Gravitational sliding of lithospheric material away from elevated spreading regions. It supplies a driving contribution to plate tectonics together with slab pull and mantle stresses.
The ridge-push force in a plate model is the depth integral of the horizontal pressure difference between hot and cold compensated columns. To leading order, the old plate's linear excess density gives . Here is depth below the old seafloor. Retaining the geometrical contribution from its lowered surface adds within the linear-density model. Force per ridge length has units , distinct from stress.
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Ridge push is a geological process that occurs at tectonic plate boundaries, specifically at mid-ocean ridges where new oceanic crust is formed. It is one of the forces that contribute to plate tectonics and the movement of the Earth's lithospheric plates. The process works as follows: 1. **Formation of New Crust**: At mid-ocean ridges, magma rises from the mantle to create new oceanic crust as tectonic plates pull apart.