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Why Tectonic Plates Move the Way They Do The same way a penny thinks through a jar of honey |
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17 Jul 10 — Researchers have developed a new "breakthrough" theory to explain the motion of tectonic plates on the earth's surface. Subduction is based on essentially "the same fluid dynamics that describe how a penny sinks through a jar of honey," says UC San Diego geophysicist Dave Stegman.
"The
computer models demonstrate that the subducted portion of a tectonic plate pulls
on the portion of the plate that remains on the earth's surface," says Stegman,
who developed the computer models that helped the team reenact tens of millions
of years of tectonic movement. "This pull results in either the motion of the
plate, or the motion of the plate boundary, with the size of the subduction zone
determining how much of each." |
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