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Mantle convection is the very slow creep of Earth's solid silicate mantle as convection currents carry heat from the interior to the planet's surface. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Mantle convection causes tectonic plates to move around the Earth's surface.
Earth heat transport occurs by conduction, mantle convection, hydrothermal convection, and volcanic advection. [15] Earth's internal heat flow to the surface is thought to be 80% due to mantle convection, with the remaining heat mostly originating in the Earth's crust, [16] with about 1% due to volcanic activity, earthquakes, and mountain ...
Simulation of thermal convection in the Earth's mantle. Hot areas are shown in red, cold areas are shown in blue. A hot, less-dense material at the bottom moves upwards, and likewise, cold material from the top moves downwards. Convection (or convective heat transfer) is the transfer of heat from
The temperature of the mantle increases rapidly in the thermal boundary layers at the top and bottom of the mantle, and increases gradually through the interior of the mantle. [22] Although the higher temperatures far exceed the melting points of the mantle rocks at the surface (about 1,500 K (1,200 °C; 2,200 °F) for representative peridotite ...
Thermal insulators are materials specifically designed to reduce the flow of heat by limiting conduction, convection, or both. Thermal resistance is a heat property and the measurement by which an object or material resists to heat flow (heat per time unit or thermal resistance) to temperature difference.
When the cause of the convection is unspecified, convection due to the effects of thermal expansion and buoyancy can be assumed. Convection may also take place in soft solids or mixtures where particles can flow. Thermal image of a newly lit Ghillie kettle. The plume of hot air resulting from the convection current is visible.
The slab affects the convection and evolution of the Earth's mantle due to the insertion of the hydrous oceanic lithosphere. [3] Dense oceanic lithosphere retreats into the Earth's mantle, while lightweight continental lithospheric material produces active continental margins and volcanic arcs, generating volcanism. [4]
The geothermal gradient is steeper in the lithosphere than in the mantle because the mantle transports heat primarily by convection, leading to a geothermal gradient that is determined by the mantle adiabat, rather than by the conductive heat transfer processes that predominate in the lithosphere, which acts as a thermal boundary layer of the ...