Convections currents in the earth's mantle are thought to be the driving force of plate tectonics. Where the hot magma is brought near the surface by the convection currents a divergent boundary is created. The divergent boundaries form new oceans and widen existing oceans. These plates move due to convection currents in the mantle. Heat from the core makes magma in the mantle rise towards the crust. As the hot current nears the crust, it begins to cool and sink back towards the core. As the magma sinks, it drags the plates across the surface of the Earth.
Inside Earth, the convection of mantle material is thought to cause the movement of the overriding crustal plates, resulting in events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
The fact that the temperature gradient is much lower in the main part of the mantle than in the lithosphere has been interpreted as evidence of convection in the mantle. When the mantle convects, heat is transferred through the mantle by physically moving hot rocks. The most important driving factor for plate tectonics is the convection of the Earth's mantle. This is the process by which hot material rises to the surface and cool material sinks. These plates move due to convection currents in the mantle. Heat from the core makes magma in the mantle rise towards the crust. As the hot current nears the crust, it begins to cool and sink back towards the core. As the magma sinks, it drags the plates across the surface of the Earth. 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.Convections currents in the earth's mantle are thought to be the driving force of plate tectonics. Where the hot magma is brought near the surface by the convection currents a divergent boundary is created. The divergent boundaries form new oceans and widen existing oceans.