In what could be described as a rather difficult adolescence, Earth earliest continents remained in flux — disappearing and reappeared over 1.5 billion years before finally gaining form.
Simon Lamb, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
New research uncovers the fundamental factors that control the Earth’s surface, providing insights into how land levels will respond to the melting of ice sheets and sea level rise.
Newfoundland and the Canadian mainland, photographed from NASA’s Terra satellite on March 31, 2004.
(Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC)
New research has found that the continents ended up where they are today because of previous plate tectonic processes that controlled how Pangaea broke apart.
Lord Howe Island is one of the few places where the lost continent of Zealandia is exposed above sea level.
SHUTTERSTOCK
We undertook a 28-day voyage to explore a possible lost continent in a remote part of the Coral Sea, in an area off the coast of Queensland. Here’s what we found.
Photographed on Kangaroo Island, this rock – called a ‘zebra schist’ – deformed from flat-lying marine sediments through being stressed by a continental collision over 500 million years ago.
Dietmar Muller
Giant forces slowly move continents across a viscous layer of the Earth, like biscuits gliding over a warm toffee ocean. This stresses the continents, and twists and contorts the crust.
Ten-year-old Stanton in the ruins of his home following the earthquake that hit Papua New Guinea in February.
EPA/Thomas Nybo/UNICEF
Fresh earthquakes and aftershocks hit parts of Papua New Guinea following February’s deadly quake. It’s Australia’s slow push north that’s part of PNG’s seismic activity.
The continent of Australia is a mixture of land masses of differing ages.
Alan Collins
The world’s oldest known material is from Western Australia. But for much of Australia’s geological past, the eastern states simply didn’t exist. They’re relative newcomers to our ancient continent.
Mauritius beachfront view with volcanic mountains. The basaltic lavas constituting these mountains formed no older than 9 million years ago.
Prof. Susan J. Webb, University of the Witwatersrand
Fire has been viewed as the main protagonist in creating Africa’s iconic savannas. However, new research shows that browsing animals created savannas millions of years before fire became important.
Satellite image of California’s San Andreas fault, where two continental plates come together.
NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
Fifty years on from a groundbreaking paper, geophysicists have progressed from believing continents never moved to thinking that every movement may leave a lasting memory on our planet.