Table of Contents
What happens when two continental plates transform?
When oceanic or continental plates slide past each other in opposite directions, or move in the same direction but at different speeds, a transform fault boundary is formed. No new crust is created or subducted, and no volcanoes form, but earthquakes occur along the fault.
When two tectonic plates press together what is the result?
At convergent boundaries, where plates push together, crust is either folded or destroyed. When two plates with continental crust collide, they will crumple and fold the rock between them. A plate with older, denser oceanic crust will sink beneath another plate.
What happens when oceanic and oceanic collide?
Ocean-Ocean Collisions When two oceanic plates collide one oceanic plate is eventually subducted under the other. Where one plate slides under the other is referred to as the ‘subduction zone’. As the subducting plate descends into the mantle where it is being gradually heated a benioff zone is formed.
What is formed in oceanic-oceanic convergence?
At an ocean-ocean convergent boundary, one of the plates (oceanic crust and lithospheric mantle) is pushed, or subducted, under the other (Figure 4.6. It mixes with the overlying mantle, and the addition of water to the hot mantle lowers the crust’s melting point and leads to the formation of magma (flux melting).
What does and oceanic-oceanic convergence give rise to?
An ocean-ocean convergent boundary occurs location where two oceanic plates come together and the denser plate sinks, or subducts, beneath the less dense plate, forming a deep ocean trench. Chains of volcanoes, called island arcs, form over subduction zone melting occurs where the subducting plate reenters the mantle.
What happens when tectonic plates converge in the ocean?
Sometimes an entire ocean closes as tectonic plates converge, causing blocks of thick continental crust to collide. A collisional mountain range forms as the crust is compressed, crumpled, and thickened even more. The effect is like a swimmer putting a beach ball under his or her belly—the swimmer will rise up considerably out of the water.
Why do tectonic plates sink as they age?
As the plates age, they become colder, which makes them denser than the mantle beneath them. They start to sink and pull the warmer parts of the plate with them. Out of all these three forces, researchers agree that the slab pull is the most relevant one. It is the biggest driving force behind all of the tectonic plate movement.
How does slab pull affect the movement of tectonic plates?
Slab pull is the most relevant force that affects the movement of tectonic plates. Convection refers to specific cells within the Earth’s mantle that create heat. The heat makes the solid rocks move upwards while the colder rocks move downwards.
What kind of rocks form the oceanic plate boundary?
These large bodies of intrusive igneous rocks are called batholiths, which may someday be uplifted to form a mountain range. An oceanic-to-oceanic plate boundary occurs when two oceanic plates converge, causing the older, denser plate will subduct into the mantle.