Atlantic Ocean May Form Its Own 'Ring of Fire'
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16 Mar 2024
A subduction zone under Gibraltar Strait might be active and enter the Atlantic Ocean in 20 million years
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This subduction zone is called the Gibraltar arc or trench
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It sits between Portugal and Morocco and has been moving westward for 30 million years
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Scientists debated whether the Gibraltar arc is still active because it slowed down in the last 5 million years
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A new study suggests the Gibraltar arc is just in a quiet period
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Researchers used a computer model to simulate the Gibraltar arc's activity
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The model shows the arc will push through the Strait and enter the Atlantic in 20 million years
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This could create an Atlantic Ring of Fire, similar to the one in the Pacific Ocean
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The arc's slow movement in the last 5 million years explains the low seismic activity in the region
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The last major earthquake in the region was the 1755 Great Lisbon Earthquake
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Image: Reuters
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