Results 1 to 5 of 5

Thread: Zealandia

  1. #1
    Senior Member Aianawa's Avatar
    Join Date
    18th March 2015
    Posts
    12,477
    Thanks
    45,712
    Thanked 35,447 Times in 10,157 Posts

    Zealandia

    http://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/world/...XZz&ocid=ientp

    Zealandia made global headlines earlier this year when scientists announced that it counts as a new continent.

    Now it is coming under closer scientific scrutiny. We are currently halfway through an expedition to drill into this vast underwater plateau of continental crust, and we can already reveal that Zealandia’s geography changed more dramatically and more recently than anyone had thought.

    Earth’s hidden continent

    There are seven continents on Earth: Eurasia, North America, South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia and now Zealandia.

    Zealandia is about two-thirds the size of Australia, but 94 percent of it lies deep below the southwest Pacific Ocean. Its only major landmasses are New Zealand to the south and New Caledonia to the north.

    Very little is known about it, because most of it lies about a mile beneath the Pacific Ocean.

    The Zealandia continent also encompasses some smaller bits of land, including Norfolk Island, the Lord Howe group and some sub-Antarctic islands. These islands were discovered hundreds of years ago, but the submerged part was only recognized as a continent in recent decades. It remains sparsely surveyed and sampled. We have better maps of the moon.






    We are a team of 32 scientists from 12 different countries and our expedition is part of the International Ocean Discovery Program, which coordinates seagoing explorations of Earth’s history recorded in sediments and rocks beneath the ocean floor.

    Our ship, the Joides Resolution is a floating village and laboratory, equipped with a drill rig that can take core samples from the seafloor. The samples we have collected so far show clear signs of major geographic changes and volcanic eruptions that were related to formation of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a chain of undersea volcanoes, ocean trenches, seamounts and hydrothermal vents that formed some 40 to 50 million years ago.

    Zealandia exposed

    There is a buzz of excitement on the ship. After more than a month at sea we are mid-way through our expedition and have drilled into the seabed at four sites. You can’t beat the old-fashioned thrill of exploration and discovery.

    We are rewriting the geological history of Zealandia on our voyage. Zealandia was first recognized about 50 years ago and ideas for how it formed were published then, but the only previous expedition that has drilled deep enough into the seabed to collect useful evidence was undertaken in 1971.

    It appeared back then that Zealandia separated from Australia and Antarctica about 80 million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. It then subsided deep beneath the waves and was lost.



    However, fossils and volcanic rocks show that northern Zealandia, an area about the size of India, was radically affected by formation of the Pacific Ring of Fire.

    Our preliminary observations suggest that regions now under more than 1,000 meters (3,280ft) of water became land or shallow seas, and other regions that are now under 3,000 meters (1.8 miles) of water may have been much shallower, or even land. Changes in geography were massive, and may help explain how the unique plants and animals of the southwest Pacific were able to disperse and evolve.

    Undersea exploration

    Explorers are normal people doing extraordinary things. Exploration isn’t easy. Not everything goes to plan. The hours are long, you share a small room with someone you didn’t know before the voyage, and you miss your family and friends.



    Sea sickness is not your friend if you spend 14 hours a day looking down a microscope at fossils that are so small you could fit hundreds on the head of a pin. So why do we do it?

    It is hard to describe the excitement of discovery. Every time we get a new core on deck it is like unwrapping a present. What will it be? A curiosity to keep you busy for another few days, or key evidence to reconstruct the history of a hidden continent?

    Our goals are to understand why Earth’s surface moves (the study of plate tectonics) and how greenhouse climate systems work (climate change). The southwest Pacific location makes Zealandia ideal for testing ideas on how the earth works.

    The formation of the Pacific Ring of Fire changed the way our planet moved: New volcanoes and mountains grew, natural resources formed, and the changes had long-term effects on global climate.

    Zealandia was closer to the South Pole 50 million years ago, but had a warm climate. How was this possible? If computer models can’t predict such warm conditions in the past, could models of future global warming also be underestimates?

    The answers to these and many more questions lie beneath the waves, recorded in sediment layers that have accumulated over millions of years.

    Rupert Sutherland is professor of tectonics and geophysics at the Victoria University

  2. The Following 11 Users Say Thank You to Aianawa For This Useful Post:

    Aragorn (12th September 2017), Dreamtimer (12th September 2017), Dumpster Diver (12th September 2017), Elen (12th September 2017), Emil El Zapato (12th September 2017), Gio (12th September 2017), Juniper (12th September 2017), Lord Sidious (13th September 2017), modwiz (13th September 2017), Myst (12th September 2017), Woody (13th September 2017)

  3. #2
    Retired Member Norway
    Join Date
    2nd July 2015
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    5,065
    Thanks
    73,935
    Thanked 23,318 Times in 5,067 Posts
    Zealandia was closer to the South Pole 50 million years ago, but had a warm climate. How was this possible? If computer models can’t predict such warm conditions in the past, could models of future global warming also be underestimates?
    The whole article is interesting Vern. The quote shows the same sign of tropical climate as it does in the Northern regions. Svalbard (Spitsbergen) is full of evidence.

  4. The Following 8 Users Say Thank You to Elen For This Useful Post:

    Aianawa (12th September 2017), Aragorn (12th September 2017), Dreamtimer (12th September 2017), Emil El Zapato (12th September 2017), Gio (13th September 2017), Juniper (12th September 2017), modwiz (13th September 2017), Woody (13th September 2017)

  5. #3
    Retired Member United States
    Join Date
    7th April 2015
    Location
    Patapsco Valley
    Posts
    14,610
    Thanks
    70,673
    Thanked 62,025 Times in 14,520 Posts
    If it's tropical at the poles, what is it at the equator? Searing? Melting? Blazing? Maybe the poles, or the land masses, were in a different place?

  6. The Following 8 Users Say Thank You to Dreamtimer For This Useful Post:

    Aianawa (12th September 2017), Aragorn (12th September 2017), Elen (12th September 2017), Emil El Zapato (12th September 2017), Gio (13th September 2017), Juniper (12th September 2017), modwiz (13th September 2017), Woody (13th September 2017)

  7. #4
    Senior Member Aianawa's Avatar
    Join Date
    18th March 2015
    Posts
    12,477
    Thanks
    45,712
    Thanked 35,447 Times in 10,157 Posts
    Yes I see > https://answersingenesis.org/fossils...zed-in-arctic/


    Quote Originally posted by Elen View Post
    The whole article is interesting Vern. The quote shows the same sign of tropical climate as it does in the Northern regions. Svalbard (Spitsbergen) is full of evidence.

  8. The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to Aianawa For This Useful Post:

    Aragorn (13th September 2017), Dreamtimer (13th September 2017), Elen (13th September 2017), Gio (13th September 2017), modwiz (13th September 2017), Woody (13th September 2017)

  9. #5
    Senior Member Lord Sidious's Avatar
    Join Date
    18th March 2014
    Posts
    1,680
    Thanks
    3,384
    Thanked 9,443 Times in 1,680 Posts
    When the Germans were surveying Antarctica in 1938, they discovered at least one valley that was not covered in ice and had an unfrozen lake.
    They filmed it from a plane and it was on youtube, not sure about now
    Ní siocháin go saoirse

  10. The Following 7 Users Say Thank You to Lord Sidious For This Useful Post:

    Aianawa (13th September 2017), Aragorn (13th September 2017), Dreamtimer (13th September 2017), Elen (13th September 2017), Gio (13th September 2017), modwiz (13th September 2017), Woody (13th September 2017)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •