Plate Movements Plate Boundaries And Sea Floor Spreading Model

Tectonicus from the ancient greek.

Plate movements plate boundaries and sea floor spreading model.

Transform faults are so named because they are linked to other types of plate boundaries. Plate tectonics plate tectonics seafloor spreading. The impact of the colliding plates can cause the edges of one or both plates to buckle up into a mountain ranges or one of the plates may bend down into a deep seafloor trench. A process called sea floor spreading.

Pertaining to building is a scientific theory describing the large scale motion of seven large plates and the movements of a larger number of smaller plates of earth s lithosphere since tectonic processes began on earth between 3 3 and 3 5 billion years ago. As upwelling of magma continues the plates continue to diverge a process known as seafloor spreading. Subduction happens where tectonic plates crash into each other instead of spreading apart. Bathymetry the shape of the ocean floor is largely a result of a process called plate tectonics the outer rocky layer of the earth includes about a dozen large sections called tectonic plates that are arranged like a spherical jig saw puzzle floating on top of the earth s hot flowing mantle.

Samples collected from the ocean floor show that the age of oceanic crust increases with distance from the spreading centre important evidence in favour of this process. Seafloor spreading is just one part of plate tectonics. Plate tectonics from the late latin. Makes most of the earth s earthquakes and volcanoes.

Hot magma rises to the. In chapter 2 you learned about plate tectonics the well proven concept that the earth s surface is split up into several dozen moving plates of rock. In places where convection currents rise up towards the crust s surface tectonic plates move away from each other in a process known as seafloor spreading fig. Convection currents drive the movement of earth s rigid tectonic plates in the planet s fluid molten mantle.

A chain of volcanoes often forms parallel to convergent plate boundaries and powerful earthquakes are common along these boundaries. As the overlying plate lifts up it also forms mountain ranges. Plate tectonics and the ocean floor. Plate tectonics plate tectonics transform faults.

The denser lithospheric material then melts back into the earth s mantle. The movements of these plates. Creates new ocean floor where plates spread apart at mid ocean ridges. The majority of transform faults link the offset segments of oceanic ridges.

These convergent boundaries also occur where a plate of ocean dives in a process called subduction under a landmass. At subduction zones the edge of the denser plate subducts or slides beneath the less dense one.