North America will eventually sink due to the cooling of rock beneath the Earth’s surface, according to a recent report published by a doctoral student and professor at the U.
Graduate student Derrick Hasterok and professor of geology and geophysics David Chapman also discovered that this process will take billions of years.
The duo has been researching the fundamental physical process of heat within the Earth’s crust in connection to elevations for the past three years.
“We found a good explanation for the elevation of continents,” Hasterok said. “We now know why some areas are higher or lower than others. It’s not just what the rocks are made of — it’s also how hot they are.”
The study, published in the June issue of Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth, explains how the temperatures of materials beneath the Earth’s surface impact the different elevations around the world.
The research also offers a new method to identify areas of future volcanic activity and serves as a resource to more accurately determine the temperatures beneath the Earth’s surface.
“Our goal was to show that temperature variations add a significant contribution to continental elevation,” Chapman said. “We have shown for the first time that temperature differences within the Earth’s crust explain about half of the elevations of any given place in North America.”
Hasterok said that while the research interested him as a doctoral student, the discoveries can and may affect all Utahns.
“Heat and elevation provide the scenes which create the beautiful locations of Utah that we all enjoy,” Hasterok said. “They explain why the mountains sit so high; they give us the canyons.”