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Zealandia
Zealandia (pronounced ), also known as (Māori language, Māori) or Tasmantis (from Tasman Sea), is an almost entirely submerged continent, submerged mass of continental crust in Oceania that subsided after breaking away from Gondwana 83–79 million years ago. It has been described variously as a submerged continent, continental fragment, and microcontinent. The name and concept for Zealandia was proposed by Bruce P. Luyendyk, Bruce Luyendyk in 1995, and satellite imagery shows it to be almost the size of Australia. A 2021 study suggests Zealandia is over a billion years old, about twice as old as geologists previously thought. By approximately 23 million years ago, the landmass may have been completely submerged. Today, most of the landmass (94%) remains submerged beneath the Pacific Ocean. New Zealand is the largest part of Zealandia that is above sea level, followed by New Caledonia. Mapping of Zealandia concluded in 2023. With a total area of approximately , Zealandia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zealandia In Oceania
Zealandia (pronounced ), also known as (Māori) or Tasmantis (from Tasman Sea), is an almost entirely submerged mass of continental crust in Oceania that subsided after breaking away from Gondwana 83–79 million years ago. It has been described variously as a submerged continent, continental fragment, and microcontinent. The name and concept for Zealandia was proposed by Bruce Luyendyk in 1995, and satellite imagery shows it to be almost the size of Australia. A 2021 study suggests Zealandia is over a billion years old, about twice as old as geologists previously thought. By approximately 23 million years ago, the landmass may have been completely submerged. Today, most of the landmass (94%) remains submerged beneath the Pacific Ocean. New Zealand is the largest part of Zealandia that is above sea level, followed by New Caledonia. Mapping of Zealandia concluded in 2023. With a total area of approximately , Zealandia is substantially larger than any features termed micr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nick Mortimer
Nick Mortimer is a New Zealand geologist, who has made a name for himself with his work on Zealandia. Nick Mortimer was born in England and now lives in Dunedin, New Zealand. He studied geology and graduated with a Bachelor of Science with distinction in 1980. He then completed a PhD in geology and received his doctorate four years later. Mortimer published his first papers in 1986/1987 while working at the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. He later has been working as a petrologist at the Dunedin Research Centre of the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS Science) since 1994, where he is one of the "Principal Scientists". During his career, he has conducted research in Antarctica, Australia, Canada, the Pacific islands, the United States, and many areas of New Zealand. Mortimer became known worldwide as the lead author of the article "Zealandia: Earth's Hidden Continent", which he published 2017 together ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gondwana
Gondwana ( ; ) was a large landmass, sometimes referred to as a supercontinent. The remnants of Gondwana make up around two-thirds of today's continental area, including South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia (continent), Australia, Zealandia, Arabian Peninsula, Arabia, and the Indian subcontinent. Gondwana was formed by the Accretion (geology), accretion of several cratons (large stable blocks of the Earth's crust), beginning with the East African Orogeny, the collision of India and Geography of Madagascar, Madagascar with East Africa, and culminating in with the overlapping Brasiliano orogeny, Brasiliano and Kuunga orogeny, Kuunga orogenies, the collision of South America with Africa, and the addition of Australia and Antarctica, respectively. Eventually, Gondwana became the largest piece of continental crust of the Paleozoic Era, covering an area of some , about one-fifth of the Earth's surface. It fused with Laurasia during the Carboniferous to form Pan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oceania
Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its continental landmass. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, at the centre of the land and water hemispheres, water hemisphere, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of about and a population of around 46.3 million as of 2024. Oceania is the smallest continent in land area and the list of continents and continental subregions by population, second-least populated after Antarctica. Oceania has a diverse mix of economies from the developed country, highly developed and globally competitive market economy, financial markets of Australia, French Polynesia, Hawaii, New Caledonia, and New Zealand, which rank high in quality of life and Human Development Index, to the much least developed countries ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 was the first known person to cross it. British explorer Lieutenant James Cook later extensively navigated the Tasman Sea in the 1770s during his three voyages of exploration. The Māori people of New Zealand call this sea ''Te Moana-a-Rehua'' meaning 'the sea of Rehua' which clashes with the Pacific waters named ''Te Tai-o-Whitirea'' ('the sea of Whitirea') – after Whitirea, Rehua's lover – at Cape Reinga, the northernmost tip of North Island. Climate The south of the sea is passed over by depressions going from west to east. The northern limit of these westerly winds is near to 40th parallel south, 40°S. During the southern winter, from April to October, the northern branch of these winds from the west changes its direction toward th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Caledonia
New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of the French Republic, a legal status unique in overseas France, and is enshrined in a dedicated chapter of the French Constitution. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre (New Caledonia), Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Chesterfield Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of Pines (New Caledonia), Isle of Pines, and a few remote islets. The Chesterfield Islands are in the Coral Sea. French people, especially locals, call Grande Terre , a nickname also used more generally for the entire New Caledonia. Kanak people#Agitation for independence, Pro-independence Kanak parties use the name (''pron.'' ) to refer to New Caledonia, a term coined in the 1980s from the ethnic name of the indi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Submerged Continent
A submerged continent or a sunken continent is a region of continental crust, extensive in size but mainly undersea. The terminology is used by some paleogeologists and geographers in reference to some landmasses (none of which are as large as any of the seven generally-recognized continents). The definition of this term is unclear. If continental fragments and microcontinents smaller than , which is approximately one third of the area of mainland Australia, are excluded, then Zealandia (approximately ) would be the only geological feature which is classifiable as a submerged continent. Other notable submerged lands include Beringia, Doggerland, the Kerguelen Plateau, Mauritia, Sahul, and Sunda. Submerged continents have been sought and speculated about in regard to a possible " lost continent" underwater in the Atlantic Ocean. There was also a search in the 1930s for Lemuria Lemuria (), or Limuria, was a continent proposed in 1864 by zoologist Philip Sclater, theorize ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australia (continent)
The continent of Australia, sometimes known in technical contexts as Sahul (), Australia-New Guinea, Australinea, or Meganesia to distinguish it from the Australia, country of Australia, is located within the Southern Hemisphere, Southern and Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern hemispheres, near the Maritime Southeast Asia. The continent includes mainland Australia, Tasmania, the island of New Guinea (Papua New Guinea and Western New Guinea), the Aru Islands Regency, Aru Islands, the Ashmore and Cartier Islands, most of the Coral Sea Islands, and some other list of islands of Australia, nearby islands. Situated in the geographical region of Oceania, more specifically in the subregion of Australasia, Australia is the Continent#Area and population, smallest of the seven traditional continents. The continent includes a continental shelf overlain by shallow seas which divide it into several landmasses—the Arafura Sea and Torres Strait between mainland Australia and New Guinea, and Bass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of island countries, sixth-largest island country by area and lies east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. The Geography of New Zealand, country's varied topography and sharp mountain peaks, including the Southern Alps (), owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions. Capital of New Zealand, New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, and its most populous city is Auckland. The islands of New Zealand were the last large habitable land to be settled by humans. Between about 1280 and 1350, Polynesians began to settle in the islands and subsequently developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight and record New Zealand. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great South Basin
The Great South Basin is an area of mainly sea to the south of the South Island of New Zealand. Starting in the 1960s, the area was explored and drilled for oil deposits by various, mostly international minerals companies — including Hunt Oil — but by 1984 all of these companies had left empty-handed. With advances in seismic surveying and drilling technology, hopes have been raised once again for a potential oil strike. Since 2006, new tenders for drilling rights have been issued. In 2010, ExxonMobil Exxon Mobil Corporation ( ) is an American multinational List of oil exploration and production companies, oil and gas corporation headquartered in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Founded as the Successors of Standard Oil, largest direct s ... and Todd Energy relinquished their exploration rights, citing technical difficulties and the harshness of the environment. Royal Dutch Shell subsequently purchased a stake in a joint venture headed by OMV New Zealand, with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maui Gas Field
The Maui natural gas field is the largest gas, natural gas condensate and oil field in New Zealand, producing nearly three-quarters of the country's hydrocarbons, as well as providing energy for electricity generation. It is located in the Tasman Sea, 35 km off the coast of Taranaki Region, Taranaki and to the southwest of New Plymouth. It covers an area of 157 square kilometres and is located in 110 metres of water. The gas field was discovered in 1969 by a joint venture of Royal Dutch Shell, Royal Dutch/Shell, BP, British Petroleum and Todd Corporation, Todd Petroleum. It was considered a "giant" field at the time of discovery. Government investment led to a government organisation later called Petrocorp taking a 50% interest. This was later bought out by Fletcher Challenge Energy. By the end of the Maui gas contract in 2009, the Maui Mining Companies were made up of Shell Oil Company, Shell (83.75%), OMV New Zealand (10%), and Todd Energy (6.25%). OMV New Zealand owns a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
