The Forever Moving Land
Beginning of paper
The land below us is always in motion. Plate tectonics studies these
restless effects to give us a better understanding of the Earth and its past.
New molten rocks are poured out in the form of magma from the mid-ocean ridges.
The rock is recycled and re-entered back into the earth in deep ocean t ....
Middle of paper
.... then, parts of the Earth have cooled forming the solid
crust-mantle. This process has been occurring for roughly about 3.8 billion
years. The mantle is about 2900 km. thick, which lies above a layer of molten
magma that still exists today. The immense heat from the magma (approximately
2700(C) causes convection in the mantle (Figure 1). Convection is caused by
non-uniform temperature in a fluid and density differences. This continuous
convection is the cause of plate movement. Each c ....
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Word count: 2829
Page count: 11 (approximately 250 words per page)
