
A tectonic plate may have peeled apart - Vaslo
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/05/tectonic-plate-peeled-apart-could-shrink-atlantic-ocean-geology/
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mirimir
Wow.

See [https://sci-
hub.tw/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2018.07.02...](https://sci-
hub.tw/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2018.07.024) for Civiero et al. (2018) A
common deep source for upper-mantle upwellings below the Ibero-western Maghreb
region from teleseismic P-wave travel-time tomography. Earth and Planetary
Science Letters, 499, 157–172. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2018.07.024

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wyxuan
I think that the article implies something rare, but subduction zones are
quite common throughout the world. It's only that they discovered that this
area is a subduction zone.

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mc32
Well, sure, it's not rare, but if they are right, this is catching the process
in its earliest stages, which would be a rare occurance.

>"If confirmed, the new work would be the first time an oceanic plate has been
caught in the act of peeling—and it may mark one of the earliest stages of the
Atlantic Ocean shrinking…"

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mirimir
Right. And conversely, there are many examples of early mid-ocean ridges.

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daemin
So if I read this correctly, the bottom slice of the plate will be subducting,
but the top part won't. Therefore when more of it subducts the top part will
get pushed up? So there's potential for a new landmass off the coast of Iberia
in the next geological tick?

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CriticalCathed
NatGeo's writers don't understand what it is they are writing about.

The significant fact here isn't that "the ocean will shrink," but that this
discovery is potentially useful for understanding how subduction zones form.

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oska
This is an interesting subject but I didn't find the piece to be well written.
Perhaps it's just me.

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recursive
Maybe the entire purpose of the piece is to serve as a vehicle for this pun.

> scientists have now proposed a groundbreaking explanation.

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mcv
I think they still could have served that pun with a better written article.

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bitL
So, Earth algorithm is already compensating for rising ocean levels? Nice

