Lost tectonic plate discovered under Canada
(ORDO NEWS) — The Earth has undergone significant changes during its evolution. Some tectonic plates were rising upward, while others were sinking inward. Geologists from the University of Houston said they were able to discover an ancient plate under Canada, which plunged into the mantle more than one million years ago.
About 60 million years ago, there were several tectonic plates on the west coast of North America, which were named Kula and Farallon. For a long time, scientists argued about the location of the third slab there, which was called the Resurrection. The latest materials say that there is still a third slab there.
During the collision of two plates, one in most cases is under the other, gradually sinking into the mantle. This process in the scientific world is called subduction. High temperatures and pressures lead to the fact that the shape of the formation changes, and the area increases.
Images of the mantle beneath North America were analyzed to find a new plate. Then the technique of unfolding the plates was applied, which made it possible to see the layers hidden in the depths. Scientists unrolled and stretched each slab to understand its initial shape.
Two slabs, Alaska and Cascadia, have long been known. The first is under the Aleutian Islands, and the second is under southern California. But the third plate, the Yukon plate, turned out to be new and not studied at all. She sank to a depth of 400-600 km and, according to preliminary data, completely corresponds in shape to the “Resurrection” plate.
According to the findings of scientists, the Yukon tectonic plate could slowly follow to the northeast after the submersion of the “Resurrection” plate 40 million years ago.
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