Scientists have discovered that, contrary to popular wisdom, the mid-ocean mountain ranges below the Atlantic Ocean appear to play a much larger role in the shape of the Earth, literally driving the US and Europe apart.
The exact mechanism underlying the motion of the earth’s tectonic plates has long eluded scientists, but this latest research from the University of Southampton could bring about major changes in thinking about research and response to climate change.
The new study suggests that the mid-ocean ranges (MARs), the line of mountains that emerge along the seabed and mark the boundary between these vast tectonic plates, may play a much more important role than previously thought, and the Atlantic Ocean enlarged by a few. centimeters each year while the Pacific Ocean shrinks simultaneously.
The researchers deployed a fleet of 39 seismometers at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, which stretches 1,000 kilometers, and monitored seismic activity around the world for a period of one year. During this research period, they monitored the flow or transfer of material between the upper and lower mantle below the earth’s crust.
Using state-of-the-art techniques, they succeed in imaging material transfer at depths as far underground as 660 kilometers (410 miles) below the surface, the first large-scale, high-resolution image of the Earth’s mantle in this region.
“The observations imply material transfer from the lower to the upper mantle – either continuous or intermittent – linked to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge,” explains the researchers, adding that convection currents throughout the mantle may be more preventative and more important than previously thought.
In other words, mid-ocean ranges play an active, not passive, role in plate tectonics that literally shape our world, even though at a rate of about 3.8 cm per year.
When tectonic plates collide, earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions can occur, highlighting what is at stake in this particular field of research.
“There is a growing distance between North America and Europe, and it is not driven by political or philosophical differences,” says co-author Dr Nick Harmon, also from the University of Southampton.
Further research in this area and the collection of additional data will provide better models and warning systems for natural disasters, and better inform the climate change models that measure sea level rise, leading to a major review in public policy on both sides of the world. -Atlantic expansion.
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