Convection Currents

By: xodancer14

What are convection currents?

Convection currents are movements of material caused by differences in temperature.

They move air in the atmosphere, water in the ocean, and plates in the lithosphere.

Did you know that the hypothesis for the contents moving is that large convection currents can move continents.

Di d you know?

Where are convection currents located?

Convection currents are located in the Earth’s mantle all around the world.

The constant rotation between cold and hot material in the mantle moves up and down and changes constantly between hot and cold material based on if its further or closer to the core. This carries the Earth’s plates. Convection currents are one of the reasons the continent we live on moves. Convection currents increase volcanism which produces the greenhouse effect.

An everyday example of convection is the movement of water in a pot on a stove. This is the same movement of convection currents in the mantle.

http://www.physics.arizona.edu/~thews/reu/Convection.bmp

The Living Earth Plate Tectonics by Jon Erickson

Dynamic Earth by Prentice Hall Science

Information and Pictures from:

http://www.classroomatsea.net/carlsberg/images/convection.jpg