Table of Contents
How does the ridge push contribute to plate motion?
As the lithosphere formed at divergent plate margins is hot, and less dense than the surrounding area it rises to form oceanic ridges. The newly-formed plates slide sideways off these high areas, pushing the plate in front of them resulting in a ridge-push mechanism.
How does ridge push and slab-pull work?
Ridge push –magma rises as the plates move apart. The magma cools to form new plate material. Slab pull – The denser plate sinks back into the mantle under the influence of gravity. It pulls the rest of the plate along behind it.
How does slab-pull contribute to plate speed?
Slab pull is the force exerted by a dense oceanic plate sinking into the mantle at a convergent plate boundary. Slab pull is a key force acting on plate motion because it has been proven to greatly affect the velocity of a plate, not to mention create dramatic volcanoes.
How is slab pull different from ridge push?
The main difference between ridge push and slab pull is that the ridge push occurs due to potential energy gradient that arises from the tall topographies of the ridges whereas the slab pull occurs due to the negative buoyancy arising in the subducting plate. It is also named as sliding plate force.
How does convection currents and slab pull work together?
As one plate subducts, it sets up convection currents in the upper mantle that ‘exert a net trenchward pull’ ie, acts to suck both the plates together (Wilson, 1993). Associated with the slab suction force is the idea of trench roll-back.
Why is ridge push important?
In plates with particularly small or young subducting slabs, ridge push may be the predominant driving force in the plate’s motion. This also causes the subducting Nazca slab to experience flat slab subduction, one of the few places in the world where this currently occurs.
The motion of tectonic plates is driven by convection in the mantle. slab pull: the force due to the weight of the cold, dense sinking tectonic plate. ridge push: the force due to the buoyancy of the hot mantle rising to the surface beneath the ridge.
What is the slab pull ridge push?
Slab Pull: The force exerted by the weight of the subducted slab on the plate it is attached to. Ridge Push: The pressure exerted by the excess height of the mid-ocean ridge. The history of the development of plate tectonics is centrally tied to the question of what drives plate motions.
Where is ridge push important?
Ridge push (also known as gravitational sliding) or sliding plate force is a proposed driving force for plate motion in plate tectonics that occurs at mid-ocean ridges as the result of the rigid lithosphere sliding down the hot, raised asthenosphere below mid-ocean ridges.