UNM scientists investigate East Coast’s hidden geological history to better understand Pangea
March 7, 2024 - Dani Wascher
The East Coast of the United States, a passive margin formed during the continental breakup of Pangea, holds vital clues to understanding the dynamic processes that shaped our planet. While passive margins are traditionally considered devoid of active faulting and magmatism, a groundbreaking study is revealing the hidden complexities beneath the surfaces.
Researchers from The University of New Mexico recently published a paper in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth titled “Discontinuous Igneous Addition Along the Eastern North American Margin beneath the East Coast Magnetic Anomaly.”
Pangea was the most recent supercontinent. Tectonic plates move on the Earth's surface and collide over very long cycles, forming what scientists call a “supercontinent.” Over time, these supercontinents start to break apart, forming a continental rift. Pangea is now separated, but over 200 million years ago, the U.S. East Coast began forming as part of the rift.
Scientists Lindsay Worthington, professor of Earth & Planetary Sciences, and Collin Brandl, Ph.D. student, participated in a large community experiment on the east coast of the United States to answer the question, “How do supercontinents break apart?” The experiment was called the ENAM Community Seismic Experiment (ENAM stands for Eastern North American Margin, the geologic term for the east coast of the U.S.). The experiment was centered on Cape Hatteras, N.C., and contained both onshore and offshore seismometers, allowing the science to cross the shoreline.
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