A recent study led by European researchers found that the Atlantic Ocean is slowly closing up. This is because of a geological process called “subduction,” which has been happening for millions of years near the Strait of Gibraltar between Morocco and Spain.
The study, published by the “Geoscienceworld” organization, predicts that new subduction zones forming in the Atlantic Ocean will eventually lead to its closure in about 20 million years.
According to the study, the subduction zone at the Strait of Gibraltar will eventually move into the Atlantic Ocean, connecting the American, European, and African continents.
The research, titled “The Gibraltar Subduction Zone Invades the Atlantic Ocean,” was conducted by scientists from Portugal (from the University of Lisbon) and Germany, who used mathematical models to predict future plate movements.
The study suggests that the slow-moving subduction process at the Strait of Gibraltar serves as a model for what will happen to the Atlantic Ocean.
The authors of the study looked into the history of subduction between Morocco and Spain before concluding that this process will intensify over millions of years, eventually migrating into the Atlantic Ocean, a phenomenon they call “subduction invasion.”
Subduction is a crucial part of the Earth’s geological processes, facilitating the recycling of its lithosphere. However, the formation of new subduction zones poses challenges, mainly due to external pressures like long-range forces.
These subduction zones, like those near the South American Antilles and the Scotia Arc near the South Pole, are moving from the Pacific Ocean into the Atlantic. With the ongoing subduction at the Strait of Gibraltar, Earth is expected to undergo significant geological changes in the next twenty million years.
Despite periods of calm, the study suggests that the subduction happening in the Gibraltar Arc will eventually transition from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, although this closing process is hindered by tectonic solid plates. However, the migration of subduction zones will eventually lead to the closure.
Looking at subduction zones on the other side of the Atlantic, such as the Antilles Islands in South America and the Scotia Arc near the South Pole, the study notes that they began invading the Atlantic Ocean millions of years ago.
Studying the subduction zone between Spain and Morocco presents an important opportunity for researchers to observe this migration process, which they refer to as “the subduction invasion in its initial stages.”
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