MOSCOW, Oct. 21The so-called “Zealand”, which some scientists propose to recognize as the seventh continent of the Earth, is the shelf zone of New Zealand; calling it a continent just because it “rises” above the depths of the ocean is wrong, said an associate professor at the Department of Geodata Visualization and Cartographic Design at Moscow State University of Geodesy and cartography (MIIGAiK) Dmitry Loginov.
The idea of a seventh continent, Zealandia, has been discussed since the 19th century. Its supporters argue that New Zealand is only a small part of a huge fragment of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana, almost completely hidden in the ocean. In October of this year, New Zealand scientist Nick Mortimer announced the creation of an accurate map of the sunken continent.
“»It is impossible to judge the discovery of a new continent just by a quick glance at the bathymetric map (displays the relief of the ocean floor — ed.), otherwise everything will come down to the already known facts that the shelf is a continuation of the continent both in geological and geographical terms. In In this case, we are talking not about a new continent, but about the shelf zone of New Zealand, that is, a part of the earth’s continental-type crust, which is relatively shallow under water,” Loginov said.
He noted that if “Zealand” is recognized, any underwater elevations against the backdrop of the ocean depths can be called new continents. For example, the Kerguelen Plateau or the “90th degree ridge” in the Indian Ocean claim this status. The scientist considers it a mistake to follow such logic.
«It is worth saying that the famous Hindustan Peninsula is actually recognized as a subcontinent that separated from the island of Madagascar more than 90 million years ago. It became the catalyst for the formation of the Himalayas and even the Ural Mountains. So if To talk about the new “Zealand” from the position of a sunken large massif of the earth’s crust, then it is more likely a kind of subcontinent with its own tectonic plate,” Loginov added.
The scientist emphasized that even in this respect, Zealand is “incomplete”, since it is divided in half by the Australian and Pacific lithospheric plates.