge if subduction occurs for a result?

The colliding plate edges become crumpled to form a mountain range.


How do the sediments on the ocean floor vary in relation to an ocean ridge?

Sediments become thicker away from the mid ocean ridge. This is because the oceanic crust away from the mid ocean ridge is older than the crust close to it, so sediment has had more time to accumulate.


Why are ocean fossils found at the top of the rocky mountains?

When two continental plates collide, one has to give and the other rises over the first. It there are fossils in this material, it can be pushed to the highest peaks of mountains. Evidence of this is found in the grand canyon where fossils of ocean creatures anr found many thousands of feet above sea level.


What may form when an oceanic plate meets a continental plate?

When an oceanic plate pushes into and subducts under a continental plate, the overriding continental plate is lifted up and a mountain range is created. Even though the oceanic plate as a whole sinks smoothly and continuously into the subduction trench, the deepest part of the subducting plate breaks into smaller pieces. These smaller pieces become locked in place for long periods of time before moving suddenly and generating large earthquakes. Such earthquakes are often accompanied by uplift of the land by as much as a few meters.


How do sediments change over time?

The get compacted with burial and dewater. The grains from which they are made become cemented together and the sediments become sedimentary rocks.


Are islands a part of the continent?

Some Islands are parts of continents (high points in the continental shelf) eg The British Isles. Some Islands are parts of continents that have become detached during continental drift (eg Seychelles or Madagascar) Some Islands are unrelated to continents and result from oceanic plate processes (eg Hawaii). Some Islands are a result of the interaction between continental and oceanic plates (eg some of the Caribbean Islands, Japan and Cyprus).


How are convergent plate margins characterized?

Convergent plate margins are characterized as collision zones between plates and may involve continental to continental crust, continental to oceanic crust, or oceanic to oceanic crust. Those that involve oceanic crust result in subduction of the more dense plate into the Earth's mantle. Continental to continental plate collisions result in uplift of the surface features and mountain building and the margin may eventually become welded together.


What are the youngest sediments found compared to the mid-Atlantic ridge?

The youngest sediments found near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge are typically associated with the oceanic crust formed at the ridge itself, which is less than a few million years old. These sediments primarily consist of pelagic clay, biogenic material, and volcanic ash, accumulating as the seafloor spreads. The rate of sedimentation is relatively low, meaning that the youngest sediments are generally found closest to the ridge and become progressively older with distance from it.