SCIENTISTS believe they've discovered the remains of a lost continent on the floor of the Indian Ocean off Africa.
The research team from Norway, South Africa, Germany and the UK identified the ancient “microcontinent” after analysing beach sands from the island of Mauritius.
They believe Mauritius was split from the larger island of Madagascar, 900 kilometres to the west, by volcanic eruptions between 61 and 84 million years ago. The beach sands were deposited by subsequent eruptions within the last nine million years.
But the analysis found a smattering of zircon grains up to 2 billion years old, suggesting the recent volcanoes had spewed out fragments of an ancient continental crust.
They believe the microcontinent, which they have christened “Mauritia”, may also lie beneath Réunion Island and the Seychelles.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Lost Continent found
SCIENTISTS believe they've discovered the remains of a lost continent on the floor of the Indian Ocean off Africa.
The research team from Norway, South Africa, Germany and the UK identified the ancient “microcontinent” after analysing beach sands from the island of Mauritius.
They believe Mauritius was split from the larger island of Madagascar, 900 kilometres to the west, by volcanic eruptions between 61 and 84 million years ago. The beach sands were deposited by subsequent eruptions within the last nine million years.
But the analysis found a smattering of zircon grains up to 2 billion years old, suggesting the recent volcanoes had spewed out fragments of an ancient continental crust.
They believe the microcontinent, which they have christened “Mauritia”, may also lie beneath Réunion Island and the Seychelles.
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