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Slab Pull
Geophysics
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Slab pull is a geophysical mechanism in which a subducting tectonic plate cools and becomes denser than the surrounding mantle as it descends, and the weight of that sinking, densifying slab pulls the rest of the plate along behind it. Research using inverse theory methods in 1975 by Forsyth and Uyeda identified slab pull as the strongest of the several forces thought to drive plate motion, with slab pull and the related force of slab suction together accounting for nearly all of the force driving plate tectonics, while ridge push contributes only an estimated 5 to 10 percent.
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1. Slab Pull (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead paragraph, sentence on the 1975 Forsyth and Uyeda inverse theory resultQuote, Lead paragraph, sentence on the 1975 Forsyth and Uyeda inverse theory result
In 1975 Forsyth and Uyeda used the inverse theory method to show that, of the many forces likely to be driving plate motion, slab pull was the strongest.
Ridge Push (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Ridge Push, Application section, paragraph comparing slab pull and ridge push strengthQuote, Associated With: Ridge Push, Application section, paragraph comparing slab pull and ridge push strength
in the 1990s, calculations indicated that slab pull, the force that a subducted section of plate exerts on the attached crust on the surface, was an order of magnitude stronger than ridge push.
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