The Tectonic Plate Under The Pacific Ocean Is Being Torn Apart, Scientists Reveal

While the theory of plate tectonics has gained scientific acceptance after a long journey, it still requires some refining. A recent study suggests that certain sections of tectonic plates in the western Pacific Ocean are not rigid, but instead, weak spots being pulled apart by distant forces at the plate’s edge.

The researchers, led by University of Toronto geophysicist Russell Pysklywec and earth scientist Erkan Gün, examined four oceanic plateaus in the western Pacific Ocean. These plateaus are located far from plate boundaries and were found to exhibit deformations and magmatic features indicative of being torn apart by pull forces at the Pacific plate’s edge, where slabs are being subducted underneath neighboring plates.

The study focused on the Shatsky Rise and Hess Rise between Japan and Hawaii, the Ontong Java Plateau north of the Solomon Islands, and the Manihiki Plateau to the northeast of Fiji and Tonga due to the limited data available for thorough investigation. The research revealed that these plateaus share deformational properties, with faults running parallel to the closest trench.

Furthermore, the researchers conducted modeling studies for hypothetical plateaus situated at various distances from the nearest subduction zone. The results illustrated that these oceanic plateaus are weak spots in Earth’s crust that get stretched as the edge of the tectonic plate pulls downward at distant trenches, regardless of their distance from the plate edge.

Despite the limited scope of the study, the researchers hope that their findings will spark further exploration and data collection efforts to expand our understanding of these oceanic plateaus and the mechanisms behind their deformation.

The study was published in Geophysical Research Letters and it underlines the ongoing efforts by scientists to gain a comprehensive understanding of Earth’s tectonic processes.

Author: OpenAI