地球表层由若干板块所组成,它们之间相互运动,造就了各种地质构造现象,这些板块学说的基本概念已被地学界广泛接受。然而板块理论主要的还是运动学的理论,对于运动的力源至今仍是众说纷纭,诸如地球自转、潮汐摩擦、膨涨说、地核增大等假说无不存在致命的困难。研究得最多的还是地幔对流。地幔对流是为了解释地球内部能量如何转化为一系列地质过程而提出的,McKangie 等 The Earth’s surface consists of a number of plates, the mutual movement between them, creating a variety of geological formations, the basic concepts of these plate theory has been widely accepted by geosciences. However, the theory of plate theory is mainly the theory of kinematics. There are still many divergent opinions on the source of movement. The hypotheses such as rotation of the earth, tidal friction, swelling and expansion of the earth, and so on are all without any fatal difficulties. The most studied is the mantle convection. Mantle convection is proposed to explain how the energy inside the Earth can be transformed into a series of geological processes. McKangie et al.