Earth’s Shell Has Cracked – Scientists Are Exploring Potential Causes

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Besides Darwin’s theory of evolution and Einstein’s theory of relativity, the theory involving the plate tectonics is one of the significant scientific advances of our age.

The whole idea that our planet is broken up into giant puzzle pieces which are all at the top of hot and weak rock explains very much about the structure and behavior of our home planet: everything including mountains, ocean canyons, volcanoes, earthquakes, and even the air.

What caused the shell to crack?

Experts are currently wondering what caused the shell to break apart and how the recycling of the earth’s crust began.

Scientists have been comparing our planet to Venus. These two worlds have a comparable size, and they’re built of similar rocky material. The difference is that Earth has plate tectonics and Venus doesn’t. It seems that this is one of the things that scientists want to know.

“In the 1960s and 70s, when people came up with the notion of plate tectonics, they didn’t think about what it was like in the distant past,” said Jun Korenaga, a geophysicist at Yale University.

“People were so busy trying to prove plate tectonics by looking at the present situation or were caught up applying the concept to problems in their own field. The origin issue is a much more recent debate.”

Plate tectonics support life 

It has become pretty evident that you need plate tectonics in order to sustain life, according to the experts.

Zerkle added that “If there weren’t a way of recycling material between mantle and crust, all these elements that are crucial to life, like carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and oxygen, would get tied up in rocks and stay there.”

You can read more details on The Hamilton Spectator about how water is continuously recycled between the crust and the mantle, how plate tectonics are built the ideal way for the Darwinian games and more.

Rada Mateescu

I have been blogging and posting articles for over eight years, but my passion for writing dates back in 2000. I am especially enthusiastic about technology, science, and health-related issues. When I’m not researching and writing the latest news, I’m either watching sci-fi and horror movies or checking out places worth visiting and building deep memories for later in life. I believe in empathy and continually improving myself.