The legendary phenomenon of plate tectonics, which causes seas and “grazes” continents and oceans, is clearly visible through a young subduction zone just on the edge of Earth’s “8th continent”.
According to Live Science, Earth’s “eighth continent” mapped by New Zealand scientists last year has resulted in an exciting new discovery: A new subduction zone has formed just off the coast of New Zealand.
According to Live Science, Earth’s “eighth continent” mapped by New Zealand scientists last year has resulted in an exciting new discovery: A new subduction zone has formed just off the coast of New Zealand.
The Earth has an 8th continent, swallowing the ocean – Photo 1.
The Australian plate “carrying” the ocean tends to lower and sink into the Pacific plate “carrying” the submerged 8th continent Zealandia.
As many previous studies have shown, the earth’s crust is not transparent but is made up of about 15 large and small pieces called “tectonic plates”, which are constantly moving, colliding with each other, one under others and change. The process of plate tectonics is at the origin of the “face” of the earth which changes several times: sometimes it is a supercontinent and a super ocean, sometimes it is divided into several continents and oceans like today. .
Last year, a team led by geologist Nick Mortimer of GNS Science mapped New Zealand, a submerged continent of Earth, as the 8th continent next to the 7. Africa, North America, South America, Oceania , Antarctica and the Eurasian Siamese pair).
Recently, another research team led by geologist Brandon Shuck of the University of Texas at Austin (USA) determined that Zealandia is also representative of vibrating plate tectonic activity: a tectonic plate carries the ocean and touches and heads under the Zealandia continental plate. This is the process called “subduction”, which often leads to the merger or separation of oceans and continents.
The formation of subduction zones is mysterious because subduction zones are destructive in nature. When a plate of oceanic crust sinks below the continental crust, rocks on the surface twist, break, and deform. During this time, the oceanic plate moves into the mantle, where it melts in an unrecognizable way. This leaves very little geological history to study.
This subduction zone – called the Puységur trench – is young enough that the geological history has not been erased. So this is a great opportunity to directly study the plate tectonics of the Earth.
Above this particular area is a sea famous for storms, located in the southern Tasman Sea of New Zealand. The “beautiful day” here is also subject to winds up to 48 km / h and waves up to 6 meters high.
