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CrustalTrudger t1_jb4huld wrote

Reply to comment by Mike2220 in What happens at the end of a subduction zone? When the entire plate subducts? by kittens0423

This presumes that the plate that "follows" is subductable or if it is subductable (i.e., it's oceanic) that the boundaries between the fully subducted plate and the following plate are such that allow for continued subudcution. None of those conditions are guaranteed and in fact with reference to the latter consideration, we very often see cessation of subduction when a mid-ocean ridge (i.e., the boundary between two oceanic portions of a plate) approaches or reaches a subduction zone.

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LordNoodles t1_jb57qjt wrote

What happens then? Like there’s the massive momentum, where does it go?

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CrustalTrudger t1_jb5hcc8 wrote

The force is driven by the negative buoyancy of the slab. If the slab detaches, there is no more driving force for the portion of the plate on the surface whereas the slab continues to sink. A simple analogy would be a weight clipped to the edge of a floating mat. If the mat rips, the portion attached to the weight will sink but the rest of the mat will just sit there (assuming it is buoyant). This is expanded on in much more detail in a top level answer I made within this thread to try to address the relative incompleteness of the specific top level comment that everyone is upvoting.

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