Observations clearly show that slab sinking is hampered by the mantle transition zone. However, the mechanisms that cause slabs to sink or stall and the effect on the efficiency of material and heat circulation in the mantle remain debated. In a recent review, we show that combined insights from models (including our own mechanical and thermo-mechanical subduction models) and observations actually yields a good understanding of how an interplay of mantle viscosity and phase changes with slab strength and motions, to first order controlled by plate age, leads to the observed variable subduction behaviour.
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