More and more researchers are trying to understand how the Earth has evolved over the centuries and one of the latest studies has shed light on a large island.
A group of researchers from the University of São Paulo (USP, Brazil) has prepared an analysis regarding the Rio Grande Rise (RGR), a possible continental basaltic plateau.
Scientists say that it is a chain of seamounts in the South Atlantic Ocean. Experts have assured that it is about 1,200 kilometers from the coast of Brazil.
In the article published in the magazine assure, after ten years of research, that the size of this plateau It is the same area that Spain has today..
The researchers detected the presence of red clays with some minerals, such as kaolinite, magnetite, oxidized magnetite, hematite and goethite, which are typical of the tropical alteration of volcanic rocks, according to the FAPESP agency..
In addition, the researchers also analyzed mineralogical, geochemical and magnetic characteristics of a different red clay sample extracted from a water depth of around 650 meters.
IO-USP professor Luigi Jovane, supervisor of the work, explained to the agency that the investigation served to “define exactly the presence of the island, and what is being done.” Discussing now is whether said area can be included in the Brazilian continental shelf.“.
“Geologically, we managed to discover that the clays were formed after the last volcanic activities recorded 45 million years ago, that is to say: their formation took place between 30 million and 40 million years ago. And it would have occurred as a consequence of tropical conditions“he noted.
The Rio Grande Rise was considered an area of international waters and was under the custody of the United Nations International Seabed Authority. But Brazil made a request to extend the zone beyond the 200 miles. “It is essential to understand the ecosystem services and natural processes that act in the Rio Grande Rise” Jovan snapped.
