Geologists have discovered new evidence that the Pacific Ocean plate has been damaged by massive faults, which have caused the plate to slowly move westward and collapse into the Earth’s mantle. The researchers believe that their findings, if accurate, have the potential to redefine what we previously understood about how our planet works.
From our human perspective, the Earth appears like a solid, unchanging object. However, the geological structure of the planet is in a state of constant (albeit very, very slow) change.
Try visualizing the Earth’s crust as puzzle pieces that float on a hot, sticky layer. The jigsaw pieces are tectonic plates: huge slabs of solid rock that slowly flow over the molten mantle. Oceanic plates are plates that lie primarily beneath the ocean, while continental plates form continental land masses.
It is currently believed that oceanic plates are largely rigid and only change shape near subduction zones along plate boundaries. However, this new study shows that this is not necessarily the case.
Their discovery of fault damage in the center of the Pacific Ocean plate – including cracks thousands of meters deep and hundreds of kilometers long – indicates that oceanic plates are not as rigid and strong as previously thought.
“We knew that geological deformations, such as faults, occur on continental plate interiors away from plate boundaries, but we didn’t know that the same thing was happening with oceanic plates,” said first study author Erkan Gun, of the University of Toronto. ” statement.
“What we’re doing is refining plate tectonics – the theory that explains how our planet works – and showing that those plates are actually not as ancient as we previously thought,” said the University of Toronto. said Professor Russell Piskaliwek.
To reach these findings, the team used supercomputer models and existing data to study four plateaus in the western Pacific Ocean – covering a vast area between Japan, Hawaii, New Zealand and Australia.
Researchers say that pulling the Pacific Ocean plate westward is a bit like pulling the tablecloth off a table. Since the sheet is being stretched, some patches of weaker fabric are more prone to tearing. These weak spots are plateaus where extensive fault damage is located.
More work is needed before this theory can be confirmed. These researchers hope that their study will draw attention to the plateaus and inspire researchers to collect more data.
“The theory is not carved in stone and we are still discovering new things. We now know that this fault damage is fracturing the center of the oceanic plate – and that it can be linked to seismic activity and volcanism,” Pyskiewicz explained.
“A new discovery like this overturns what we have understood and taught about active Earth. “And it shows that there are still radical mysteries about the grand operations of our evolving planet,” he concluded.
The new study has been published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.