Tectonic–climatic interaction

Ok kiddo, picture the earth as a big jigsaw puzzle that’s made up of different pieces called plates. These plates are always moving and bumping into each other, creating mountains, valleys and even causing earthquakes.

Now, imagine that the earth is wearing a coat. This coat is made up of different layers of air that surround the earth called the atmosphere. This is where we live and experience weather like hot, cold, wet or dry.

When the plates move and collide with each other, they cause changes in the landscape. For example, when two plates collide, they squeeze against each other, making them push upwards and create mountains.

But, these changes in the landscape can also affect the weather! For example, when mountains are created, they can change the way that air flows around the earth. As air rises over the mountains, it cools down and rain falls, creating a rainy climate on one side of the mountain and a dry climate on the other.

The same thing can happen with oceans too! When the plates move, it can cause deep trenches in the oceans that can affect currents, which in turn can affect the climate.

So, in short, tectonic-climatic interaction is the way that the moving plates on the earth can create changes in the landscape, like mountains and oceans, which in turn can affect the weather and climate patterns.