North America Is Dripping from Below, Geoscientists Discover
a day ago
- #tectonic plates
- #Earth science
- #geology
- Researchers discovered that the underside of the North American continent is dripping away in blobs of rock.
- The phenomenon, called 'cratonic thinning,' is observed for the first time in action.
- Cratons are ancient, stable parts of Earth's continents, but they can undergo changes affecting their stability.
- The dripping is concentrated over the U.S. Midwest but poses no immediate threat to the landscape.
- The Farallon Plate, a subducting tectonic plate, may be driving the thinning process.
- A new full-waveform seismic tomographic model helped reveal these geologic processes.
- Computer models suggest the Farallon Plate's presence causes the dripping, while its absence stops it.
- The research provides insights into continent formation, breakup, and recycling over geologic time.
- The study was funded by the National Science Foundation and involved multiple universities.