Plate Tectonics and the Origin of Magma

Plate Tectonics
 theory that Earth's outer shell is divided into several plates
that glide over the mantle
 Plates located at the lithosphere act like a hard and rigid
shell compared to Earth's mantle
CONVERGENT BOUNDARIES
 The lithospheric plates are moving towards one another
Subduction Zones
 place where two lithospheric plates come together, one
riding over the other
 Oceanic-Continental

continental plate

oceanic plate
 Continental Margin Arcs
In areas where oceanic lithosphere is subducted beneath
continental lithosphere volcanism occurs as chains of
volcanoes near the continental margin, referred to as a
continental margin arc
Oceanic-Oceanic

oceanic plate
oceanic plate
 Island Arcs

In areas where oceanic lithosphere is subducted

beneath oceanic lithosphere the volcanism is
expressed on the surface as chains of islands referred
to as island arcs
DIVERGENT BOUNDARIES
- where separation of plates occur
- occur above rising convection currents
MID-OCEAN RIDGES
 Occurs beneath the oceanic lithosphere
 the rising convection current below lifts the lithosphere
producing a mid-ocean ridge
 Example: Mid-Atlantic Ridge
CONTINENTAL RIFT ZONES
 Occurs beneath a continental plate
 Example: East Africa Rift Valley
OCEAN ISLAND BASALTS
  basaltic rocks found on many volcanic islands away
from tectonic plate boundaries typically associated
with hot spots.