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Fate of Sinking Tectonic Plates
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[QUOTE="BillTre, post: 6576003, member: 581757"] Pulling of subducting plates is the most common explanation I have heard for tectonic plate movement, however ... I have also read somewhere (don't remember where) that another force driving the movement of tectonic plates is a pushing force from mid-ocean ridges. They are higher in elevation than surrounding areas and gravity pulls them away from the ridge and therefore pushes the oceanic crust outward toward its subduction region. Additionally, I don't think that all tectonic plates are associated with a subduction zone (for example in the western Atlantic). So if they are moving, there should be some other reason for it. Here is a [URL='https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.abj2515?et_rid=295682744&utm_campaign=toc_advances_2021-11-24&af=R&et_cid=4008861']recent article (behind Science paywall)[/URL] that describes two kinds of subduction zones with fast and slow sinking subducting plates. The difference seems due to the relative temperature of plates and their surroundings. This results in a density difference and therefore drive different rates of sinking. [ATTACH type="full" alt="Screen Shot 2021-12-15 at 9.36.27 AM.png"]294208[/ATTACH] There could well be a variety of forces acting on plates in different ways. [/QUOTE]
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