Plate Tectonic Movement Mechanisms

Overview of the three mechanism that cause plate movement in the theory of plate tectonics; convection cycles, slab pull, and ridge push.

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

[kerry]

Great descriptions, but the music was very distracting.

[jackymendoza]

thank you so much for this! the music kinda distracts me but still very full of information.

[shreyasehgal]

That was super helpful!! You explained it so much better than my science teacher did! Thank you!

[vittoriotorrini]

oh my god!! this is amazing. it literally saved me during my exam.

[supertuna]

Thanks! I couldn't make heads or tails of my textbook at first so this was really helpful c:

[c.k.]

Wow thank you so much! Even if I'm not a native english speaker I understood everything even better than in class :)

[esmeraldap]

Thanks for making this video! Everything is very clear 😊

[marclinquist]

Part 1
Hello London, I have enjoyed this video on plate tectonics. I know it has been several years since it was first posted but I found it far too important to not stop and comment on this subject. And more specifically, to allow me an opportunity to express an opinion as to the true and accurate description of the mechanism involved.

It’s interesting when you consider how much the standard model is dependent on the mantle as having a convection regime. The great Arthur Holmes is credited to its acceptance in geology and the suggestion it could be the missing energy source to drive the tectonic plates. But, he also readily admitted it could be wrong.

To date there is no direct observable evidence of the mantle having an up welling of lower density material resembling a convective cell or even a conveyor belt type of mantle movement beneath the tectonic plates. The standard model is only speculative in these regards. But even more importantly, the surface observations over the years have continually presented evidence of a mechanism of plate movement far different than what convection could provide. The mantle appears instead to be a solid state material that is 2, 900 km thick, with pressures so great that at only 100 to 250 kilometers carbon can be squeezed into a diamond matrix.

There are now a growing number of researchers who are skeptical of the standard model’s over-dependence on such an overly simplistic idea.

Prof. Don L. Anderson of the Caltech seismological lab., had with many other geologists made critical assessment of the standard model.
New Theory of the Earth

"Because of the combined effects of temperature and pressure on physical properties, shallow stratification may be reversible - leading to plate tectonics - while deep dense layers may be trapped at depth."

"Conventional (Rayleigh- Benard) convection theory may have little to do with plate tectonics.
Convection is so poorly defined that it is difficult to consider it even a viable working hypothesis unless there is some direct observable evidence that it can make anything resembling a prediction of observation."

Carlo Doglioni, the geophysicist and former president of the Italian Geological Society, and since April 2016, the president of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology has published some very remarkable papers in regard to mantle dynamics and plate tectonics.

MANTLE DYNAMICS AND PLATE KINEMATICS
Carlo Doglioni, La Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
Roberto Sabadini, University of Milan, Italy

". . . . . none of the proposed models of mantle convection can account for the simpler pattern in plate motion we observe at the surface, nor has a unique solution been proposed for how material in the mantle convects. At the moment there is no way to link mantle dynamics and plate kinematics at the surface, considering that the mantle and lithosphere are detached. The Atlantic and Indian ridges are in fact moving apart with respect to Africa, proving not to be fixed both relative to each other and relative to any fixed point in the mantle. This evidence confirms that ocean ridges are decoupled from the underlying mantle."

This remarkable observation above expresses the reality of the situation. Geologists need convection to be a viable solution to plate movement, but after 90 years, its existence, let alone its functionality, remains unanswered in the standard model.

[stevenbaumann]

4:50. Incorrect. The oldest continental crust isn’t 4.3Ga. You’re referring to the Jack Hills. Those zircons are detrital. That means they were transported from somewhere else and incorporated into the conglomerate that houses them. The conglomerate was deposited much later <3.0Ga. The original igneous rock they crystallized from are long gone.

The oldest rock cooled from magma is still the Acasta Gneiss in the Slave Craton of Canada at about 4.0Ga. Although the Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt in Quebec could be older.

[vc]

can you turn the music up i cant hear it

[moldy_cheez]

Great t shirt Really represents what we’re all about good on ya

[sherendevita]

Thank you so much! This video is really helpful

[priyaphogat]

hello jenks, as we know before continental formation sea was there .
So, how can be oceanic crust will be younger then continental crust?

[Lipip]

Thank you so much this helped me from my report

[yulixue]

This is too helpful! I found hope now.

[rfercefvrcerfceffre]

I mean I don’t think I’ll ever learn it because just liek in class and in here I got distracted and started reading comments

[baburambhusal]

it really helped me i was really struggling with this....

[romangazo]

if you could turn of the background music thank you