Transmogrification of ocean into continent: implications for continental evolution
- Journal:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Published:
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.2122694119
- Affiliations:
- 2
- Authors:
- 2
Research Highlight
How some ancient seabeds end up in the mountains
© Walter Myers/Stocktrek Images/Getty Images
A new geological mechanism by which fragments of seafloor become continental crust has been put forward.
When two continents collide with each other, most of the seabed between them sinks under the lighter continental crust. But several ancient seas have defied this tendency to sink into the depths.
Now, a researcher from SUSTech in Shenzhen, China, and a collaborator have proposed a mechanism to explain this phenomenon.
They suggest that some seafloor fragments become trapped in growing mountain belts due to their serrated geometry. These trapped fragments become preferential sites for sedimentation, which releases heat over a timescale of about 500 million years. This heat reduces the density of the fragments, preventing them from sinking.
The two researchers have identified characteristics in the Alpine–Himalayan mountain chain in Eurasia that appear to have been caused by this process.
References
- PNAS 119, e2122694119 (2022). doi: 10.1073/pnas.2122694119
| Institutions | Authors | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), China | 0.50 | |
| University of Florence (UNIFI), Italy | 0.50 |