One of the Earth’s most important plate boundaries is older than previously thought
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 27-Oct-2026 04:16 ET (27-Oct-2026 08:16 GMT/UTC)
16 June 2026/Kiel. A chain of remote islands and underwater volcanoes between Alaska and Kamchatka has revealed a much older chapter in Earth’s tectonic history than previously known. Along the Aleutian Arc, the Pacific Plate dives beneath the North American Plate, creating one of the most active and important plate boundaries on Earth. An international research team from Germany, Russia and the USA has now shown that this subduction zone began at least 56 million years ago, significantly earlier than previous models had assumed. The finding sheds new light on a major reorganization of plate motions around the Pacific and may also help scientists better understand ancient global climate change. The study has now been published in the renowned journal Nature Communications.
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