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Divergent Plate Boundaries

The document discusses plate tectonics, focusing on slab pull and ridge push as forces driving plate motion. It describes divergent plate boundaries, where tectonic plates move apart, leading to the formation of new oceanic crust and features such as rift valleys and mid-ocean ridges. The document also outlines the processes involved in continental and oceanic divergence.

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Rhenilea Daduya
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9 views45 pages

Divergent Plate Boundaries

The document discusses plate tectonics, focusing on slab pull and ridge push as forces driving plate motion. It describes divergent plate boundaries, where tectonic plates move apart, leading to the formation of new oceanic crust and features such as rift valleys and mid-ocean ridges. The document also outlines the processes involved in continental and oceanic divergence.

Uploaded by

Rhenilea Daduya
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Figure 1.

Map of Plate Boundaries


SLAB PULL- a force that results from denser oceanic
plates sinking beneath less dense continental plates
along convergent boundaries and subduction zones.
The gravitation force of the sinking oceanic plate drags
the rest of the oceanic plate along with the portion
experiencing slab pull.
RIDGE PUSH- a proposed driving force for plate motion in
plate tectonics that occurs at mid-ocean ridges as the result of
the rigid lithosphere sliding down the hot, raised asthenosphere
below mid-ocean ridges.
Divergent plate Boundary- occurs
when two tectonic plates move away
from each other. Along these
boundaries, earthquakes are common
and magma (molten rock) rises from
the Earth's mantle to the surface,
solidifying to create new oceanic
crust.
Types of Divergent Plate Boundary

1.Continental Divergence or
Continental –continental plate divergence

2. Oceanic Divergence or
Oceanic-oceanic plate divergence
1.Continental Divergence or
Continental –continental plate divergence
-As the two plates pull apart, normal faults
develop on both sides of the rift, and the
central blocks slide downwards.
-early in the rift forming process, streams and
rivers will flow into the sinking rift valley to
form a long linear lake.
-as the rift grows deeper it might
drop below sea level, allowing
ocean waters to flow in. This will
produce a narrow, shallow sea
within the rift.
-This rift can then grow deeper and
wider. If rifting continues, a new basin
could be produced.
- When a divergent boundary occurs beneath oceanic
lithosphere, the rising convection current below lifts the
lithosphere, producing mid-ocean ridge.
- Extensional forces stretch the lithosphere and produce a
deep fissure.
- When the fissure opens, pressure is reduced on the super-
heated mantle material below.
- It responds by melting and the new magma flows into the
fissure.
- The magma then solidifies and the process repeats itself.
Seafloor
Spreading

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