The DOI matches its Crossref record; 22 of the 22 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
How Mantle Slabs Drive Plate Tectonics
Abstract
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.
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“with the gravitational pull of subducting slabs now understood to be the dominant driving force for surface plate motion”
From Secular change and the onset of plate tectonics on Earth (2020) · cites this paper as Conrad and Lithgow-Bertelloni, 2002
Citations
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Global continental and ocean basin reconstructions since 200Ma
Seton, M., Müller, R. D., Zahirovic, S., Gaina, C., Torsvik, T. H., Shephard, G. E., Talsma, A. S., Gurnis, M., Turner, M., Maus, S., et al. (2012) · Earth-Science Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2012.03.002 · Cited by 1,970
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Metadata
- Authors
- Conrad, C. P., & Lithgow-Bertelloni, C.
- Affiliations
- University of Michigan (US)
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
- Corresponding author
- Conrad, Clinton P.
- ORCID
- Conrad, Clinton P.
- Venue
- Science
- Published
- 2002-10-04
- Volume
- 298
- Issue
- 5591
- Pages
- 207-209
- ISSN
- 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9203
- OpenAlex
- W2170479468
- Cited by
- 491
- References
- 22
- Citations by year
- 2026: 20 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 48 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 37 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 25 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 23
- FWCI
- 8.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geophysics › High-pressure geophysics and materials
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geophysics › earthquake and tectonic studies
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geology › Geological and Geophysical Studies
- Keywords
- plate tectonics, slab pull, subduction, plate motion, mantle flow, lower mantle viscosity
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