How are convection currents formed?

Heat added low down in a body of fluid (gas or liquid) causes some of the fluid to warm up. Because it's warmer, it's also less dense and so starts to rise through the body of the fluid like a hot-air balloon, except without the skin. read more

Convection currents form when you have a liquid or gas have regions with a difference in temperature and there is a heat source feeding the system. Colder areas are going to want to fall and hotter regions want to rise. As the hotter regions raise they lose energy (heat) and begin to fall and the now warm regions rise. read more

Convection currents transfer heat from one place to another by mass motion of a fluid such as water, air or molten rock. The heat transfer function of convection currents drives the earth’s ocean currents, atmospheric weather and geology. read more

Convection currents in the mantle are streams of fluid produced by the process of heat transfer from one place to another. The earth gets very hot as you go nearer to the core . The mantle is thus heated up as it is right next to the core . As a result, convection currents are formed. read more

In the ocean, convection heating is responsible for the ocean currents, which also affect the weather patterns. Convection currents occur in the magma of the Earth. These currents drive plate tectonics. Radioactive decay in the core of the Earth produces enough heat to melt the rocks that form magma. read more