In 1949, Maurice Ewing published findings from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where core samples from depths of 2 to 3.5 miles revealed prehistoric beach sand. A 1954 Swedish expedition led by Hans Pettersson found continental-origin sand layers containing twigs, nuts, and bark fragments at depths of around 4,400 m. Shallow-water benthic foram shells in these samples suggested catastrophic submergence. Near the Strait of Gibraltar, Spartel Bank islands were above sea level during the ice age.
Marine geology reveals continental sand and vegetation on mid-Atlantic floor
Key facts
- Maurice Ewing published 'New Discoveries on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge' in National Geographic in 1949
- Ewing found prehistoric beach sand in core samples from depths of 2 to 3.5 miles beneath the Atlantic
- Either the land sank 2-3 miles or the sea was 2-3 miles lower at the time
- Spartel Bank islands near the Strait of Gibraltar were above sea level during the ice age
- Swedish expedition led by Hans Pettersson published 'The Ocean Floor' in 1954
- Core sample from ~4,400 m depth on mid-Atlantic ridge contained continental-origin sand layers
- Sand contained twigs, nuts, and bark fragments of dicotyledonous plants
- Shallow-water benthic foram shells found at depths suggesting catastrophic submergence
- Pettersson invoked possibility of a large island on the mid-Atlantic ridge submerged by seismic/volcanic catastrophe
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