Lost continent found at the bottom of the Indian Ocean

An ancient continent that once lay between India and Madagascar was stretched, broken into pieces, and sunk to the bottom of the Indian Ocean.

The island nation of Mauritius is located on an ancient continent. Photo: Reuters.

Mauritius, an island nation in the southwest Indian Ocean, is located on an ancient continent that broke off and sank to the bottom of the sea, New Scientist reported on January 31.

Scientists have previously found that some parts of the Indian Ocean, including Mauritius, have stronger gravity than others, suggesting a thicker crust. So they hypothesized that ancient pieces of land sank and became attached to the oceanic crust below.

A team led by Lewis Ashwal of the University of Witwatersand in South Africa found zircon crystals that are three billion years old on Mauritius, even though the island is only eight million years old. They therefore believe that Mauritius sits on a submerged continent, with volcanic eruptions pushing zircon out of the ancient rocks below.

Location map of Mauritius. Photo: Google Map.

Through detailed analysis, the team reconstructed the geological history of the ancient continent and named it Mauritia. Mauritia was a small continent, about a quarter the size of Madagascar, that lay between India and Madagascar until 85 million years ago. As the two countries drifted apart, Mauritia was stretched and broke apart.

"As continents stretch, they become thinner and break into pieces. These thin pieces of land then sink to the ocean floor," explains Martin Van Kranendonk, who works at the University of New South Wales, Australia.

In addition, the research team found much evidence that other volcanic islands in the Indian Ocean such as Cargados Carajos, Laccadive, Chagos are also located on fragments of the Mauritia continent.

According to VNE