Cenozoic plate driving forces

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Abstract
Past studies of plate driving forces have concluded that the forces due to subducted slabs in the upper mantle and those due to the thickening of the oceanic lithosphere are the principal driving forces. We reexamine the balance of driving forces for the present‐day and extend our analysis through the Cenozoic, using an analytical torque balance method which accounts for interactions between plates via viscous coupling to the induced mantle flow. We use an evolving mantle density heterogeneity field based on the last 200 Myr. of subduction to drive plate motions, an approach which has proven successful in predicting the present‐day mantle heterogeneity field. We find that for plausible upper mantle viscosities the forces due to subducted slabs in the Cenozoic and Mesozoic account for in excess of 90% of plate driving forces and those due to lithospheric thickening for less than 10%.