It took scientists 375 years to discover the eighth continent of the world, which had been hiding in plain sight all along. But mysteries about the land mass still remain - hidden beneath the waves for the last 25 million years.
In 1820, a Russian ship spotted a towering mass of ice on the horizon. This was the first ever sighting of the Fimbul Ice Shelf, and it marked the official discovery of a new continent: Antarctica. It also cemented the modern idea, upheld by most maps across the English-speaking world, that there are seven major landmasses: Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, and Antarctica.
But in 2017, the story took an unexpected turn - the seven continent model was a mistake. Enter Zealandia (Te Riu-a-Māui in the Māori language), a long-lost land to the southeast of Australia, otherwise known as the planet's forgotten eighth continent. Long lost because almost all of it (94 percent) is underwater, with just a handful of islands, such as New Zealand, thrusting out from its oceanic depths. But it had been hiding in plain sight all along.
Scientists had long predicted the existence of this bonus southern landmass, but it remained missing for 375 years - largely because it’s almost entirely submerged under about one mile of water. Now, however, they are beginning to unravel its secrets.
This month, an international team of researchers released the most detailed maps of Zealandia to date - incorporating all five million square kilometres (two million square miles) of this enormous underwater region. Thanks to the efforts of researchers, Zealandia is finally starting to give up its secrets. But with the vast majority of this enigmatic landmass under kilometres of water, it's going to take a while to reveal them all.
Another mystery is exactly when Zealandia ended up underwater - and whether it has ever, in fact, consisted of dry land. And, if it did, what lived there?
Comments