Similar mantle, plate and lunar recession speeds a coincidence?
From stargene@sbcglobal.net@21:1/5 to All on Sun Aug 12 20:34:39 2018
Is there an overarching link between the fact that (1) plate tectonic motions range typically between a few mm/year and about 100 mm/year, (2) mantle convection speeds average roughly around “..20 mm/yr..” (wikipedia entry) on the one hand and on the other hand (3) the Moon, due to tidal effects,
is “..spiraling away from Earth at a rate of 3.8 cm per year.[11].." (wikipedia
entry)?
Ie: Can these very similar values all have a common origin…perhaps in the mutual spin and tidal interactions of the Earth-Moon-Sun system? The usual driver for mantle (and plate) motion is said to be due to the heat flow and
the local geochemistry of the Earth’s interior, and of course the decay of several radionuclides. Ie: Is the similarity between (1, 2) and (3)
merely a quirky coincidence?