GEOLOGY

EARTH SCIENCE

TECTONICS

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
What causes changes in the sizes, shapes, and positions of Earth’s continents and oceans?
A
very strong ocean currents
B
continental drift
C
tectonic plate motion
D
global wind belts
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -The movement of these tectonic plates is likely caused by convection currents in the molten rock in Earth’s mantle below the crust. Earthquakes and volcanoes are the short-term results of this tectonic movement. The long-term result of plate tectonics is the movement of entire continents over millions of years (Fig.

Detailed explanation-2: -The distribution of continents and oceans refers to the relative position of landmasses and ocean basins. These change over millions of years due to the movement of tectonic plates.

Detailed explanation-3: -The heat from radioactive processes within the planet’s interior causes the plates to move, sometimes toward and sometimes away from each other. This movement is called plate motion, or tectonic shift.

Detailed explanation-4: -Continental drift describes one of the earliest ways geologists thought continents moved over time. Today, the theory of continental drift has been replaced by the science of plate tectonics.

Detailed explanation-5: -Continental motion via the movement of tectonic plates can affect earth’s climate by changing the sizes and locations of both land masses and ice caps, and by altering ocean circulation patterns, which are responsible for transporting heat around the earth, which in turn affect atmospheric circulation processes.

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