Dear Colleagues,

Since the start of the plate tectonic revolution, it has been widely understood that the processes of plate development on motion must be initiated, if not governed, by the underlying mantle dynamics of the planet. Competing mantle processes of buoyancy and viscous dissipation can propagate or inhibit plate tectonic processes. While standing on decades of research advances in how the mantle works, many details of how mantle circulation initiates or continues to drive plate motions are still poorly understood in a global or regional sense. The overall goal of this Special Issue of Geosciences is to explore and illuminate various aspects of mantle circulation on plate development from rifting or subduction initiation to the influence of convection on current plate motions.

Specifically, this Special Issue aims to provide an outlet for rapid, widely accessible publication of peer-reviewed studies utilizing the various tools of geophysics, structural geology, sedimentology, geochemistry, and geodynamic modeling to better elucidate how the underlying mantle interacts with plate tectonics as we understand it. This Special Issue aims to cover, without being limited to, the following areas:

• Whole or layered mantle convection;
• Plume processes;
• Rifting/seafloor spreading development, subduction initiation;
• Plate motions and their effect on dynamics of the underlying mantle.

Dr. James Conder
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Mantle convection
• Subduction/rift initiation
• Asthenosphere flow
• Viscous dissipation
• Plate driving forces
• Mantle plumes