Atlantic Ocean may begin closing off Gibraltar

A process that takes millions of years and is called wilson cycle, This movement of the plates will, eventually, as established by this study published in the journal Geology, create an atlantic ring of fire similar to that present in the Pacific Ocean, appears on the surface of both Seismic and Volcanic Activity, while mountain ranges may also form. These collision sites can also move internally and reach places where all is quiet.

And despite the way we see the world, the reality is of the ocean are born and die During millions of years of Earth’s geological evolution. Thus, for example, the Mediterranean Sea is one that has survived the transformation of a great ocean. thetis, from the Triassic era that existed between Eurasia and Africa. And the Atlantic was born when supercontinent pangea It broke up about 180 million years ago.

And new subduction zones would have to be created to stop oceans like the Atlantic from rising and closing. A complex process because it requires breaking and bending the plates, and the plates are very strong. And as Europa Press points out, one way to solve this problem is to consider that subduction zones could move from a dying ocean in which they already exist (the Mediterranean) to ancient oceans (like the Atlantic). This process is called Attack by kidnapping.

“Subduction intrusion is inherently a three-dimensional process that requires advanced modeling tools and supercomputers that were not available just a few years ago. Now we can simulate the formation of Gibraltar Arch In great detail and also how it could evolve in the deep future,” explains João Duarte, first author and researcher at the Dom Luiz Institute of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon. Duarte has been studying the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula for years, and has also presented his ideas before the European General Assembly of Geology.

This study represents a new look at the Gibraltar subduction zone, as most authors have considered it was not active Because it had slowed down considerably in the last million years. And according to the researchers’ conclusion, its slow phase lasts for 20 million years and then, it will invade the Atlantic Ocean and accelerate. This would be the beginning of crustal recycling in the eastern part of the Atlantic and may also be the beginning of the closure of the Atlantic.

Furthermore, history has shown that living in a subduction zone has had significant consequences. Because in these areas 90% of earthquakes occur on the planet, The Great Lisbon earthquake of 1755 occurred in Portugal. It is estimated that its scale was 9 degrees and it resulted in the death of 12,000 to 50,000 inhabitants. And more than two hundred years later, in 1969, a major earthquake off the Portuguese coast caused a tsunami that killed a dozen people.

«There are two other subduction zones on the other side of the Atlantic: the Lesser Antilles, in the Caribbean, and the Scottish Arc, near Antarctica. However, these subduction zones invaded the Atlantic several million years ago. Studying Gibraltar is an invaluable opportunity as it allows you to observe The process is in its early stages, when it is just happening«, indicates Duarte.