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View submission: Ask Anything Wednesday - Physics, Astronomy, Earth and Planetary Science
Convection currents in the mantle generally propel tectonic plates along. The thickness and other factors to do with the plates can determine how fast the plates move. The same convection currents keep the earths mantle from boiling over. In the earths mantle the currents flow in patterns where hot mantle material flows from near the outer core, rises to the crust where it propels tectonic plates along, is gradually cooled by proximity to the crust and distance from the outer core, then sinks to be warmed all over again.
Comment by TheGrumpyre at 26/04/2023 at 20:07 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
So as a really loose analogy I'm imagining it's similar to how prevailing wind currents are caused by warm air rising in one area and cool air descending in another area. But on the surface we've got things like mountain ranges, large bodies of heat-absorbing water etc. that cause those patterns of currents to form. Are there geographical hot and cold spots or "mountains" in the earth's core that cause the currents of the core and mantle to keep flowing the way they do, or is it just the inertia of massive amounts of molten rock that keeps it going in such a predictable way?