How Mantle Slabs Drive Plate Tectonics

The gravitational pull of subducted slabs is thought to drive the motions of Earth's tectonic plates, but the coupling between slabs and plates is not well established. If a slab is mechanically attached to a subducting plate, it can exert a direct pull on the plate. Alternatively, a detached s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2002-10, Vol.298 (5591), p.207-209
Main Authors: Conrad, Clinton P., Lithgow-Bertelloni, Carolina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Fractions
Geology
Internal geophysics
Kinetics
Mantle
Mantle convection
Mechanics
Motion
Plate tectonics
Rollbacks
Solid-earth geophysics, tectonophysics, gravimetry
Speed
Subduction
Subduction zones
Surface (Geology)
Surgical suction
Tectonics. Structural geology. Plate tectonics
Velocity distribution
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Summary:The gravitational pull of subducted slabs is thought to drive the motions of Earth's tectonic plates, but the coupling between slabs and plates is not well established. If a slab is mechanically attached to a subducting plate, it can exert a direct pull on the plate. Alternatively, a detached slab may drive a plate by exciting flow in the mantle that exerts a shear traction on the base of the plate. From the geologic history of subduction, we estimated the relative importance of "pull" versus "suction" for the present-day plates. Observed plate motions are best predicted if slabs in the upper mantle are attached to plates and generate slab pull forces that account for about half of the total driving force on plates. Slabs in the lower mantle are supported by viscous mantle forces and drive plates through slab suction.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1074161