• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Thursday, October 2, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Chemistry

From the Mediterranean into the Atlantic: The Gibraltar arc is migrating to the west

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
March 19, 2024
in Chemistry
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0
Atlantic subduction zones
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Oceans are subject to continuous change, mostly over extremely vast periods of time running into millions of years. Researchers from Universidade de Lisboa in Portugal and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany now used computer simulations to demonstrate that a subduction zone originating in the Western Mediterranean will propagate into the Atlantic under the Strait of Gibraltar. According to their model, this will create a new Atlantic subduction zone 50 million years into the future, which will then move down into the Earth’s mantle. The new geodynamic model explains the evolution of the Gibraltar subduction zone and its likely development, which will contribute to the renewal of the Atlantic Ocean floor. The findings are the result of many years of collaboration between the partners in Lisbon and Mainz and have been published recently in Geology.

Atlantic subduction zones

Credit: ill./©: João Duarte

Oceans are subject to continuous change, mostly over extremely vast periods of time running into millions of years. Researchers from Universidade de Lisboa in Portugal and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany now used computer simulations to demonstrate that a subduction zone originating in the Western Mediterranean will propagate into the Atlantic under the Strait of Gibraltar. According to their model, this will create a new Atlantic subduction zone 50 million years into the future, which will then move down into the Earth’s mantle. The new geodynamic model explains the evolution of the Gibraltar subduction zone and its likely development, which will contribute to the renewal of the Atlantic Ocean floor. The findings are the result of many years of collaboration between the partners in Lisbon and Mainz and have been published recently in Geology.

Oceans have individual lifetimes

Oceans come into existence and grow, but eventually they shrink and close – a sequence of events known as the Wilson cycle. One of the cornerstones of this cycle is the initiation of subduction, i.e., when the oceanic lithosphere returns to the Earth’s mantle to be recycled. “The Atlantic Ocean is unique because here there are hardly any subduction zones, in contrast with the Pacific,” said Professor Boris Kaus of JGU. The only fully developed subduction zones in the Atlantic with volcanic island arcs are the Lesser Antilles arc in the Caribbean and the Scotia arc between the southern tip of Argentina and the Antarctic, both formed in the Cretaceous period. “The Gibraltar arc that is now about to invade the Atlantic is the third,” explained Kaus, head of the Geodynamics and Geophysics group at JGU. The Atlantic is thus a unique laboratory that enables the analysis of subduction initiation.

The Gibraltar arc came into being as part of subduction zones that have developed in the Western Mediterranean since the Oligocene epoch some 30 million years ago. Most of the arc is today present under the Alborán Sea, the westernmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea, extending already into the Atlantic. Its propagation to the west has slowed down over the past 5 million years, leading some researchers to conclude that it may possibly have become completely inactive. “We do not share this view,” emphasized Professor Boris Kaus and Dr. Nicolas Riel. “Our computer simulations allow us to accurately reconstruct the physical development of the Gibraltar arc and assess its future development.” For their calculations, the research team used the MOGON II supercomputer at JGU.

Migration into the Atlantic will recommence after a period of quiescence

The simulations start at a period 30 million years ago and show the arc of the subduction zone gradually moving from the French/Spanish Mediterranean region towards the south. Some 17 million years ago, the center of the arc reached North Africa. Islands, such as the Kabylies, wandered with this southward movement and became attached to the North African mainland. “Our model also helps explain certain geological observations,” said Professor Boris Kaus. Roughly 10 million years ago, the so-called slab, which is the part of the lower plate that already descends into the mantle, began to push toward the Atlantic. The Atlantic subduction zone of the Gibraltar arc is currently on a line that approximately corresponds with that of the border between Spain and Portugal.

The geophysicists in Mainz and Lisbon expect the rate of expansion of the arc to decelerate in the future so that it will come almost to a standstill in about 20 million years. Following that, the rate of migration will pick up so that – over the following 30 million years – the subduction zone will spread into the Atlantic in the form of a semicircle, creating a new Atlantic subduction system.

The model reproduces the propagation of a subduction zone from a closing ocean – in this case, the Mediterranean – through a narrow oceanic corridor into a new opening ocean, the Atlantic. “Our simulations have shown for the first time that this form of direct migration can occur,” added Professor João Duarte of Universidade de Lisboa, lead author of the published article.

 

 

Video:
https://ulisboa-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/jdduarte_fc_ul_pt/EYwb-OSqo1BAqL9Ir4xw7CgB-Up99DeUAnOxEe06MMwbyg?e=9y3Tj5
Simulation showing the development of the Gibraltar subduction zone over time
video/©: Nicolas Riel und João Duarte

 

Related links:

  • https://temas.uni-mainz.de/ – Terrestrial Magmatic Systems (TeMaS)
  • https://magma.uni-mainz.de/ – MAGMA: Melting and Geodynamics Models of Ascent
  • https://www.geosciences.uni-mainz.de/geophysics-and-geodynamics/ – Geodynamics and Geophysics group at the JGU Institute of Geoscience
  • https://hpc-en.uni-mainz.de/ – High Performance Computing at JGU

 

Read more:

  • https://press.uni-mainz.de/plate-tectonic-processes-in-the-pacific-and-atlantic-during-the-cretaceous-period-have-shaped-the-caribbean-region-to-this-day/ – press release “Plate tectonic processes in the Pacific and Atlantic during the Cretaceous period have shaped the Caribbean region to this day” (19 Apr. 2023)
  • https://press.uni-mainz.de/mineral-discoveries-in-the-galapagos-islands-pose-a-puzzle-as-to-their-formation-and-origin/ – press release “Mineral discoveries in the Galapagos Islands pose a puzzle as to their formation and origin” (22 Oct. 2018)
  • https://press.uni-mainz.de/boris-kaus-receives-erc-consolidator-grant-for-his-research-in-magmatic-processes/ – press release “Boris Kaus receives ERC Consolidator Grant for his research in magmatic processes” (21 Feb. 2018)


Journal

Geology

DOI

10.1130/G51654.1

Article Title

Gibraltar subduction zone is invading the Atlantic

Article Publication Date

13-Feb-2024

Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

blank

Palladium Filters Pave the Way for More Affordable, Efficient Hydrogen Fuel Production

October 1, 2025
Revolutionary Organic Molecule Poised to Transform Solar Energy Harvesting

Revolutionary Organic Molecule Poised to Transform Solar Energy Harvesting

October 1, 2025

Innovative Biochar Technology Offers Breakthrough in Soil Remediation and Crop Protection

October 1, 2025

CATNIP Tool Expands Access to Sustainable Chemistry Through Data-Driven Innovation

October 1, 2025

POPULAR NEWS

  • New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    90 shares
    Share 36 Tweet 23
  • Physicists Develop Visible Time Crystal for the First Time

    74 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19
  • New Study Indicates Children’s Risk of Long COVID Could Double Following a Second Infection – The Lancet Infectious Diseases

    66 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 17
  • How Donor Human Milk Storage Impacts Gut Health in Preemies

    64 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

New Maps Indicate India May Face the Greatest Impact from Chikungunya

Scientists Say Enhanced Fertility Diagnostics Could Advance Bird Conservation Breeding Programs

Experts Advocate for a Ban on Commercial Sunbeds in the UK

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 60 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.