what causes tectonic plates to move

Tectonic plates move due to various forces that are creating the movement. Geologists have hypothesized that the movement of tectonic plates is related to convection currents in the earth’s mantle. The heat from radioactive processes within the planet’s interior causes the plates to move, sometimes toward and sometimes away from each other. Researchers have proposed three main reasons why the tectonic plates are moving: mantle convection currents, ridge push, and slab pull. Mantle convection currents are warm and can carry and drive the tectonic plates that make up the lithosphere in a way that resembles a conveyor belt. Ridge push occurs when the newly-formed plates at oceanic ridges are warm and have a higher elevation than the rest of the ocean floor, causing them to slide down the sides of the ridge and push the plates away from the ridge. Slab pull occurs when the older plates start to sink, and they become colder, denser than the mantle beneath them, and start to sink and pull the warmer parts of the plate with them. The movement of tectonic plates is still not fully understood, and scientists have proposed at least four mechanisms to explain how tectonic plates move over the earths surface, including mantle convection, ridge push, slab pull, and slab suction.