A tectonic plate might be peeling in two off the coast of Portugal

Off the coast of Portugal, there lies a rather unremarkable stretch of ocean. The ocean floor that lies beneath is smooth and basically featureless — but instead of being boring, that's exactly what makes it interesting.

Because in 1969, a giant earthquake originated in that stretch of the sea, causing a tsunami. Earthquakes are normally caused when the different tectonic plates of the Earth's crust shift and bump against one another. But here, there is no fault line to be found.

Now, Live Science reports, scientists are theorizing that something different might be going on beneath the ocean floor: Instead of different tectonic plates shifting against each other, this one may be peeling itself in two.

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The top and bottom layers of this tectonic plate appear to be separating, announced a team of scientists led by João Duarte, a marine geologist at the University of Lisbon in Portugal. National Geographic explained that this new work, if confirmed by further research, would be the first evidence towards a scientific theory that the Atlantic Ocean, over a long period of time, may actually shrink in size.

While the idea has been floated before, this team is the first to provide hard data — they tested it out with computer simulations, and are hoping to write up their research to be published. Learn more at National Geographic.