Re: Do Oceans Cause Plate Tectonics?
- From: Darwin123 <drosen0000@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:47:35 -0700 (PDT)
On Mar 10, 10:03 am, "Mea" <m...@xxxxxxx> wrote:
I would make the argument that plate tectonics is natural reault of theI would say that the oceans drive plate tectonics. I am not sure
existence of water oceans on a planet and will not occur without the
presence of significant water ocean coverage.
what you mean by "cause" plate tectonics, however. A lot of planets
show signs of volcanism. Mars shows signs of volcanism. So do some of
Saturns moons. Whenever you find a world without any signs of meteoric
craters, one suspects some type of geological activity to erase the
craters. Venus is said to show signs of some type of geological
activity. So are some of the moons of Saturn. Therefore, you have to
define "plate tectonics" a little better before you state for certain
that earth is the "only" planet to show plate tectonics.
I suspect what you mean is that earth is the only planet with
recognizable continents. You are trying to say that liquid water has
something to do with the formation of continents, in ways other than
filling in the depressions between them. The continents are made of
lighter stuff than the sea bottom, and liquid water may have something
to do with it. Is that your conjecture?
You may be right about liquid water causing continents. I saw a
program on the Discover channel that stated something that supports
the idea that water started continents. The program was on the
geological history of the earth. I forgot the title of the program.
However, it made a statement pertaining to the first couple of million
years after the earth cooled enough for liquid water to condense.
The program claimed that granite, from which continental crust is
made, was formed when water was forced into the crust. You see, the
deep ocean floor is mostly made of dense rocks like basalt. The
continental crust is made of less dense material like granite.
When the earth cooled enough for water to condense, the earth was
completely covered in liquid water. The bottom of the ocean was made
of dense materials like basalt. However, there was still convection in
the dense rock of the mantle because the center of the earth is hotter
than the surface. The convection of minerals in the crust dragged some
of the water down deep in the earth. Chemical reactions in the mantle
helped form minerals that make up granite. These lighter minerals
floated to the surface through the denser minerals of the mantle. Once
on the surface, convection couldn't drag the granite down. No matter
how cool it got, granite is still less dense than basalt. Thus, the
first continents formed out of granite.
Yes, I know a half remembered Discover program is not a highly
reputable reference. However, the scenario described fits what I know
of conventional geology quite well. I am sure a google search could
find better references for this model.
The program mentioned some of the other things you mention. Like,
continental material is a better heat insulator than deep ocean bottom
material. So there is this cycle where the continents come together
and then break apart.
Note that in this model, the oceans aren't causing the
convection
.
- References:
- Do Oceans Cause Plate Tectonics?
- From: Mea
- Do Oceans Cause Plate Tectonics?
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