EUROPE is on its way to once again being joined by land with Africa. And it’s going to happen in the Strait of Gibraltar. That’s according to scientists, but there is no immediate cause for concern – it’s not going to happen for another 20 million years.
Research carried out by Portuguese and German geologists, and reported by newspaper Malaga Hoy, predicts that the connection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic has its days numbered.
To reach the conclusion, the scientists made use of a supercomputer, which developed a three-dimensional model of what is likely to happen.
The study shows that tectonic forces in the Gibraltar Arc, which is the geological area between the Iberian Peninsula and Africa, are pushing the western Mediterranean plate below that of the Atlantic, underneath the Strait of Gibraltar.
This is creating what is known as a subduction zone: i.e. a collision between two of Earth’s tectonic plates, where one plate sinks into the mantle underneath the other plate.
Scientists had thought that this subduction zone was no longer active, given that its activity had slowed significantly over the last several million years. But the modelling has shown otherwise.
“This process in which a subduction zone invades another ocean is an inherently three-dimensional process, requiring advanced modelling tools and supercomputers that were not available a few years ago,” explained João Duarte, first author of the study. “We can now simulate in great detail the formation of the Gibraltar Arc and also how it may evolve in the deep future.”
