Scientists finds a continent that was once part of the ancient Gondwana land

Scientists have made a significant discovery, pinpointing a continent that was once part of the ancient Gondwana land.

This continent is known as Zealandia, referred to as Te Riu-a-M?ui in the M?ori language. Approximately 94% of Zealandia is submerged beneath the ocean, with the remaining 6% comprising New Zealand and surrounding islands.

The continent’s existence was initially brought to light by Dutch businessman and sailor Abel Tasman in 1642, who was on a quest to find the elusive “Great Southern Continent.” Unfortunately, he was unable to determine its exact location. However, in 2017, geologists stumbled upon the fact that Zealandia had been hidden in plain sight all along.

On Tuesday, an international team of geologists and seismologists published an updated map of Zealandia in the journal ‘Tectonics.’ They pieced together its shape and structure by analyzing data obtained from rock samples collected from the ocean floor.

This revelation was made possible by studying the geological patterns in West Antarctica, which led them to consider the possibility of a subduction zone near the Campbell Plateau off the west coast of New Zealand.

The scientists enhanced the existing maps of Zealandia by examining collections of rocks and sediment samples retrieved from the ocean bed. While most of these samples were obtained from drilling sites, some came from the shores of nearby islands.

Researchers at the Zealand Crown Research Institute, GNS Science, acknowledged that although most of this newfound continent lies underwater, it took time for something that was “very obvious” to be revealed.

According to Tulloch, one of the geologists, Zealandia began to separate from the supercontinent Gondwana, which included most of Western Antarctica and Eastern Australia, over 500 million years ago. The exact timeline of this separation is still under investigation.