Remains of Ancient Continent Discovered Under Indian Ocean

[JonB]

Remains of Ancient Continent Discovered Under Indian Ocean

The ancient microcontinent of Mauritia may lie between Madagascar and India.

A study by geologists at the University of Oslo has uncovered that the ancient microcontinent of Mauritia is likely drowned beneath the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and India. Mauritia would have existed between 2,000 and 85 million years ago. Grain-by-grain analysis of sand on the beaches of Mauritius, in the Indian ocean, revealed zircons - tiny crystals of zirconium silicate that are resistant to erosion. The zircons would have crystallized some 660 million years ago. The geologists propose that volcanic eruptions on the bottom of the sea brought shards of the ancient continent to Earth's surface, which eroded in the sea and washed up on the more geologically recent island. The only other possible source of zircons would be Madagascar, across the ocean from Mauritius, where there's an outcrop of continental crust.

So where, then, did the continent go? Areas of crust under the Indian Ocean are three to five times thicker than the average thickness of Earth's crust. Those areas of thickness may be the remains of the landmass Mauritia, which would have split from Madagascar and subsequently sank due to stretching and thinning of crust. It's likely that Mauritia would have been an island about three times as big as Crete.

Source: Nature [http://www.nature.com/news/long-lost-continent-found-under-the-indian-ocean-1.12487]

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[Something Amyss]

That's no continent, that's a battlestation!

I'm a little disappointed, though. Microcontinent three times the size of Crete?

 

[viranimus]

In before ITS ATLANTIS!!!...

 

[Quaxar]

Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and here I thought this was going to be some kind of Atlantis theory again...

That's gotta be embarrassing for all the Indian and Madagascan geologists, they live right next to it and yet it took some guys from 10.000km away to find it.

 

[iniudan]

In before ITS ATLANTIS!!!...

Wrong Ocean, the Indian Ocean equivalent is Lemuria. While for the Pacific it is Mu. =p

 

[viranimus]

In before ITS ATLANTIS!!!...

Wrong Ocean, the Indian Ocean equivalent is Lemuria. While for the Pacific it is Mu. =p

LOL good call, but Going off the one theory that Atlantis "floated away" Just like how it supposedly floated to off the coast of North America and became the Bermuda triangle /eyeroll. Gotta love it.

 

[LordMonty]

Fickle is nature, kind of pleased the earth goes slow with all of this as i don't fancy the UK just sinking into the sea

 

[Squilookle]

You think anyone stood up and yelled in triumph:

AHA! ZIRCONS! I KNEW IT!

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

Well, according to Sanctuary it's where Kali is sleeping, so we might want to be careful if we want to poke around there. :/

[sub][sub]I have no idea if any one else watched that show, but dammit, that reference as to be made![/sub][/sub]

Still, that's a pretty groovy find, but a wonder how they managed to find it considering it's that small.

 

[uzo]

You think anyone stood up and yelled in triumph:

AHA! ZIRCONS! I KNEW IT!

(OoO) *gasp*

Why would anyone celebrate the victory of the cruel Zircons over the peace-loving Mauritians, culminating in the destruction of their very land they walked ?


Wait ... wait ...

... you mean Zircons aren't aliens? Well shit who the hell named `em that. Don't go calling little hunks of rocks something that sounds like an intergalactic empire, damnit! I'm easily excitable !

 

[Weaver]

At what point does an island become a microcontinent? Let's be honest, 3 times the size of Crete isn't very big. Crete is 8,336 square kilometers, three times that is 25,008 square kilometers. Roughly 1/4th the size of Cuba (109,884 square km), which doesn't hold "microcontient" status.

 

[The White Hunter]

Fishman Island? DD

I wanna go there! Think of the mermaids man!

 

[Sneezeguard]

I wonder if people lived there or if there's any historical records of them if they did that now's been taken for myth or legend.

 

[1337mokro]

In before ITS ATLANTIS!!!...

It's Atlant.... oh why did you go and ruin everyone's fun.

I wonder if people lived there or if there's any historical records of them if they did that now's been taken for myth or legend.

No. It's estimated that it existed over 85 MILLION years ago. No humans were around then. No civilization was around at the time. The only thing that might be found there are rocks and possible a number of rare fossils if any.

 

[Woodsey]

At what point does an island become a microcontinent? Let's be honest, 3 times the size of Crete isn't very big. Crete is 8,336 square kilometers, three times that is 25,008 square kilometers. Roughly 1/4th the size of Cuba (109,884 square km), which doesn't hold "microcontient" status.

According to Wiki: "Continental crustal fragments, partially synonymous with microcontinents,[1] are fragments of continents that have been broken off from main continental masses forming distinct islands, often several hundred kilometers from their place of origin."

Oh, and funnily enough:

"Other microcontinents:

Barbados
Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and other granitic Caribbean islands
Kerguelen Plateau"

 

[Antonio Torrente]

Oh great another conspiracy fuel for Hysteria Channel's Ancient Aliens. Wonder what kind of insane explanation they will use?

 

[Thaluikhain]

I wonder if people lived there or if there's any historical records of them if they did that now's been taken for myth or legend.

No. It's estimated that it existed over 85 MILLION years ago. No humans were around then. No civilization was around at the time. The only thing that might be found there are rocks and possible a number of rare fossils if any.

Well, no humans people

Like how the Mediterranean drying up a few times 50 million years ago is supposedly the inspiration for Atlantis or whatever. According to someone.

 

[1337mokro]

I wonder if people lived there or if there's any historical records of them if they did that now's been taken for myth or legend.

No. It's estimated that it existed over 85 MILLION years ago. No humans were around then. No civilization was around at the time. The only thing that might be found there are rocks and possible a number of rare fossils if any.

Well, no humans people

Like how the Mediterranean drying up a few times 50 million years ago is supposedly the inspiration for Atlantis or whatever. According to someone.

Yes and that someone probably fell on their head because nobody knew about that until modern times and the legend of Atlantis is over 2000 years old written by Plato in 360 BC, who took inspiration from an older story by Solon in roughly 600 BC.

Now could an 85 million year old civilization of intelligent dinosaurs exist? Maybe, but nothing exists that can confirm that so I am just going to say no.

 

[1337mokro]

I wonder if people lived there or if there's any historical records of them if they did that now's been taken for myth or legend.

No. It's estimated that it existed over 85 MILLION years ago. No humans were around then. No civilization was around at the time. The only thing that might be found there are rocks and possible a number of rare fossils if any.

Well, no humans people

Like how the Mediterranean drying up a few times 50 million years ago is supposedly the inspiration for Atlantis or whatever. According to someone.

Yes and that someone probably fell on their head because nobody knew about that until modern times and the legend of Atlantis is over 2000 years old written by Plato in 360 BC, who took inspiration from an older story by Solon in roughly 600 BC.

Now could an 85 million year old civilization of intelligent dinosaurs exist? Maybe, but nothing exists that can confirm that so I am just going to say no.