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takyon writes:

Scientists have surveyed the lost continent of Zealandia in the South Pacific:

A team of 32 scientists from 12 countries returned last week from a nine-week voyage to study the once-lost continent of Zealandia in the South Pacific. This mostly submerged or hidden continent is an elevated part of the ocean floor, about two-thirds the size of Australia, located between New Zealand and New Caledonia. Scientists said earlier this year they thought Zealandia should be recognized as a full-fledged Earth continent. This was one of the first extensive surveys of the region, and the scientists who carried it out – affiliated with the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) at Texas A&M University – have just arrived back in Hobart, Tasmania, aboard the research vessel JOIDES Resolution. They said their work has already revealed that Zealandia might once have been much closer to land level than previously thought, providing pathways for animals and plants to cross between continents.

Little is known about Zealandia because it's submerged about two-thirds of a miles (more than a kilometer) under the sea. Until now, the region has been sparsely surveyed and sampled.

Scientists taking part in the 2017 expedition drilled deep into Zealandia's seabed at six sites in water depths of more than 4,000 feet (1,250 meters). They collected 8,000 feet (2,500 meters) of sediment cores from layers that record how the geography, volcanism and climate of the region have changed over millions of years.

Also at Smithsonian Magazine, The Guardian, and the JOIDES Resolution blog (drilling ship).

Zealandia: Earth's Hidden Continent (open, DOI: 10.1130/GSATG321A.1) (DX)

Previously: Geologists Spy an Eighth Continent: Zealandia

Original Submission