(ORDO NEWS) — Modern scientific evidence shows that mountain formation is associated with the collision of tectonic plates. New research has shown that the plate collision was caused by an abundance of nutrients in the oceans two billion years ago.
The study, published in the journal Nature Communications Earth & Environment, talks about a global mining process. When plankton died, it settled on the ocean floor, eventually forming graphite, which played a major role in lubricating tectonic plates, allowing them to run over each other to form mountains.
The researchers found that during this period, the amount of planktonic life was unusually high, which led to the creation of the necessary conditions that were critical for the emergence of mountains over millions of years.
Researchers led by Professor John Parnell of the University School of Geosciences argue that geological records from this period of Earth’s history contain evidence of an abundance of organic matter in the oceans, which was preserved in the shale as graphite.
Mountains are an integral part of the landscape, but large mountain ranges formed about two billion years ago. It was the abundance of carbon in the ocean that played a decisive role in the thickening of the earth’s crust, which led to the formation of the Earth’s mountain ranges, said Professor John Parnell.
The researchers said evidence of the above event can be seen in the northwest of Scotland, where ancient mountain foundations and the slippery graphite that helped form them can still be found in places like Harris, Tyree and Geirloch.
Hidden in the earth’s crust, graphite is in high demand for environmentally friendly technologies. Interestingly, this two-billion-year-old event could now play an important role in preserving the natural world for future generations, said study co-author Dr. Connor Brolly of the University of Glasgow.
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