They find a lost continent between Canada and Greenland.

There are few places on our planet that have not yet been trampled by man. Every corner has been explored, and it is unthinkable to talk about new continent at this point in the film. However, one of the mysteries that man has still not been able to fully explore is the seas and oceans, the depths of which hide unimaginable secrets. Can you imagine that new continents were created in the depths of our waters? Well, don’t imagine it, because it’s true.

According to Daily mailResearchers from the University of Derby in the UK accidentally discovered a 400 kilometer long stretch of land short Davis Straitbetween Greenland and CanadaThis piece of land, discovered by studying tectonic plate movements in the area, was created by «long period of separation and the spreading of the seafloor between Greenland and North America,” the researchers explained.

The proto-microcontinent separated from Greenland after the tectonic plate between Canada and it split apart several years ago, according to the study. 118 million years. And this phenomenon of microcontinental separation is more common than we think. For this reason and through this study, the goal of the researchers’ work is to understand their background well enough. be able to predict what might happen in the future.

What did the research involve?

The discovery of this microcontinent was achieved through a combination of crustal thickness data obtained from gravity mapsseismic reflection data and plate tectonic models. The team focused on how the crustal anomaly formed and reconstructed the tectonic movements that lasted for about 30 million yearsapproximately.

This microcontinent was described as larger than the others and was said to be, from the point of view of modern science, It is important to understand how it was formed.. And the average microcontinent is usually from 5 to 24 kilometers, and the open one has a thickness of 17 and 22 kilometers.

According to the data, various mapping techniques tracked how seafloor movements changed over millions of years and revealed “an isolated region of relatively thick continental crust that separated from Greenland during a recently recognized phase of spreading (east-to-west) along western Greenland.”

Formation of microcontinents

How do these microcontinents form? Well, there are regions on the Earth’s surface where the continental crust is thicker than usual. These areas can become isolated as a result of various geological processes. In this particular case, a section of thick continental crust broke away from Greenland. This implies that This part was originally connected to Greenland and then separated.

The separation occurred due to a phase of extension, a geological process in which the Earth’s crust is stretched and thinned. In this context, the extension was from east to west across western Greenland. During this phase of extension, tectonic forces stretch the continental crust, creating cracks and eventually separating crustal blocks. These blocks can move and form isolated areas.

Finally, an isolated area with thick continental crust that broke away from Greenland It becomes a proto-microcontinent.

When did it start?

The initial rift between Canada and Greenland began several 118 million yearsHowever, the sea floor only began to spread 61 million years ago, forming what we know today as the Davis Strait.

About three million years later, the researchers said the seafloor spreading shifted from northeast to southwest and then shifted from north to south, displacing a large chunk of land from the Davis Strait. The shift lasted about 33 million years and stopped only when Greenland collided with Ellesmere Island, located to the north.

No doubt this phenomenon will be studied for years to come to understand how other of these proto-microcontinents are formed and to be able to predict what our planet will be like in the future.

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