Earth's hidden eighth continent is no longer lost

That’s what you will find out after reading this story:

Zealand, considered a candidate for the eighth continent of the Earth, was mostly lost to the sea.
Geologists say they have now drawn all the masses of the underwater land almost two million square miles.
The research team used rocks from the seabed to analyze the date for the underwater geology of Northern Zealand, for the last piece of Zealand puzzle.

Zealand had as many promises as the eighth land on earth. Well, it did – until about 95 percent of the mass sinking under the ocean.

Although most Zealand can never accept the population-out of the land-the future continent is now no longer lost. Researchers completed the humiliation of the northern two -thirds of Zealand, wrapped in almost two million square miles of underwater land.

In the study TectonicsResearchers of New Zealand GNS Science document their deepening process of deepening the fairway to analyze the geochemical rock and understand Zealand underwater makeup.

Zealand’s history is quite closely linked to ancient Gondwana supercontinent, who interrupted hundreds of millions of years ago. According to the latest theory, Zealand followed an example of 80 million years ago. However, unlike neighboring Australia or many Antarctica, Zealand has basically sinking, leaving only a small part of what many geologists, in my opinion, should still be called the eighth continent.

New Zealand forms the most recognizable part of Zealand above the water, although several other islands in the neighborhood are also part of the confident.

This study, led by Nick Mortimer, excavated the northern two -thirds of the underwater territory, pulling pebbles and cobble sandstone, sandstone grain stone, dirt stone, bioclassal limestone and basaltic lava from various periods. Researchers wrote by knowing the rocks and explaining magnetic anomalies, they were able to associate the main geological units throughout North Zealand. “This work completes the geological map of the entire Zealand continent,” they said.

Researchers have found a mixture of about 95 million years from late chalk and granite and volcanic pebbles from up to 130 million years in early chalk. The basalt is newer – they have been around 40 million years since the eocene period.

Together with maps on paper, the internal deformation of both Zealand and West Antarctica indicates that stretching led to a cracker in the sub -style of the plates that welcomed the ocean water. Then, after a few millions of years, the further fracture of Antarctica continued to stretch the crust of Zealand until it ruptured enough to divorce and seal the fundamental fate of Zealand. This is contrary to the predominant strike of the strike fracture.

The team believes, according to Science warningthat the stretching direction ranged to 65 degrees, which could have allowed a wide range of continental crust thin.

As New Zealand scientists can say, because Zealand is essentially underwater, it does not make it less geological wonder.

Photo credit: Hearst manages

Get a problem