We analyze the gross crustal structure of the Atlantic Ocean passive continental margins from north to the south, comparing eleven sections of the conjugate margins. As a general result, the western margins show a sharper continental-ocean transition with respect to the eastern margins that rather show a wider stretched and thinner margin. The Moho is in average about 5.7°±1° dipping toward the interior of the continent on the western side, whereas it is about 2.7°±1° in the eastern margins. Moreover, the stretched continental crust is on average 244 km wide on the western side, whereas it is up to about 439 km on the eastern side of the Atlantic. This systematic asymmetry reflects the early stages of the diachronous Mesozoic to Cenozoic continental rifting, which is inferred as the result of a polarized westward motion of both western and eastern plates, being Greenland, Northern and Southern Americas plates moving westward faster with respect to Scandinavia, Europe and Africa, relative to the underlying mantle.

我们比较了共轭边缘的11个区域，分析了从北向南的大西洋被动大陆边缘的总地壳结构。总的来说，相对于东部边缘而言，西部边缘显示出了较剧烈的大陆-海洋过渡，而东部边缘则显示出更宽的拉伸范围和更薄的边缘。莫霍面平均向西倾斜至大陆内部约5.7°±1°，而在东部边缘约2.7°±1°。此外，伸展的大陆壳在西侧平均宽度为244公里，而在大西洋的东侧则高达439公里。这种系统的不对称性反映了中生代到新生代大陆裂谷的早期年代，