Originally it was thought that the earth's lithosphere (crust) was made of individual plates that are broken down into over a dozen large and small pieces of rock. These fragmented plates collided with, slid under or moved past adjacent plates. This is what shaped the earth's landscape.
The reason this occurs is because of subduction. The heat of the plates rubbing causes magma to rise forcing through the lithosphere (or crust). Thus causing alot of volcanos over convergent plates.
The solid layer of the earth that can still flow is called the asthenosphere. This layer is located in the mantle of the earth the layer below the upper crust and lithosphere, home of the tectonic plates.
magma.
The concept of plate tectonics has revolutionized the explanation about how earthquakes occur in Earth Sciences. Plate tectonics tells us that the Earth's rigid outer shell (lithosphere) is broken into a mosaic of oceanic and continental plates which can slide over the plastic aesthenosphere, which is the uppermost layer of the mantle. The plates are in constant motion. Where they interact, along their margins, important geological processes take place, such as the formation of mountain belts, earthquakes, and volcanoes.
Yes. The surface of earth covered by the oceans are part of the plates of the earth.
Yes, several of the plates have their margins under the oceans. The Pacific Plate would be the plate with the largest area under the seas.
Oceanic plates are sections of the Earth's lithosphere that form the bedrock beneath the world's oceans. These plates are typically denser and younger than continental plates, and they are constantly moving due to the process of plate tectonics. Subduction zones are often found at the boundaries where oceanic plates meet continental plates.
parts of the crust and upper mantle
Deformable rock under the lithosphere is known as the asthenosphere. It is located beneath the rigid lithosphere and is composed of partially molten rock that allows for the movement of tectonic plates. The asthenosphere plays a key role in plate tectonics and the movement of Earth's crustal plates.
seperations of plates forming oceans
The layer directly under the Lithosphere is the Asthenosphere. The Asthenosphere is a semi-fluid layer of the Earth's mantle that allows for the movement of the tectonic plates above it. It is hotter and more ductile compared to the rigid Lithosphere.
The crust is the layer at the surface that forms the upper part of the plates. The plates also include a portion of the upper mantle just beneath the crust. Together, the crust and this upper portion of the mantle form the lithosphere.
No. Oceanic plates are denser than conitnental plates.
yes
The plates under land areas are called tectonic plates. These plates make up the Earth's lithosphere and are constantly moving, causing geological events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Plates float on the semi-fluid asthenosphere layer, which is part of the upper mantle. This layer is under the lithosphere and allows the movement of the tectonic plates.