In a shocking discovery for international geologists, researchers confirmed the existence of a microcontinent hidden under the thick layer of ice west of Greenland.
According to the Indian Times, this geological debris - once part of the ancient continent - was stuck amid the kienitary cracks that occurred during the paleogen era ( begun 61 million years ago and ended about 33 million years ago).
The discovery not only re-wrecked the geological map of the North Atlantic, but also opened up a completely new perspective on how the Earth's shells were cut off, warded off and reorganized in the formation of new oceans.
The waters between Greenland and Canada - which connect the Labrador Sea and the Bay of Baffin across the Davis Strait - have long been considered a creating hot spot with complex geological structures.
And here, scientists have found the Davis Strait Proto-Microcontinent, the name they use to describe a block of continents that are completely inseparable but no longer associated with any major continent.
The microcontinent is said to be about 19-24 km thick, located deep under the ocean floor, between a thick continental shell and a plaque of manti.
About 49-58 million years ago, this area witnessed a change in the direction of the ocean floor, from the northeast-southwest axis to the north-south axis. This change of direction has caused the cracking process to be interrupted, causing part of the continental shell to not be completely separated and becoming stuck, which is today's microcontinent.
About 33 million years ago, the process of spreading the seabed ended. Greenland then collided with Ellesmere (now part of Canada) and became part of the North American tectonic plate.
This final collision reshaped the fate of the Davis Strait Proto-Microcontinent, which was forever held to the seabed and permanent ice layer of Greenland.
Scientists from Derby University (UK) and Uppsala University (Sweden) in an article in the journal Gondwana Research emphasized that the Davis Strait area is an ideal natural lab to study how the microcontinent is formed, disjointed and restructured in the history of Earths formation.
We have not only found a geological piece of debris, but also vivid evidence of a turbulent period in the history of the planet, said Dr. Jordan Phethean, co-author of the study.
The discovery has forced geologists to re-examine the geological structure of the North Atlantic, and promote the search for other microcontinents, which may be hidden deep under the ocean floor or ice areas.
At the same time, the discovery provides important data to predict future movements of tectonic plates, especially in the context of climate change that could reveal additional hidden structures deep under the ice layer.
