Written in SCIENCE he
The planet Earth has undergone many changes in its conformation for millions of years, so when it divided into the continents that we know today; America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and Antarctica, other pieces of land were submerged in the depths of the water. Such is the case of zealanda continent which was discovered in 2018 and which could emerge in it Pacific Ocean.
zealand It was discovered when Rose Turnbull, a New Zealand-based geologist found tiny zircon crystals and went to the lab to figure out where the minerals came from. She thus made the discovery that they came from a seventh and until then unknown continent that is also known by its Maori name. Te Riu-a-Maui. According to scientists, it is the most submerged and thinnest found so far.
zealand It is submerged under the Stewart and South Islands of New Zealand and is estimated to be between 500 and a billion years old, so the landmass may not be as young as initially thought, which would reinforce the case of his status continental, since it meets the characteristics of one of them. According to geologist Keith Klepeis, “Continents are like icebergs. What you see on the surface isn’t really the full extent of the land mass.”
Could Zealandia EMERGE in the future in the Pacific Ocean area?
The discovery of zealand in 2018 and first reported in the scientific journal Geology, may help solve a puzzle that has long perplexed scientists. Most of the continents they contain a core of rock known as a craton, a kind of geological center at least a billion years old that acts as a stable foundation on which land masses are built.
However, until now, the oldest continental crust found in zealand it dates from about 500 million years ago, relatively younger in geological terms. So if Te Riu-a-Maui is a continent, why doesn’t it have a rock core known as a craton? Geologists also wonder as the thing is was formed which would be the seventh continent of the planet.
Scientists believe that zealand It was part of the supercontinent known as Gondwana, as the landmass discovered in 2018 has hints of ancient rocks, including fragments of the mantle dating back 2.7 billion years, in addition to the fact that, according to its crust, it could be by far the continent younger, since all its current cousins (Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, North America, South America and Antarctica) harbor rocks that are more than 3 billion years old.
Geologists believe that zealand it may even be just forming, “we are seeing the process of creating a landmass around the central fragment; that is, the birth of a craton”, however, they need more time to know if their speculations are true by collecting more information.
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