New subduction zone in the Mediterranean

2011/07/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Geologia

The African tectonic plate was sinking under the European one, but this movement has stopped and has begun to do the opposite, so a new subduction zone has been created. Experts say this is very little.

It is a process of millions of years and very complex. According to a study presented in the European Union of Geosciences, the two plates collide in Turkey and over time this shock has interrupted the movement to the north of the African plate. In the middle of the Mediterranean, on the contrary, the African plate was embedded under the European one, but this part has broken and has sunk towards the mantle of the Earth, so that the new arista that has formed has been rising for its lightness. This whole movement has also affected the European plate. It begins to move south and slowly begins to sink under the new African arista. This is the new subduction field.