Researchers from the UK and Sweden have discovered a new microcontinent in the Davis Strait between Baffin Island, Canada, and southwestern Greenland. Scientists used gravity data and seismic surveys to create a tectonic reconstruction of the region.
Despite previous geological studies of this area, some questions remained unanswered. In particular, scientists could not explain the origin of the anomalously thick continental crust in the strait.
During the reconstruction of the past of this territory, when Greenland separated from Canada, researchers found that the anomalously thick crust is actually a separate microcontinent. This is a tectonic block that broke away from the continent and is surrounded by thinner oceanic crust.
According to scientists, rifting — the process of splitting tectonic plates— began approximately 118 million years ago. The continental rift in the Labrador Sea occurred almost 61.27 million years ago. The continents continued to drift apart until Greenland collided with the North American plate and joined it. It was during this period that the new microcontinent formed.
Researchers suggest that stretching in the eastern part of the Davis Strait between 58 and 49 million years ago led to the separation of this fragment from Greenland.
Scientists hope that this study will help to better understand plate tectonics and the associated hazards for Earth's inhabitants. They emphasize the importance of further research into this phenomenon for understanding the functioning of plate tectonics on our planet.
The research results are published in the scientific journal Gondwana Research.
Source: Iflscience
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