Research has uncovered a new microcontinent situated between Greenland and Canada.
Scientists recently discovered it after the region had been extensively studied, however there were still some mysteries to solve.
The new microcontinent is in the Davis Strait which is between Baffin Island in Canada and southwestern Greenland.
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Researchers were able to map out the area with gravity data and seismic reflection data.
This created a reconstruction of the tectonic plates in the region.
In a report, the research team said: “A prolonged period of rifting and seafloor spreading between Greenland and North America formed the Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay oceanic basins, connected by the Davis Strait.
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“However, disagreement exists regarding the exact plate motions between Greenland and Canada, as well as the tectonic evolution of the Davis Strait, with previous models unable to explain the origin of anomalously thick continental crust within the seaway.”
When the team were reconstructing the region, they found an anomalously thick crust that was actually its own microcontinent.
What is a microcontinent?
Microcontinents are tectonic blocks of continental origin that were detached from continental margins and isolated by oceanic lithosphere.
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The report goes on to say: “The reinterpretation of seismic reflection data offshore West Greenland, along with a newly compiled crustal thickness model, identifies an isolated terrane of relatively thick (19–24 km [12-15 miles]) continental crust that was separated from Greenland during a newly recognised phase of E-W extension along West Greenland’s margin.
“We interpret this continental block as an incompletely rifted microcontinent, which we term the Davis Strait proto-microcontinent.”
It’s believed that the tectonic plate began to split around 118 million years ago.
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The group hopes that the research they’re conducting will help us to have a better understanding of plate tectonics and the hazards they can cause to life on Earth.
The report continued: “As our seismic reflection interpretations indicate an extensional event in the eastern Davis Strait between 58 and 49 Myr, spatially coincident with the zone of thinnest continental crust between the continental fragment and Greenland, we infer this extensional event led to the separation of this fragment from Greenland.
“Overall, this work not only recognizes several new first order tectonic features of the Earth, the Pre-UTM and Davis Strait proto-microcontinent, but also points to a strong lithospheric control on plate motion directions.
“It is therefore fundamentally important to further study this phenomenon to understand the operation of plate tectonics on our planet.”