Scientists are mapping the mysterious “lost” continent of Zealand – which was discovered in 2017 – for the first time. The giant land mass of the South Pacific disappeared beneath the waves 23 million years ago.
It was originally part of the giant supercontinent Gondwana, which was made up of continents that now exist in the southern hemisphere.
Covering 1.9 million square miles, Zealandia is six times larger than Madagascar, the next largest continental fragment.
It stretches from southern New Zealand north to New Caledonia and west to the Kenn Plateau off the east coast of Australia.
About 94% of the land surface is underwater.
The “hidden” continent is now partially mapped due to a deepwater mapping expedition led by the University of Queensland, Sun. reported.
The chief scientist, Dr. Derya Gürer, spent 28 days at sea on the Falkor research vessel of the Schmidt Ocean Institute, exploring the northwestern edge of the continent.
“We are just beginning to discover the secrets of Zealand,” said Dr Gürer. “It has remained hidden from view until recently and is notoriously difficult to study.”
The team’s radar scans explored the contours of the narrow link between Tasman and Coral Seas in the Cato Trough region – the narrow corridor between Australia and Zealand.
In total, they provided 14.00 square miles of topographic data for the 2030 Seabed project.
The project aims to produce a public bathymetric map to measure the depth of the ocean floor by 2030.
Read more: Scientists discover a new continent called “Zealandia”
“The seabed is full of clues to understand the complex geological history of both the Australian and Zeeland mainland plates,” said Dr. Gürer.
“These data will also improve our understanding of the complex structure of the crust between Australian and Zeeland plates. It is thought to include several small continental fragments, or microcontinents, that were separated in the past by Australia and the Gondwana supercontinent. “
Zealandia is thought to have separated from Gondwana 85-79 million years ago.
The supercontinent encompassed what is now South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, Zealand, Arabia and the Indian subcontinent.
About 23 million years ago, it was believed that Zealandia was almost completely submerged.
Experts have spent 20 years gathering data to claim that the submerged land is a continent. Their efforts have been thwarted because most of it is hidden under the waves.
The article originally appeared on The Sun.