A recent study conducted by a team of geologists and seismologists at the California Institute of Technology has suggested a groundbreaking theory on the origin of modern plate tectonics. The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, delves into the possibility that giant blobs of material near Earth’s core, created by a cosmic collision 4.5 billion years ago, may be the driving force behind this geological phenomenon.
Using computer simulations and models, the researchers examined the impact of large, low-velocity provinces (LLVPs) on Earth over vast time scales. Previous research had indicated that LLVPs are remnants of Theia, a planet that collided with Earth billions of years ago, ultimately leading to the formation of the moon in Earth’s orbit.
The team’s findings suggest that the pressure exerted by LLVPs 200 million years after Theia’s impact could have triggered the creation of hot plumes that reached the surface of the Earth. This process caused sections of the surface to sink, initiating subduction – the phenomenon where one tectonic plate moves beneath another.
Ultimately, this subduction process led to the formation of breaks in the surface that delineate the borders of tectonic plates. The team’s models may provide an explanation for why some of the oldest minerals on Earth exhibit evidence of subduction.
This groundbreaking study sheds new light on the origins of plate tectonics and opens up further avenues for research into the geological processes that have shaped our planet over billions of years. It highlights the interconnectedness of Earth’s history and the role that cosmic events may have played in shaping the world as we know it today.
