Off the coast of Portugal, is Earth's crust peeling?

Off the coast of Portugal, Earth's crust may be peeling, splitting into two, a phenomenon never seen before.

Abnormal geological activities in the Delta by the abyss of Horseshoe , off the coast of Portugal have made geologists confused by its seismic activity. New research by marine geologist João Duarte, Dom Luiz Research Institute of the University of Lisbon (Portugal), gave a startling conclusion: The earth is flaking .

Earth Structure - (photo: Shutterstock).

The team of scientist João Duarte created a computer model from the data they collected at Horseshoe. The results showed that a plate of tectonic plates in the Atlantic Ocean was changing, which could make the ocean smaller and dragging land masses closer to Canada.

The team believes that the peeling process begins with the entry of seawater into the surface of the ocean floor , creating a reaction to the rocks to form a green mineral. This process is called serpentinization , which gradually weakens the bottom layer of the ocean floor and causes it to peel off.

Diagram of the peeled Earth's area map - (photo provided by the team).

This is the first time a model describes directly the process of the "peeling" crust, ie a part of the tectonic plate flakes off the top part and can start a "submerged" area.

The sinking phenomenon has occurred several times in Earth's history, causing Earth continents to repeatedly form the supercontinent before once again decaying due to new plate tectonic activities.

One can imagine that in the middle of a large ocean, the Earth grew a giant mouth and slowly swallowed the ocean. In a remote place on the other side of the continent, other areas from the depths have a chance to emerge. Where the ocean was swallowed, the ocean area gradually narrowed, the continents were pulled together and formed a supercontinent.

If that happens, it will be the start for Pangea Proxima, the future hypothetical supercontinent that many scientists have described in studies. However, you can be assured because it is a very slow process. Scientists predict Pangea Proxima will only form in 50 million years. It is estimated that in the history of Earth's 4.5 billion years, giant tectonic plates carry on the backs of ancient continents collided three times to form the supercontinent.

The research has just been presented at the European Union of Geological Union held in Vienna (Austria).

1. Earth's crust is unstable over time
2. Earth's crust melts easier than we thought