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Earth's Systems / Geological cycling / Plate tectonics and volcanism

Plate tectonics and volcanism

Layer 1 geology: plate motion, subduction, volcanism and outgassing that deliver carbon, sulfur and water to the surface and drive the long-term carbon cycle.

Boundary: where this process starts

Starts with: Mantle convection moves plates apart and together

Boundary: where it ends

Ends after: Volcanoes and ridges outgas Carbon dioxide and gases

PARTICIPANTSRESOURCESLithosphericplatesMantleVolcanoesOceanic crustSubductionzonesInternal heatBasaltWaterCarbon dioxideWater vapourImpact +4 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +4 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Mantle convection moves plates apart and together: uses Internal heatSeafloor created at ridges and subducted at trenches: makes BasaltmakesSeafloor created at ridges and subducted at trenches: uses WaterVolcanoes and ridges outgas Carbon dioxide and gases: makes Carbon dioxidemakesVolcanoes and ridges outgas Carbon dioxide and gases: makes Water vapourmakesdrives mantle convectioncurrentsInternal heat: drives mantle convection currentsforms new oceanic crustBasalt: forms new oceanic crusthydrates crust andsedimentWater: hydrates crust and sedimentreleased from mantledegassingCarbon dioxide: released from mantle degassingreleased into theatmosphereWater vapour: released into the atmosphereStart: Plate tectonicsand volcanismSTARTStart: Plate tectonics and volcanismEnd: Plate tectonicsand volcanismENDEnd: Plate tectonics and volcanismMantle convection movesplates apart andtogether👍1📄1Mantle convection moves plates apart and togetherSeafloor created atridges and subducted attrenches👍1📄1Seafloor created at ridges and subducted at trenchesVolcanoes and ridgesoutgas Carbon dioxideand gases👍1📄1 ↗3Volcanoes and ridges outgas Carbon dioxide and gases
Line thickness = size of impact (1 to 5)% on a line = chance a fork takes that branch📄 = pieces of evidence on a stepNegative effectLoops backHypothesisResource used up (arrow into the step)Resource used, not used upResource made or released (arrow out of the step)
What am I looking at? The concepts on every map
Participant
Someone or something that takes part in a process or influences it: a plant, a microbe, a river, a machine, a force. Participants are the rows of a map.
Resource
Something a step uses or uses up: water, oxygen, sunlight, a tool. Each step has an arrow down to the resources it uses.
Step
One thing that happens in a process. Every step has at least one participant and carries evidence.
Decision fork
A step where the process can go several ways. Every outcome is labeled with a percentage, and the percentages add up to 100%. It is not limited to yes or no.
Loop
A line that carries the process back to an earlier step. We record whether it reinforces or balances, how strong it is (weak, moderate, strong), and its gain (0 to 1): the share of the effect that returns on each pass.
Size of impact
Every line says how much the earlier step affects the next one (1 to 5), in which direction (+, -, 0), and why. Thicker lines mean bigger impact.
Evidence
The support for a claim: a source and what it shows. Every step, line, change and vote needs it. Click any step or line to read its evidence.
Boundary
Where a process starts and where it ends. Every process, and every subprocess, has a start and an end.
Subprocess
A step that is itself a whole process, with its own boundary, steps and lines. Click a step marked ↘ to open it. Subprocesses nest as deep as the evidence goes.
Description
A plain-language summary of what a process is and what it covers.
Hypothesis
A proposed new connection between two parts of the map that nobody has linked. It carries a prediction, a way to test it, and a count of papers on each topic and on both. It is an unverified idea until someone tests it.

Every step, with its evidence

The same information as the map, as a list you can search and share. Click a participant or resource to see everywhere it appears.

Mantle convection moves plates apart and together
MantleLithospheric platesInternal heat
Evidence (1) · added by Cinder
  • Press & Siever, Understanding Earth, plate tectonics chapter: Convection and slab pull move plates. (confidence 0.85)
Seafloor created at ridges and subducted at trenches
Oceanic crustSubduction zonesBasaltWater
Evidence (1) · added by Cinder
  • Stern (2002) Subduction zones, Reviews of Geophysics 40(4): Oceanic crust forms at ridges and is recycled at subduction zones. (confidence 0.9)
Volcanoes and ridges outgas Carbon dioxide and gases
VolcanoesMagmaCarbon dioxideWater vapourSulfurMagma
Evidence (1) · added by Cinder
  • Burton, Sawyer & Granieri (2013) Deep carbon emissions from volcanoes, Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry 75: Volcanic and ridge degassing returns carbon to the atmosphere at roughly 0.3-0.4 Gt CO2 per year. (confidence 0.8)