Plate Movements Plate Boundaries And Sea Floor Spreading Model

Plate tectonics plate tectonics seafloor spreading.

Plate movements plate boundaries and sea floor spreading model. Plate tectonics and the ocean floor. A chain of volcanoes often forms parallel to convergent plate boundaries and powerful earthquakes are common along these boundaries. 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. 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.

These age data also allow the rate of seafloor spreading to be. Makes most of the earth s earthquakes and volcanoes. Seafloor spreading is just one part of plate tectonics. These convergent boundaries also occur where a plate of ocean dives in a process called subduction under a landmass.

The denser lithospheric material then melts back into the earth s mantle. Plate tectonics plate tectonics transform faults. The movements of these plates. At subduction zones the edge of the denser plate subducts or slides beneath the less dense one.

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. Plate tectonics from the late latin. Along the third type of plate boundary two plates move laterally and pass each other along giant fractures in earth s crust. As upwelling of magma continues the plates continue to diverge a process known as seafloor spreading.

Creates new ocean floor where plates spread apart at mid ocean ridges. The majority of transform faults link the offset segments of oceanic ridges. Transform faults are so named because they are linked to other types of plate boundaries. Hot magma rises to the.

Subduction happens where tectonic plates crash into each other instead of spreading apart. As the overlying plate lifts up it also forms mountain ranges. A process called sea floor spreading. 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 at mid ocean ridges. Convection currents drive the movement of earth s rigid tectonic plates in the planet s fluid molten mantle.