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Showing posts with the label #sediment pushing

Continental Drift Tied to Climate & Life

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Research Links Life on Earth & Movement of Continents Source:  Stock Image of Continental Plates Shifting Sediments Pushing Continents This is fascinating, breakthrough geological/engineering research from the University of Texas Austin.  The UT scientists have demonstrated that sediment, which is often composed of dead organisms, may play a very key role in setting the speed of continental drift. New Innovative Research on Continental Drift This new research challenges the ideas about how continents drift and continental plates interact.  It strongly suggests interaction mechanisms between tectonic movement, climate and life on earth. Moving the Parts The study is in the journal Earth & Planetary Science Letters.  I find it fascinating and think you will too.  It describes how sediment moving under the tectonic plates regulates their movements.  This process may even play a part in the rapid rise of mountain ranges and the growth of the continental crunch.