What is the difference between convection pull and ridge push?
‘Ridge Push’ and ‘Slab Pull’ are thought to be the major forces driving the motion of oceanic plates. Ridge push is caused by the potential energy gradient from the high topography of the ridges. Slab pull is caused by the negative buoyancy of the subducting plate.
Does Ridge push cause slab pull?
“ridge push” The lithosphere thickens with distance (and time) away from the midocean ridge. “slab pull” As lithospheric plates move away from midocean ridges they cool and become denser. They eventually become more dense than the underlying hot mantle.
What do slab pull convection current ridge push cause?
Hot magma rises from the mantle at mid-ocean ridges, pushing the plates apart. Earthquakes occur along the fractures that appear as the plates move apart. As the oceanic slab descends, earthquakes are generated within the slab and at the interface between the plates.
How are ridge push slab and mantle convection related?
Lithospheric plates are part of a planetary scale thermal convection system. The energy source for plate tectonics is Earth’s internal heat while the forces moving the plates are the “ridge push” and “slab pull” gravity forces. It was once thought that mantle convection could drive plate motions.
Which is more forceful a slab pull or a ridge push?
Further developments of the theory suggested that some form of ridge push helped supplement convection in order to keep the plates moving, but 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 …
What happens in Ridge push?
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.
Is a slab pull theory a form of convection?
The motion of tectonic plates is driven by convection in the mantle. There are three main forces that determine the rate at which tectonic plates move as part of the mantle convection system: slab pull: the force due to the weight of the cold, dense sinking tectonic plate.
What is an example of ridge-push?
Which type of boundary does ridge-push occur?
The ridge-push force is created by tectonic plates moving away from a divergent boundary due to their higher elevation than the surrounding ocean floor. These forces are influenced by the high rates of volcanism occurring beneath mid-ocean ridges.
How are ridge push and slab pull related to convection in?
Ridge push is the idea that a ridge is a high point of convection current that pushes the plates aside and allows new mantle to rise and fill the hole. What are three reasons that may cause tectonic plates to move? 1. Mantle Convection. 2. Ridge Push. 3. Slab Pull. And also; Mantle Plumes and Hot Spot. What is the mechanism for continental drift?
How does slab pull and collisional resistance work?
Slab Pull and Collisional Resistance This force occurs between two colliding plates where one is subducting beneath the other. 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).
How is ridge push related to plate drag?
Ridge push is primarily opposed by plate drag, which is the drag force of the rigid lithosphere moving over the weaker, ductile asthenosphere. Models estimate that ridge push is probably just sufficient to overcome plate drag and maintain the motion of the plate in most areas.
How is slab pull responsible for the Cascade Range?
St. Helens is one of a chain of volcanoes that results from subduction of the Juan de Fuca plate beneath the North American Plate. So not only does slab pull drive much of the movement of tectonic plates, but also is responsible for many of the volcano chains visible on earth. This map shows the volcanoes of the Cascade Range.