How do seafloors transform into towering mountains? Scientists uncover crucial step

Texas, US

Scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have uncovered an important step in the process of transforming seafloors into towering mountains using tiny minerals called zircons.

Zircons are a type of mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates. They are commonly found in igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks, and metamorphic rocks. Zircon crystals are typically tetragonal prisms with pyramidal ends.

These crystals, no bigger than grains of sand, have revealed a previously overlooked phase in tectonic activity. This new finding may potentially reshape our understanding of Earth's geological history.

Published in the journal Geology, the study focused on zircons extracted from the Andes mountains in Patagonia. While these zircons formed during tectonic plate collisions, their chemical composition suggested a surprising association with plates moving apart. This has defied conventional models.

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Lead author Fernando Rey, a doctoral student at UT's Jackson School of Geosciences, said that this anomaly may be explained by a previously undocumented process involving the mixing of oceanic and continental crusts in magma chambers.

Rey suggested, "If you put some oceanic basin below this magma, you have a change in the composition of this magma as it's incorporated." 

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This theory of oceanic magma mixing could represent a critical transitional phase in the formation of back-arc basins.

Coauthor Matt Malkowski highlighted the importance of back-arc basins, stating, "This is the Earth's way of sequestering carbon."

The zircons collected from Patagonia revealed unexpected chemical signatures. While zircons from the basin's opening phase displayed anticipated characteristics, those from its closure phase exhibited an unexplained delay in chemical shifts.

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The researchers proposed a model where tectonic forces not only squeeze oceanic crust into mountains but also underthrust portions of that crust towards magma chambers. This influenced zircon signatures.

This transitional phase, where zircons are influenced by oceanic crust, might be a widespread phenomenon in back-arc basins worldwide.

(With inputs from agencies)