Zealandia: Earth’s Hidden Continent

Mortimer, Nick; Campbell, Hamish J.; Tulloch, A. J.; King, Peter R.; Stagpoole, Vaughan; Wood, Ray; Rattenbury, Mark; Sutherland, Rupert; Adams, Chris J.; Collot, Julien; Seton, Maria

doi:10.1130/gsatg321a.1

Cited by 273 publications

(187 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Only two continents on Earth remain largely unexplored: Antarctica and Zealandia. The observations made at these six sites represent a substantial gain in fundamental knowledge about northern Zealandia, which is similar in size to India (Mortimer et al, 2017). The only previous boreholes in the region that penetrated strata older than late Eocene were at DSDP Sites 206, 207, and 208 (Shipboard Scientific Party et al, 1973a, 1973b, 1973c, and these sites were drilled in 1971, before regional seismic reflection data were available and their context was understood.…”

Section: Regional Stratigraphymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Lord Howe Rise and Challenger Plateau ( Figure F3, F4) are probably composed of quartzose metasedimentary rocks and granitoids of Paleozoic age that represent the eastern edge of Gondwana (Mortimer et al, 2017). High-amplitude magnetic anomalies and a single dredge sample from the West Norfolk Ridge suggest that the southern New Caledonia Trough is underlain by a fossil arc of late Paleozoic and Mesozoic age that formed along the active margin of Gondwana (Mortimer et al, 1998;Sutherland, 1999).…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The bathymetric highs, and the islands of New Zealand and New Caledonia, and perhaps the New Caledonia Trough, represent the northern part of a continent referred to as Zealandia (Mortimer et al, 2017). Unlike other continents, most of Zealandia lies underwater because the continental crust is relatively thin.…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Expedition 371 received special media attention, in part because a paper entitled "Zealandia: Earth's Hidden Continent" (Mortimer et al, 2017) was widely circulated in media and its basic contents were widely read across the globe before the expedition. Anticipating high media attention, we thought to have two education and outreach personnel (a teacher and a videographer) with somewhat overlapping work-shifts and also to document the experience.…”

Section: Education Outreach and Mediamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sutherland¹,

Dickens²,

Blum³

et al. 2018

International Ocean Discovery Program Preliminary Report

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International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 371 drilled six sites in the Tasman Sea of the southwest Pacific between 27 July and 26 September 2017. The primary goal was to understand Tonga-Kermadec subduction initiation through recovery of Paleogene sediment records. Secondary goals involved understanding regional oceanography and climate since the Paleogene. Six sites were drilled, recovering 2506 m of cored sediment and volcanic rock in 36.4 days of on-site drilling during a total expedition length of 58 days. Wireline logs were collected at two sites. Shipboard observations made using cores and logs represent a substantial gain in fundamental knowledge about northern Zealandia, because only Deep Sea Drilling Project Sites 206, 207, and 208 had penetrated beneath upper Eocene strata within the region.The cored intervals at five sites (U1506-U1510) sampled nannofossil and foraminiferal ooze or chalk that contained volcanic or volcaniclastic intervals with variable clay content. Paleocene and Cretaceous sections range from more clay rich to predominantly claystone. At the final site (U1511), a sequence of abyssal clay and diatomite was recovered with only minor amounts of carbonate. The ages of strata at the base of each site were middle Eocene to Late Cretaceous, and our new results provide the first firm basis for defining formal lithostratigraphic units that can be mapped across a substantial part of northern Zealandia and related to onshore regions of New Caledonia and New Zealand.The material and data recovered during Expedition 371 enable primary scientific goals to be accomplished. All six sites provided new stratigraphic and paleogeographic information that can be put into context through regional seismic-stratigraphic interpretation and hence provide strong constraints on geodynamic models of subduction zone initiation. Our new observations can be directly related to the timing of plate deformation, the magnitude and timing of vertical motions, and the timing and type of volcanism. Secondary paleoclimate objectives were not all completed as planned, but significant new records of southwest Pacific climate were obtained.

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Section: Regional Stratigraphymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Education Outreach and Mediamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Untitled

Sutherland¹,

Dickens²,

Blum³

et al. 2018

International Ocean Discovery Program Preliminary Report

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“…From there, the original key is altered, with B. timmsi appearing in the revised couplet 10 and B. spinogibba appearing in the revised couplet 18. B. spinogibba and the three species endemic to New Zealand (B. dilatata Sars, B. hamata Brehm and B. tanea) are denizens of the largely sunken continent of Zealandia with which they may be presumed to have had an ancient association (Bayly and Boxshall 2009;Mortimer et al 2017). …”

Section: Ecological Aspects Of Body Size In Boeckellamentioning

confidence: 99%

A new species of Boeckella (Copepoda: Calanoida) from arid Western Australia, an updated key, and aspects of claypan ecology

Quinlan¹,

Bayly²

2017

Rec West Aust Mus

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-Boeckella pilkililli sp. nov. is described from a single, turbid, freshwater claypan located in the arid zone of Western Australia. The type locality is currently the only known location for the species. It was collected during an opportunistic survey of wetlands in the State's arid zone following a significant summer rainfall event in 2014. The most important diagnostic feature is located on the distal segment (B2) of the 2-segmented basipodite of the male fifth right leg where the distal inner edge is grossly transformed into a large, blunt, tongue-like outgrowth. As with other Boeckella inhabiting temporary wetlands, B. pilkililli sp. nov. is a relatively large species. A minireview of claypan ecology and a discussion of ecological aspects of body size and shape in Boeckella are included. An updated key to species of Boeckella occurring in the Australasian region is also presented. This incorporates three additional species.

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Deepwater Fold‐and‐Thrust Belt Along New Caledonia's Western Margin: Relation to Post‐obduction Vertical Motions

Collot¹,

Patriat

Étienne

et al. 2017

Tectonics

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Classically, deepwater fold‐and‐thrust belts are classified in two main types, depending if they result from near‐ or far‐field stresses and the understanding of their driving and triggering mechanism is poorly known. We present a geophysical data set off the western margin of New Caledonia (SW Pacific) that reveals deformed structures of a deepwater fold‐and‐thrust belt that we interpret as a near‐field gravity‐driven system, which is not located at a rifted passive margin. The main factor triggering deformation is inferred to be oversteepening of the margin slope by postobduction isostatic rebound. Onshore erosion of abnormally dense obducted material, combined with sediment loading in the adjacent basin, has induced vertical motions that have caused oversteepening of the margin. Detailed morphobathymetric, seismic stratigraphic, and structural analysis reveals that the fold‐and‐thrust belt extends 200 km along the margin, and 50 km into the New Caledonia Trough. Deformation is rooted at depths greater than 5 km beneath the seafloor, affects an area of 3,500 km2, and involves a sediment volume of approximately 13,000 km3. This deformed belt is organized into an imbricate fan system of faults, and one out‐of‐sequence thrust fault affects the seabed. The thrust faults are deeply rooted in the basin along a low‐angle floor thrust and connected to New Caledonia Island along a major detachment. This study not only provides a better knowledge of the New Caledonia margin but also provides new insight into the mechanisms that trigger deepwater fold‐and‐thrust belts.

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Zealandia: Earth’s Hidden Continent

Cited by 273 publications

References 48 publications

Untitled

Untitled

A new species of Boeckella (Copepoda: Calanoida) from arid Western Australia, an updated key, and aspects of claypan ecology

Deepwater Fold‐and‐Thrust Belt Along New Caledonia's Western Margin: Relation to Post‐obduction Vertical Motions

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