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

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 convecting mantle-driven mechanism, states that mantle plumes originating from the...