One explanation for plate movements is slab pull. Plates are extremely heavy so gravity acts upon them, pulling them apart. Alternatively, as shown in the diagram, convection currents under the ...

evidence suggests it is the plates that drive the convection. Slab pull occurs where older, denser tectonic plates sink into the mantle at subduction zones. As these older sections of plates sink ...

Elements of a newly discovered process in plate tectonics include a mass ... owing to the tensional force applied by the pull of the rock slab pull across the subduction zone (Figure b).

Of course, the plate spacing depends on the plate size, loading and slab details. Research by Walker and Holland shows diamond and rectangular-shaped plate dowels are more effective than round or ...