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Two crossed lines that form an X . It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification. A map of the Atlantic Ocean floor. NASA Earth Observatory map by Joshua Stevens, using data from Sandwell, D. et al. (2014).
The tectonic plates under the Americas, Europe, and Africa are being pushed apart as the Atlantic Ocean widens year by year.
New research reveals what s pushing the plates apart: Material from deep within the Earth is bursting upward at an undersea ridge in the middle of the Atlantic.
The Atlantic Ocean grows 1.5 inches wider every year.
That s because the tectonic plates undergirding the Americas are separating from those beneath Europe and Africa. But precisely how and why that is happening has been a mystery to scientists, since the geological forces that typically push plates apart aren t prevalent in the Atlantic.