Home Latest Subduction zone found beneath Gibraltar Strait: Concerns raised over way forward for Atlantic ocean – Times of India

Subduction zone found beneath Gibraltar Strait: Concerns raised over way forward for Atlantic ocean – Times of India

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Subduction zone found beneath Gibraltar Strait: Concerns raised over way forward for Atlantic ocean – Times of India

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NEW DELHI: A current research from scientists in Portugal has raised considerations about the way forward for the Atlantic Ocean. They have recognized a subduction zone, often called the ‘Ring of Fire’, that would probably swallow the Atlantic Ocean. Currently positioned beneath the Gibraltar Strait, between Spain and Morocco, this subduction zone is predicted to develop westwards over the following 20 million years. This course of may result in the shrinking of the ocean basin, finally closing off the Atlantic.

Subduction zones happen the place tectonic plates work together, with one plate diving beneath one other. These zones are related to important seismic exercise and may have profound geological implications. Professor João Duarte, main the research on the University of Lisbon, warns that the Atlantic could also be within the early levels of closure as a result of subduction exercise.

The Gibraltar Strait, a 10-mile hole separating Europe and Africa, marks the assembly level of the Eurasian Plate and the African Plate. The African Plate is at present subducting beneath the Eurasian Plate on this area, resulting in seismic occasions and earthquake dangers. Despite the sluggish motion of the subduction zone beneath the strait, specialists imagine it may develop and lengthen into different components of the ocean, a phenomenon often called ‘subduction invasion’.

Although the present subduction zone beneath the Gibraltar Strait is comparatively small, measuring about 125 miles in size, projections recommend it may develop to round 500 miles within the subsequent 20 million years. Using laptop simulations, researchers traced the evolution of this subduction zone from its formation thousands and thousands of years in the past to its potential future improvement.

The mannequin signifies that the subduction zone will progress westwards by the Gibraltar Strait, forming a brand new Atlantic subduction system known as the ‘Ring of Fire’. This course of, much like the Pacific Ocean’s Ring of Fire, entails the gradual pulling of the ocean ground beneath the continents, resulting in the closure of the ocean basin.

The research, printed within the journal Geology, highlights the opportunity of the Atlantic Ocean ‘closing up’ within the distant future. The researchers recommend that the prolonged subduction zone will propagate additional into the Atlantic, ultimately reshaping the ocean’s geography. While the timeline for these adjustments spans thousands and thousands of years, the implications may very well be important for the planet’s geological panorama.

In conclusion, the findings of the research make clear the dynamic nature of Earth’s tectonic processes and the long-term evolution of ocean basins. The idea of the Atlantic Ocean shrinking and probably ceasing to exist over an enormous timeframe affords a glimpse into the geological forces shaping our planet.

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