Geological Understanding of Plate Tectonics: Basic Concepts, Illustrations, Examples and New Perspectives

The advent of the plate tectonics theory ~ 50 years ago has revolutionized Earth Science thinking and provided a solid framework for understanding how the Earth works. The observations and statistics by Forsyth & Uyeda (1975) showed the subducting slab pull to be the primary force driving seafloor spreading. This driving force readily explains the Pacific type seafloor spreading connected to subduction zones but is not straightforward to explain the Atlantic type seafloor spreading and continental drift. This has led to the general perception that “we still don’t know what drives plate tectonics