Plate tectonics was one of the fundamental forces that shape the earth throughout its history. However, there are still geological phenomena that challenge the Understanding how the planet evolves. The portal Popular Science He informed about the novelties of the land composition.
One of these mysteries is the crratonic thinning (or cratonic thinning), a geological process that implies the disappearance of deep layers of the crratones, the oldest and most stable rocks that form the basis of the continents.
This phenomenon was recently studied in real time by a team of geoscientifics from the University of Texas in Austin, which marks a milestone in geological research. Because of this, they analyzed the main aspects of the process, from their discovery to their scientific implications.
Cratonic thinning describes the process by which deep layers of the earth’s cortex Cratones are slowly detached towards the underlying terrestrial mantle. These blocks that remained stable for billions of years, may suffer alterations under certain geological conditions, causing their disintegration.
Likewise, the trend known as Cratonic dripping (or cratonic dripping), is characterized by the gradual disappearance of the deepest layers of these rocky layers, which causes a Fusion and spill process of the material towards the mantle.
Although this phenomenon is not new, since it was analyzed in the past in other regions; the real -time observation of this process is a significant advance. In this way, scientists seek to study tectonic dynamics that occur on a geological scale with a unique vision of crratones and their transformation.
The discovery of Cratonic thinning in North America was conducted by a research team from the University of Texas in Austin. Scientists used a Seismic tomographic model In full waveform, which allowed them to observe in detail the deep layers of the earth’s crust. when analyzing the seismic waves, they detected a unusual behavior on the border between the deep mantle and the lithosphere.
Rareness was mainly observed under the half western United Statesan area that historically considered geologically stable. Thanks to the advances in seismic technology, researchers could see how the bark material is slowly detaching towards the mantle, confirming the presence of the Cratonic drip in real time.
A crucial aspect of this discovery is the hypothesis that suggests that the cliff plate, An old oceanic tectonic plate That it was subdued under North America approximately 200 million years ago, it could be playing an important role in Cratonic thinning.
The seismic model developed by the geoscientific Junlin Hua and his team from the University of Texas, showed that Fragmented remains of this platelocated about 600 kilometers away from the crraton, they are influencing the flow of material in the terrestrial mantle. According to experts, it may be contributing to the fusion of the deepest layers of the crraton, facilitating their disintegration.
To validate this theory, the researchers made simulations in which they included and excluded the Farallón plaque in their models. The results showed that the Cratonic dripping only happened when the plate was incorporated, which reinforces the idea that these remains are being a key factor in the process.
This discovery has important implications for geology, since it allows scientists Address Cratonic thinning With advanced technologies, something that before could only be analyzed based on past geological events.
According to Thorsten BeckerProfessor of planetary sciences and co -author of the study, this type of observations is crucial to understand how the continents are formed, destroyed and recycled over time. The study of these processes deepens the understanding of the internal dynamics of the earth and how the interactions between the mantle and the cortex affect the tectonic evolution.
In addition, this phenomenon offers new perspectives on the behavior of the land mantle and its relationship with other geological processes, such as Volcanic activity and plaque tectonics. The observation of this type of event in real time allows more precise models of the land dynamics and anticipate how these processes could evolve in the future.
Although crratonic thinning is a fascinating phenomenon from the scientific point of view, specialists say does not represent an immediate threat For human populations. This process occurs at a temporary scale of millions of years, so it has no immediate effects on people living in the American west or other regions involved.
With this discovery, new lines of research on the evolution of the continents and tectonic processes underlying. Although an immediate impact is not expected, the detailed study of these phenomena could provide valuable information to understand the long -term geological risks.
