How do heat and density affect convection currents in the mantle?

How do heat and density affect convection currents in the mantle?

The warmer, less dense rock material near the core slowly moves upward. Relatively cooler rock from higher in the mantle slowly sinks toward the mantle. While the mantle material remains solid, the heat and pressure allow convection currents to move the mantle material. (See Resources for a mantle convection diagram.)

What causes convection currents to form in the mantle?

Convection currents are the result of differential heating. Lighter (less dense), warm material rises while heavier (more dense) cool material sinks. It is this movement that creates circulation patterns known as convection currents in the atmosphere, in water, and in the mantle of Earth.

What happens during convection in the mantle?

The mantle is heated from below (the core), and in areas that are hotter it rises upwards (it is buoyant), whereas in areas that are cooler it sink down. This results in convection cells in the mantle, and produces horizontal motion of mantle material close to the Earth surface.

What happens to the mantle as the heated material rises?

Plates at our planet’s surface move because of the intense heat in the Earth’s core that causes molten rock in the mantle layer to move. It moves in a pattern called a convection cell that forms when warm material rises, cools, and eventually sink down.

Where does heat come from that drives this convection current in the mantle?

The heat driving the convection current in the mantle comes from the extreme temperature in the earth’s core, and the heat from the mantle itself.

What role does heat play in the formation of convection currents?

Convection currents form because a heated fluid expands, becoming less dense. The less-dense heated fluid rises away from the heat source. For instance, a hot radiator heats the air immediately around it. The air rises toward the ceiling, pulling cooler air down from the ceiling into the radiator to be heated.

Where does the heat come from that drives the convection currents in the mantle?

How convection current in the mantle affect the movement of plates?

Geologists have hypothesized that the movement of tectonic plates is related to convection currents in the earth’s mantle. Tremendous heat and pressure within the earth cause the hot magma to flow in convection currents. These currents cause the movement of the tectonic plates that make up the earth’s crust.

When convection currents flow in the mantle They also move the?

When the convection currents flow in the mantle they also move the crust. The crust gets a free ride with these currents. A conveyor belt in a factory moves boxes like the convection currents in the mantle moves the plates of the Earth.

Where does the heat come from that drives this convection current in the mantle quizlet?

heat from the core and the mantle itself causes convecton currents in the mantle.

Where does the heat come from that drives this convection current in the mantle?

What role does heat play in the formation of convection currents quizlet?

Terms in this set (12) What role does heat play in the formation of convection currents? Heat causes water to warm up, become less dense, and rise. The loss or transfer of heat causes water to cool down, become more dense and sink.

What are convection currents powered by?

Convection is one form of energy transfer where heat energy is transferred by large scale movement in a gas or liquid. Convection currents form, which are streams of gas or liquid powered by convection. Some of this movement is caused by differences in density.

What are the characteristics of convection?

In the field of fluid dynamics, a convection cell is the phenomenon that occurs when density differences exist within a body of liquid or gas. These density differences result in rising and/or falling currents, which are the key characteristics of a convection cell.

When do convection currents form?

Convection currents form when you have a liquid or gas have regions with a difference in temperature and there is a heat source feeding the system. Colder areas are going to want to fall and hotter regions want to rise. As the hotter regions raise they lose energy (heat) and begin to fall and the now warm regions rise.

What does convection cause?

On a very large scale, convection currents govern the motion of the atmosphere around the Earth. Air heated by the sun moves into cooler regions and areas, causing weather patterns to change. Clouds are created when warm moisture-bearing air rises and encounters cooler air at higher elevations.