The “tilt” that “turned the world upside down” during the age of dinosaurs could happen again at any time due to the effects of tectonic activity on Earth.
A new study led by geobiologist Ross N. Mitchell from the California Institute of Technology (USA) reveals that a surprising tilt of the Earth occurred around 84 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous period – the golden age of dinosaurs.
The Earth may have tilted several times in the short term – (Photo: NASA).
According to Business Insider, the planet unexpectedly tilted by up to 12 degrees when a large tectonic plate sank, altering the weight distribution of the planet. As many previous studies have shown, the Earth’s crust is actually made up of many pieces called “tectonic plates.” These plates are constantly moving in a process called “plate tectonics,” causing the Earth’s surface to continuously change. Tectonic plates can collide, subduct beneath one another, resulting in constant changes to the continents and oceans they carry.
The tilt and subsequent straightening of the Earth actually occurred over a period of 79-86 million years ago, which may seem long, but in the context of planetary history, it’s just a blink of an eye. Not the entire globe was displaced: the iron core remained stationary, while the mantle and crust slightly rotated, creating a state of imbalance that disrupted latitudes. It can be imagined that the magnetic North Pole suddenly moved away from the geographic North Pole and then returned to its original position.
As the planet rebalanced its weight, the two layers – the mantle and crust – immediately rotated back to their original positions.
According to Nature, the aforementioned tilt was revealed through ancient magnetic data, specifically from ancient rocks formed by lava between two adjacent tectonic plates cooling down. This type of rock contains magnetic minerals structured according to the direction of the Earth’s magnetic poles at the time of solidification, thus clearly recording the changes in the planet’s axis.
Since tectonic activity on Earth is still ongoing in various forms, scientists believe that similar tilts will continue to occur.
