Zealandia, the eighth continent on Earth, which lies mostly under the South Pacific Ocean, is a continent that sank under the waters after separating from Asia 60-85 million years ago and from Antarctica 130-185 million years ago. of years. Now we can navigate through it thanks to a series of maps that have been produced by GNS Science and consist of two charts and an interactive exploration tool covering the bathymetry (shape of the ocean floor) and tectonic origins.
Thanks to this new project, you can delight yourself with some excellent maps that detail this long-lost continent (the eighth, after Africa, Asia, Antarctica, Australia / Oceania, Europe, North America and South America). Zealandia, also known as Te Riu-a-Māui, is a 5 million square kilometer continent of which up to 94% of it is currently underwater off the east coast of Australia.
In 2017, geologists from New Zealand, New Caledonia and Australia concluded that Zealandia meets all the necessary requirements to define itself as a continent, not just a microcontinent or continental fragment, but it has not been until now that they have managed to map its full extent and in detail without predecents.
The geologists from the New Zealand research group who produced the maps comment:
“ Users can zoom and scroll through different geoscience thematic web maps of the region. They can easily view and search maps and turn layers on or off. They can also query features in map layers and generate their own custom maps, ”explained Vaughan Stagpoole, program leader, in a statement.
The experts mapped the bathymetry surrounding Zealandia, the shape and depth of the ocean floor, as well as its tectonic profile, showing where Zealandia lies across the limits of the tectonic plate. The maps reveal new data on how Zealandia formed before it went underwater millions of years ago.
A tectonic map and a barimetric map
The tectonic map represents the tectonic profile of exactly 4.9 million square kilometers of this extraordinary submerged land mass , while the bathymetric map generates a detailed image of the ocean floor, representing the coasts and territorial limits of this underwater continent. .
“We have created these maps to provide an accurate, complete and updated image of the geology of New Zealand and the Southwest Pacific area, better than before,” explains geologist Nick Mortimer, co-author of the work. “Their value is that they provide a fresh context in which to explain and understand the configuration of New Zealand’s volcanoes, plate boundaries and sedimentary basins.”
Zealandia was born between 79 and 83 million years ago when it broke away from Gondwana, an ancient supercontinent that existed until the Jurassic era (about 180 million years ago). The Gondwana remains make up about two-thirds of the current continental area, including South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, the Indian subcontinent, Arabia, and last but not least Zealand.
While various projects have tried to better understand Zealandia in recent years, there is still much to learn about this largely hidden continent.
Referencia: Zealandia interactive website: data.gns.cri.nz/tez GNS SCIENCE
