The article highlights how the eastern North American margin, a geologically rich area stretching from the US east coast into Atlantic Canada, holds significant insights about Earth's geological history. Maureen Long, a Yale University geologist, emphasizes that this region was formed through the collision and merging of Earth's crust over millions of years, leading to the creation of mountains and volcanoes. Recent advancements in technology have allowed geologists to uncover hidden geological features, making it a critical natural laboratory for understanding continental dynamics and Earth processes essential to the planet's evolution.
"The story that it tells about Earth history and about this set of Earth processes... is really fundamental to how the Earth system works," says Maureen Long.
"It was created over hundreds of millions of years as slivers of Earth's crust collided and merged. Mountains rose, volcanoes erupted and the Atlantic Ocean was born."
"Much of this geological history has become apparent only in the past decade or so, after scientists blanketed the United States with seismometers and other instruments to illuminate geological structures hidden deep in Earth's crust."
"Eastern North America is a sort of natural laboratory for studying similar regions around the globe, providing vital insights into continental edge formation and change."
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