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plate tectonic vocab
environmental science (23-24')
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Transform Plate Boundary | tectonic boundary where the plates slide past each other |
| Plate Tectonics | a theory that the Earth's lithosphere (the crust and upper mantle) is divided into a number or large, platelike sections that move as distinct masses. |
| Divergent Plate Boundary | tectonic boundary where two plates are moving away from each other |
| Lithosphere | the rigid outer part of the Earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle |
| Subduction | the sideways and downward movement of the edge of a plate of the Earth's crust into the mantle beneath another plate |
| Convection | process by which heat is transferred by movement of a heated fluid such as air or water |
| Ridge Push | a proposed driving force for plate motion in plate tectonics that occurs at mid-ocean ridges |
| Slab Pull | a force that results from denser oceanic plates sinking beneath less dense continental plates |
| Convergent Plate Boundary | tectonic boundary where two plates are moving towards each other |
| Boundary | a real or imaginary line that separates two things |