Earth has six continents not seven, radical new study claims
after all.
From a young age, we learn that the world is comprised of seven continents: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Oceania, Europe, North America, and South America. However, recent studies indicate this might not be entirely accurate.
Suggests that we can only account for six continents.
This astonishing assertion arises from a thorough examination of the geological factors contributing to the separation of Europe and North America, and how these continents have transformed over time.
His team's research suggests that "the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates have not actually torn apart as was previously believed to have occurred approximately 52 million years ago."
Apparently, he explained that these plates are actually in the process of moving further apart, rather than having fully split into their own distinct entities.
For all intents and purposes, you could argue that North America and Europe are part of a single landmass, rather than being separate continents.
Research on the volcanic island of Iceland has revealed a fresh understanding of its origins, previously believed to have begun approximately 60 million years ago due to the movement of the mid-Atlantic ridge.
notes.
Notwithstanding a thorough examination of tectonic activity across Africa, Phethean and his colleagues have disputed this hypothesis and proposed an unconventional new explanation.
They claim that Iceland, and also the Greenland-Iceland-Faroe Ridge, comprises geologically disseminated remnants from both the European and the North American continental tectonic plates.
It appears, according to them, that these regions aren't separate landmasses as once believed: rather, they are connected components of a larger continental framework.
Researchers have actually dubbed this phenomenon the "Rifted Oceanic Magmatic Plateau" (ROMP), a name that reflects its crucial significance in redefinining our understanding of how the world's continents take shape and break up.
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He claims this due to having discovered "fragments of a submerged continent that was lost beneath the sea and kilometres of thin lava flows."
Additionally, the researchers have discovered notable parallels between Iceland and Africa's volcanic region, the Afar Desert.
And if their research ends up supporting their findings, this would imply that the European and North American continents continue to be in the midst of a separation process, yet remain nonetheless coupled.
Phethean admits that his team's conclusions may be quite surprising to some, but he stresses that they are based on thorough and meticulous research.
It's a potentially contentious idea to propose that the GIFR encompasses a substantial quantity of continental crust, and that the European and North American tectonic plates may not have finally separated, he conceded, while highlighting that his research lends credence to such theories.
However, the study is currently still in its early theoretical stages and the team plans to conduct further experiments using Icelandic volcanic rocks in a bid to gather more concrete proof of an ancient continental crust.
Scientists are also utilising computer simulations and plate tectonic modelling to gain a deeper understanding of the origin of the ROMP.
Located between the countries of Canada and Greenland.
This small, original landmass is approximately as large as England and lies beneath the Davis Strait, off the coast of Baffin Island.
Phethean observed that "rifting and microcontinent formation are ongoing processes" which aid scientific understanding of continental dynamics and plate tectonics.
Having access to this information can enable experts to forecast how the planet will appear many years ahead and also assist in discovering locations where valuable resources may exist.
This article was originally published on 7th August 2024.
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