What Would Happen If Plate Tectonics Stopped Tomorrow?
Abstract
As our only home in the universe so far, the Earth is currently more than 4.5 billion years old. The Earth is the only silicate planet we know which experiences plate tectonics. As a unique way to release heat energy, plate tectonics plays a critical role in moulding our Earth, almost everything of our planet is closely connected to it. However, as the Earth keeps cooling down from its birth, plate tectonics would disappear one day in the future, which would lead to the greatest cataclysm in the history. Without plate tectonics, the Earth would be withered and freezing planet of death, with a great possibility to suffer from another snowball Earth.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18686/ag.v7i1.9776
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