The researchers were the first to discover that the Pacific Plate is formed by a combination of mechanisms: The plate thickens as the rocks of the mantle cool, the chemical makeup of the rocks that form the plate changes with depth, and the mechanical behavior of the rocks change with depth and their proximity to where the plate is being formed at the mid-ocean ridge. (sciencedaily.com)
Combinations of these mechanisms and more will make saving land from agriculture and sparing it for nature more likely, write the researchers. (sciencedaily.com)
According to Dorman, a combination of these mechanisms could account for the team's observations. (keckobservatory.org)