Earth's Dynamic Geosphere: Plate Tectonics Activity 3 - What Drives the Plates?

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Earth's Dynamic Geosphere book cover
AGI/It's About Time



Inquiring Further

What questions do you have about the driving forces behind plate tectonics?

  • "What Drives the Plates?" - from This Dynamic Earth, USGS
    This site reviews the theories behind convection cells as the driving force of plate tectonics and also takes a look as to whether these mechanisms operate now, or in the past, on other planets.
  • "Plate Tectonics: The Mechanism" from the Museum of Paleontology, University of California at Berkeley

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Learn more about the Evidence for Earth's Layered Structure:

"Earth's Interior and Plate Tectonics" by R. Hamilton, from Views of the Solar System by C. Hamilton, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Reviews the divisions of the Earth's interior, including the percentage of the Earth's mass that each division encompasses, the depth of each division, and their physical properties. Also includes a review of the lithosphere and plate tectonics.

"The Interior of the Earth" by E.C. Roberston, USGS
Information about the make up of the crust, the mantle, and the core, and how each was "discovered" and studied.

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Learn more about the The Flow of Matter and Energy within the Earth

"What Drives the Plates?" - from This Dynamic Earth, USGS
This site reviews the theories behind convection cells as the driving force of plate tectonics and also takes a look as to whether these mechanisms operate now, or in the past, on other planets.

"Plate Tectonics: The Mechanism" from the Museum of Paleontology, University of California at Berkeley

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