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Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Evolution of Staircase Structures in Diffusive Convection
Published on: September 5, 2018
Comment on "Mantle flow drives the subsidence of oceanic plates"
Marcel B Croon1, John K Hillier, John G Sclater
1Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, San Diego, CA 92093-0220, USA. mcroon@ucsd.edu
Abstract:
Adam and Vidal (Reports, 2 April 2010, p. 83) reported sea-floor depth increasing as the square root of distance from the ridge along "mantle flow lines." However, their data actually support a depth-age relationship and "flattening" at older ages. We argue that no plausible physical mechanism supports their proposal that mantle flow drives subsidence.
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