What drives the movement of tectonic plates?

The movement of tectonic plates is primarily driven by convection currents in the asthenosphere. The asthenosphere, which is the semi-fluid layer of the Earth's mantle beneath the rigid lithosphere, experiences heat from the core of the Earth. This heat causes the mantle material to become less dense and rise. As the material rises, it cools and becomes denser, causing it to sink back down. This continuous cycle of rising and sinking creates convection currents that effectively push and pull the tectonic plates along the Earth's surface.

While subduction zones and plate boundaries play a significant role in the interactions and consequences of plate movements, they are not the underlying mechanism that drives the movement itself. Subduction zones refer to areas where one tectonic plate is being forced under another, often leading to geological phenomena such as earthquakes and volcanic activity. Crumbling mountain ranges are the result of tectonic activity but do not influence the fundamental driving forces behind plate movement. Thus, convection currents are the essential mechanism responsible for generating the forces that move the tectonic plates.