Experts suggest that the Pacific tectonic plate will be destroyed by suboceanic faults.

According to a study conducted by scientists from the University of Toronto, The Western Pacific tectonic plate will tear apart.which would contradict the classical theory of plate tectonics.

The researchers discovered that the plate is riddled with large underwater faults. the one that will destroy it.

The study, which analyzed four plateaus of the Pacific Ocean (Schatsky, Hess, Ontong Java and Manihiki), suggests that These underwater areas are not as difficult as they seemas they will be eroded by gravitational forces at the edge of the Pacific Plate.

“We knew that geological deformations, such as faults, occur within continental plates, away from plate boundaries. But We didn’t know that the same thing was happening with oceanic plates.“explained Erkan Gün, a scientist at the University of Toronto and author of the study.

Let’s remember that the Pacific Plate occupies most of the Pacific Ocean floorwhich took millions of years to form, moving westward and then plunging into the Earth’s mantle.

The team also developed a model with four hypothetical plateaus located at a distance of 750 to 1,500 kilometers from the nearest subduction zone, which, as a reminder, This is the process of one tectonic plate sinking under the edge of another plate..

The researchers modeled these dynamics to better understand the plate tectonic mechanisms that led to this deformation.

These findings contradict the theory of plate tectonicsas this new study suggests these seafloor plateaus are weaker than they appear.

According to Gün: “It was thought that suboceanic plateaus, being thicker, should be more stable. But our models and seismic data show that the opposite is actually true: the plateau is weaker.”

Remarkable This study remains a theoryand that these assumptions have not yet been confirmed.

“The theory is not set in stone, and we are still finding new things,” explained study co-author and University of Toronto geophysicist Russell Pisklivek.

This study was published in the journal Letters on Geophysical Research.