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Subduction tectonics vs. Plume tectonics—Discussion on driving forces for plate motion

Science China Earth Sciences volume 63, pages 315–328 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

Plate tectonics describes the horizontal motions of lithospheric plates, the Earth’s outer shell, and interactions among them across the Earth’s surface. Since the establishment of the theory of plate tectonics about half a century ago, considerable debates have remained regarding the driving forces for plate motion. The early “Bottom up” view, i.e., the converting mantle-driven mechanism, states that mantle plumes originating from the core-mantle boundary act at the base of plates, accelerating continental breakup and driving plate motion. Toward the present, however, the “Top down” idea is more widely accepted, according to which the negative buoyancy of oceanic plates is the dominant driving force for plate motion, and the subducting slabs control surface tectonics and mantle convection. In this regard, plate tectonics is also known as subduction tectonics. “Top down”tectonics has received wide supports from numerous geological and geophysical observations. On the other hand, recent studies indicate that the acceleration/deceleration of individual plates over the million-year timescale may reflect the effects of mantle plumes. It is also suggested that surface uplift and subsidence within stable cratonic areas are correlated with plume-related magmatic activities over the hundred-million-year timescale. On the global scale, the cyclical supercontinent assembly and breakup seem to be coupled with superplume activities during the past two billion years. These correlations over various spatial and temporal scales indicate the close relationship and intensive interactions between plate tectonics and plume tectonics throughout the history of the Earth and the considerable influence of plumes on plate motion. Indeed, we can acquire a comprehensive understanding of the driving forces for plate motion and operation mechanism of the Earth’s dynamic system only through joint analyses and integrated studies on plate tectonics and plume tectonics.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the scientific editor and three reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions, which improved our manuscript. We appreciate helpful discussions with colleagues in Coffice 442 in IGGCAS. This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 91855207 and 41688103), the Strategic Priority Research Program (A) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDA20070302) and the independent project of the State Key Laboratory of the Lithospheric Evolution, IGGCAS (Grant No. SKLZ201704-11712180).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China

    Ling Chen, Xu Wang, Xiaofeng Liang, Bo Wan & Lijun Liu

  2. CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

    Ling Chen

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Ling Chen, Xu Wang & Bo Wan

  4. Innovation Academy for Earth Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China

    Xiaofeng Liang & Bo Wan

  5. Department of Geology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, 61820, USA

    Lijun Liu

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Chen, L., Wang, X., Liang, X. et al. Subduction tectonics vs. Plume tectonics—Discussion on driving forces for plate motion. Sci. China Earth Sci. 63, 315–328 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-019-9538-2

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Keywords

  • Driving forces for plate motion
  • Negative buoyancy of plates
  • Subduction tectonics
  • Plume tectonics