New Continent

[Ecurb Noselrub]

We've lost a planet in Pluto, but we've gained a continent in Zealandia.

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/16/travel/zealandia-new-continent-discovered/index.html

[Arturo]

God damn liberals and their special snowflake mentality thinkin they can get things for free.

[Arturo]

No, but really, cool muchacho.

[Recusant]

Some background on how the continent was discovered, and its implications beyond being an interesting science story: "Earth's newest continent 'Zealandia' was found thanks to a giant underwater land grab" | Business Insider

The new continent of Zealandia is shown at bottom center (in gray).
Image Credit: N. Mortimer et al./GSA Today

By now you've probably seen the big geology news: Earth has a brand-new continent called Zealandia, and it's been hiding from us for ages.

What's less widely known about the discovery, however, is how it came about — and what it means for we humans who live on top of the rocks.

Zealandia, which spans roughly 4.9 million square kilometers (1.9 million square miles) and is about 95% underwater, was a revelation more than a half-century in the making. And like many geologic discoveries, it began with the human drive to mine natural resources.

"Calling Zealandia a continent is more of a formality and mostly a scientific interest," said study co-author Vaughan Stagpoole, a geophysicist and head of the marine geoscience department at GNS Science, a New Zealand-funded research institute.

"In terms of the economic benefits" like minerals, oil, and gas, he said, "that was established a while ago."

And yet New Zealand and New Caledonia, a French territory, are only just beginning to establish what's down there other than a lot of continental crust; Stagpoole says it's a vast, mostly unexplored, and "extreme frontier" — one that could hide untold riches.

[Continues . . .]