Slab pull

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Slab pull is a

slab suction account for almost all of the force driving plate tectonics. The ridge push at rifts contributes only 5 to 10%.[4]

Carlson et al. (1983)[5] in Lallemandet al. (2005)[6] defined the slab pull force as:

Where:

K is 4.2g (gravitational acceleration = 9.81 m/s2) according to McNutt (1984);[7]
Δρ = 80 kg/m3 is the mean density difference between the slab and the surrounding asthenosphere;
L is the slab length calculated only for the part above 670 km (the upper/lower mantle boundary);
A is the slab age in
Ma
at the trench.

The slab pull force manifests itself between two extreme forms:

Between these two examples there is the evolution of the

Nevada, the Sevier and Laramide orogenies; the Mid-Tertiary ignimbrite flare-up and later left as Juan de Fuca and Cocos plates, the Basin and Range Province under extension, with slab break off, smaller slab width, more edges and mantle
return flow.

Some early models of plate tectonics envisioned the plates riding on top of convection cells like conveyor belts. However, most scientists working today believe that the asthenosphere does not directly cause motion by the friction of such basal forces. The North American Plate is nowhere being subducted, yet it is in motion. Likewise the African, Eurasian and Antarctic Plates. Ridge push is thought responsible for the motion of these plates.

The subducting slabs around the

Ethiopian
rift valleys.

See also

References

  1. ISSN 0956-540X
    .
  2. S2CID 36766442
    .
  3. ^ "Plate tectonics, based on 'Geology and the Environment', 5 ed; 'Earth', 9 ed" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 11, 2011.
  4. ^ Conrad CP, Lithgow-Bertelloni C (2004)
  5. doi:10.1029/GL010i004p00297
    .
  6. doi:10.1029/2005GC000917
    .
  7. doi:10.1029/JB089iB13p11180
    .

Further reading
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