Admin What took place as the Earth cooled and solidified?
As the Earth cooled, the surface layers solidified, forming a relatively rigid surface layer of rock – the lithosphere. These currents bring up hot mantle material, creating “hot spots” in the Earth’s crust where volcanoes are likely.
How does the Earth cool down?
Carbon dioxide in the lower atmosphere helps trap heat from the sun’s solar energy reflected off the Earth’s surface and so, like a greenhouse, the lower atmosphere grows warmer. The results confirmed that rising carbon dioxide levels were the main driving force cooling the upper atmosphere.
How is the asthenosphere related to plate tectonic theory?
The asthenosphere in plate tectonic theory. The asthenosphere is now thought to play a critical role in the movement of plates across the face of Earth’s surface. According to plate tectonic theory, the lithosphere consists of a relatively small number of very large slabs of rocky material.
What would happen if the Earth’s tectonic plates stopped moving?
For tectonic plates to stop moving, the Earth’s mantle will have to be too cold for convection to occur. If that were to happen, then it means the Earth’s outer core has likely solidified. Normally a liquid layer, the outer core, transfers heat between the inner core and the mantle.
How deep does the asthenosphere extend?
The asthenosphere extends from about 100 km (60 miles) to about 700 km (450 miles) below Earth’s surface. cross section of a tectonic plate A tectonic plate in cross section featuring subduction zones, oceanic and continental crust, the lithosphere, and the asthenosphere.
Why does the asthenosphere have a plastic-like quality?
The temperature of the materials that make up the asthenosphere tend to be just below their melting point. This gives them a plastic-like quality that can be compared to glass . As the temperature of the material increases or as the pressure exerted on the material increases, the material tends to deform and flow.