The Earth is a dynamic system. The cold rigid surface (or crust) on which we live is broken into many rigid plates that all move relative to one another in a process known as plate tectonics. 

At the China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, Professor Timothy Kusky is studying the evolution of tectonic plates through Earth history. Along with his colleagues, he has found that a devastating 2020 earthquake in the Aegean Sea resulted from a process known as slab rollback. This process may also have been responsible for the eruption of Santorini 3,650 years ago, which altered global climate, devastated the eastern Mediterranean, and wiped out the Minoan civilisation.

Read the original paper: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86063-y

Read more in Research Outreach : https://researchoutreach.org/articles/african-tectonic-retreat-seismically-shakes-greece-turkey/