Scientists have discovered what could lead to the separation of continents

TORONTO – A new study has found that an upsurge of matter beneath the Earth’s crust under the Atlantic Ocean could push the continents of North and South America away from Europe and Africa.

Researchers at the University of Southampton have found evidence of a “mantle rise” to depths of more than 600 kilometers below the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, causing the distance between continents to increase.

“There is an increasing distance between North America and Europe, and it is not driven by political or philosophical differences – it is caused by mantle convection,” said one of the scientists in study leader Nick Harmon in a press release.

The results were published Wednesday in the British weekly scientific journal Nature.

According to the study, the tectonic plates attached to the Americas diverge from those attached to Europe and Africa by four centimeters each year. As the plates move, researchers say new plates form to replace them at the central point between the regions, known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

The researchers reported that it is generally believed that the movement of tectonic plates is driven by the forces of gravity or by the plates falling back into the Earth. However, they say the cause of the separation of the Atlantic plates has specifically “remained a mystery” because the Atlantic Ocean is not surrounded by “dense and sinking plates”.

The authors of the study carried out two research campaigns over 10 weeks and deployed 39 seismometers at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The data collected showed that a rise in material between the earth’s crust and its core over 600 kilometers below the Mid-Atlantic Ridge could push the plates down.

This depth under the mantle is associated with “abrupt changes in mineral phases”, according to the study. The researchers say that the upwelling below the ridges generally came from much shallower depths, around 60 kilometers.

“This work is exciting and refutes long-held hypotheses that mid-ocean ridges may play a passive role in plate tectonics. This suggests that in places like the mid-Atlantic, the forces on the ridge play an important role in forming apart plaques, ”said Mike Kendall, professor at the University of Southampton, in the communicated.

The researchers say the data provides “the first large-scale, high-resolution imagery of the mantle” under the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Researchers said in the study that their findings provide insight into plate tectonics, which can cause natural disasters, including earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions.

“The incredible results shed new light on our understanding of how the Earth’s interior is connected to plate tectonics, with observations never seen before,” lead author Matthew Agius said in the release.

In addition to helping scientists develop better warning systems for natural disasters, Chief Scientist Kate Rychert said in the statement that plate tectonics are also impacting sea level and affecting by the following climate change estimates.

“It was completely unexpected. It has broad implications for our understanding of Earth’s evolution and habitability. It also demonstrates how crucial it is to collect new data about the oceans. There is so much. more to explore, ”said Rychert.