Plate tectonics and convection of the solid, rocky mantle are responsible for transporting
heat out of Earth. However, the physics of plate tectonics is poorly understood; other planets …

Abstract The North Atlantic, extending from the Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone to the north
Norway-Greenland-Svalbard margins, is regarded as both a classic case of structural …

Presented here are self‐consistent, three‐dimensional simulations of mantle convection,
some of which display an approximation of plate tectonic behavior that is continuous in …

Subduction is a major process of plate tectonics; however, its initiation is not understood. We
used high-resolution (less than 1 kilometer) finite-element models based on rheological data …

In the last decade, significant progress has been made toward understanding how plate
tectonics is generated from mantle dynamics. A primary goal of plate-generation studies has …

It is widely believed that grain size reduction by dynamic recrystallization can lead to major
rheological weakening and associated strain localization by bringing about a switch from …

Strain‐dependent rheologies may play a critical role in the deformation of the lithosphere
and particularly in the development of focused shear zones. We investigate the effects of …

At high stresses and low temperatures, grainsize reduction by dynamic recrystallization
profoundly modifies rock rheology. Strain energy driven grain-boundary migration (ρGBM) is …

Weakening and shear localization in the lithosphere are essential ingredients for
understanding how and whether plate tectonics is generated from mantle convection on …

Even though it is a well-established fact that the Earth is currently in a plate-tectonics mode,
the question on how to “break” lithospheric plates and initiate subduction remains a matter of …