大陆漂移与海底扩张的理论在板块构造的方案中被结合在一起,按照这个方案,刚性岩石圈(包括大陆和大洋地壳)的薄板片在上地幔中粘性较差的软流圈上移动,特别是大洋板块,由于地幔的对流或其它原因由海岭向两边扩张,在岛弧地区或活动大陆的边缘沉入地下,通过软流圈完成对流的循环。 The theory of continental drift and submarine expansion is combined in a plate tectonic scheme in which thin plates of rigid lithosphere (including the continental and oceanic crust) move over the less well-behaved asthenosphere in the upper mantle, in particular Is an oceanic plate that expands from the ridge to both sides due to mantle convection or other causes, sinks underground at the edge of the island arc or the active continent, and convects circulation through the asthenosphere.