Question

How can I conclude of what I learned about plate tectonics. (In a simple manner) give examples

Answer 1

Answer:

Conclusion

Plate tectonics is the grand, unifying theory of Earth sciences, combining the concepts of continental drift and sea-floor spreading into one holistic theory that explains many of the major structural features of the Earth's surface. It explains why the oceanic lithosphere is never older than about 180 Ma and why only the continents have preserved the Earth's geological record for the past 4000 Ma. It provides the framework to explain the distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes and a mechanism for the slow drift of the continents across the Earth's surface. The theory has now reached such a level of scientific acceptance that the movement of plates, both relative to one another and to the hot-spot reference frame, are being used to infer movement of the hot-spot reference frame with respect to the Earth's rotational axis.

Plate tectonics is an expression of the convective regime in the underlying mantle, but the link between individual convection cells and plate boundaries is not direct because plate boundaries are not fixed and, like the plates, move relative to one another. Plate movements are driven by gravity, largely by cold, dense lithospheric slabs pulling younger lithosphere towards a destructive boundary. A less-powerful driving force is generated by the potential energy of spreading centres, elevated some 2-3 km above the general level of the abyssal plains.

As ideas concerning plate tectonics have evolved since the 1970s, it has become apparent that while the theory can be applied rigorously to the oceans, the same cannot be said of the continents. Because of the strength and rigidity of oceanic plates, deformation is focused into narrow linear zones along plate margins. By contrast, when continental lithosphere approaches a plate boundary, deformation can extend hundreds of kilometres into the continental interior because continental plates are less strong. Such deformation gives rise to the major mountain belts of the Earth, as exemplified by the Alpine Himalayan Chain.