Abstract
PLATE tectonics is well established as an empirical description for modification of the Earth's outermost solid layer, although the dynamics of the plates are poorly understood. One view is that the plates are surface manifestations of the deep mantle convection which must inevitably occur if there are deepseated energy sources1. Mantle convection, however, may not be an efficient driver of plate motions2, and the negative buoyancy of subducting slabs may be more important2, 3. We consider here a simple fluid dynamical model which illustrates some of the general principles of subduction dynamics, and suggest an explanation for the observed subduction angle (the angle between the subducting slab and the Earth's surface). The model depends on the concept of a ‘critical’ negative buoyancy that plate material must attain before it can undergo steady-state subduction.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Turcotte, D. L. & Oxburgh, E. R. An. Rev. Fluid Mech. 4, 33–68 (1972).
Richter, F. M. Tectonophysics 38, 61–88 (1977).
Forsyth, D. & Uyeda, S. Geophys. J. R. astr. Soc. 43, 163–200 (1975).
Luyendyk, B. P. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 81, 3411–3416 (1970).
Tullis, T. E. Preprint (1977).
Jischke, M. C. J. Geophys. Res. 80, 4809–4813 (1975).
Isaacs, B. & Molnar, P. Nature 228, 1121–1124 (1969).
McKenzie, D. P., Geophys. J. R. astr. Soc. 18, 1–32 (1969).
Oxburgh, E. R. & Parmentier, E. M. J. Geol Soc., Lond. 133, 343–355 (1977).
Davies, G. F. Geophys. J. R. astr. Soc. 49, 557–563 (1977).
Hales, A. L. Earth planet Sci. Lett. 6, 31–34 (1969).
Froidevaux, C. & Schubert, G. J. Geophys. R. 80, 2553–2564 (1975).
Melosh, H. J. Tectonophysics 35, 363–390 (1976).
McElhinny, M. W. & McWilliams, M. O. Tectonophvsics 40, 139–159 (1977).
Tovish, A., Luyendyk, B. & Schubert, G. Trans Am. Geophys. Un. EOS 57, 1002 (1976).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
STEVENSON, D., TURNER, J. Angle of subduction. Nature 270, 334–336 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/270334a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/270334a0
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
Relation between rheological properties and the stress state in subducting slabs
Earth, Planets and Space (2024)
-
Observations and modeling of flat subduction and its geological effects
Science China Earth Sciences (2020)
-
Effects of crustal eclogitization on plate subduction/collision dynamics: Implications for India-Asia collision
Journal of Earth Science (2016)
-
Role of unbalanced slab resistive force in the 2004 off Sumatra mega-earthquake (M w > 9.0) event
International Journal of Earth Sciences (2011)
-
Controls of the structure of subducted slabs
Nature (1988)