A study published in June 2024 in the Lithos review traces the dating and geological history of a particular geological structure: the Richat structure. Considered by Plato to be the site of Atlantis, or by some to be an extraterrestrial city, the Richat structure in Mauritania is one of the Earth’s most visible geological formations from space. Its intriguing and spectacular concentric shape has earned it the nickname "The Eye of Africa".
Its shape and composition remained enigmatic for geologists. The study, carried out by an international team involving the Geo-Ocean laboratory (Université de Bretagne Occidentale) and the Laboratory of Geology of Lyon: Earth, Planets, Environment (LGL-TPE, CNRS/Université Claude-Bernard Lyon 1/ENS de Lyon), traces the history of the Richat structure’s formation using chronological and geochemical data.
Find out more in the communication published by the UBO
Illustration: the Richat structure observed from the International Space Station (courtesy of the Earth Sciences and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center). Photo ID: ISS042-E-007131
