Amazing stuff!
Too bad, I was not able to find an image of this former continent using Google and Bing search.
"Along the eastern front of the Appalachian Mountains, buried just below the surface, lies a fragment of a lost continent. Running from Maine to Georgia, the 200-kilometer-thick slab of crust was probably created by volcanic eruptions during the breakup of the Pangaea supercontinent some 200 million years ago and later buried by silt from eroding mountains.
Known as the Piedmont Resistor, this piece of Pangaea is one of the signature discoveries of the Magnetotelluric (MT) Array, 1800 temporary stations scattered across the contiguous United States that measured the conductivity of deep rocks. Now, 20 years after it started, the MT Array has released its final map and model ... It shows how the assembly of the continent left hidden structures such as the Piedmont Resistor—and mineral riches. ..."
From the abstract:
"The United States Magnetotelluric Array (USMTArray) data set, collected in the years 2006–2024, consists of more than 1,700 long-period magnetotelluric stations covering the entirety of the contiguous United States on a quasi-regular 70 km grid. ...
Together with parallel advancement in the development of publicly available three-dimensional (3D) inversion codes, the USMTArray has revitalized the US magnetotelluric community and increased the visibility of magnetotellurics within the Earth-science community.
Taken as a whole, these data are visualized as the National Impedance Map, which, together with a 3D synthesis conductivity model of the nation, reveals the electrical architecture of the contiguous US. USMTArray data are used by researchers worldwide for fundamental and applied studies, including investigations of continental architecture and evolution, estimation of hazards to critical infrastructure due to geomagnetic storms, and assessment of the nation's undiscovered geothermal and mineral resources.
We here review the history and development of the project, discuss the challenges and successes in its execution, present the National Impedance Map and synthesis conductivity model, and highlight the breadth of research stemming from this rich data set."
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