Plate Tectonic Theory Flashcards
What was Wegeners theory
Continental drift, Pangea broke up and drifted apart
What is sea floor spreading
Idea that at a mid Atlantic ridge plates moved apart creating new rock in the gap. At destructive margins land was destroyed
What are hot spots
A hotspot is where a magnet plume causes magma to rise up through the lithosphere forming a volcano on the surface
What is ridge push
Magma rises at mid Atlantic ridge is very hot and heats the rock around it, this causing the lithosphere to expand and become elevated. Thesis creating a slop either side of the ridge. As new rock is formed older rock ages and cools and is pulled down the slope by gravity
What is slab pull
Denser plate subducted. The edge of the subducting plate is much denser and older so it continues to slide pull the rest of the plate with it
