Scientists Journey to the World's 'Lost' 8th Continent

[Judi Lynn]

By Tia Ghose, Senior Writer | July 18, 2017 01:36pm ET

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Scientists will soon venture to the world's hidden eighth continent, the sunken land of Zealandia.

The lost continent, which is mostly submerged, with all of New Zealand and a few islands peeking out from the water, is about half the size of Australia. By drilling deep into its crust or upper layer, the new scientific expedition could provide clues about how the diving of one of Earth's plates beneath another, a process called subduction, fueled the growth of a volcano chain and this lost continent in the Pacific Ocean 50 million years ago. The new expedition could also reveal how that Earth-altering event changed ocean currents and the climate.

"We're looking at the best place in the world to understand how plate subduction initiates," expedition co-chief scientist Gerald Dickens, professor of Earth, environmental and planetary science at Rice University in Texas, said in a statement. "This expedition will answer a lot of questions about Zealandia." [The 10 Biggest Earthquakes in History]

The lost continent

In February, scientists argued in the journal GSA Today that Earth has a hidden eighth continent, which should be reflected on maps.

More:
https://www.livescience.com/59845-journey-to-hidden-eighth-continent.html?utm_source=notification

[Igel]

1. They're mostly redefining "continent".

It's now a tectonic plate with land.

I'll stick to my traditional definition. I'll go with Pluto being a dwarf planet because otherwise I'm stuck memorizing the names of the 200+ planets in the solar system. 200+ versus 8? Keep it simple.

Same for continents. If we let New Zealand into the club, we'll have to build rather large addition onto the Continental Club.

They can keep their jargon.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Not just 'with land' - 'with a separate continental shelf'

Unlike, say, Hawaii, which is volcanoes rising straight from the ocean floor, the shelf with New Zealand on it is a proper continental shelf, with the right composition. I think the question is more whether it should just be called a microcontinent that has split off Australia, or if it's big enough, and with enough independent action, to count as a fully-fledged continent. And I don't think it would mean we'd have to call a lot more things 'continents'.