Zealandia : a submerged continent in Pacific Ocean
Geologists have successfully founded a new geological continent named Zealandia, also known as the New Zealand continent or Tasmanti. The name and concept for Zealandia were proposed by Bruce Luyendyk in 1995.It is an almost submerged mass of land breaking away from Australia 60–80 million years ago, having separated from Antarctica between 85 and 130 million years ago. Zealandia is around 4.5-million square km land mass, it is the world's largest current microcontinent, more than twice the size of the next-largest microcontinent and more than half the size of the Australian continent. And is 94% under water. Only its highest points, New Zealand and New Caledonia are visible. In fact Zealandia is two-thirds the size of Australia. Sea-floor samples show that Zealandia consists of light continental crust and not the dark volcanic rocks that make up nearby underwater. This discovery marks a new territory in human evolution.
You might think being above water is crucial to make the cut as a continent, but the researchers looked at a different set of criteria, all of which are met by the new sub continent.
1) Elevation above the surrounding area
2) Distinctive geology
3) A well-defined area
4) A crust thicker than the regular ocean floor
Well this changes everything, just like Pluto. Just a few years ago, Pluto got kicked off the planet list, changing what had been taught in schools for decades.
There is in fact no scientific body that formally recognizes continents. So it could only change over time, if future researchers accepts Zealandia on par with the rest of the continents, we might learn about eight, not seven continents in school.
