The discovery of a sunken continent larger than Australia under Iceland
Scientists have discovered a continent hidden under Iceland, which they called "Icelandia", that could stretch from Greenland to Europe.
An international team of geologists believe Iceland covers an area of about 600,000 square kilometres, but when neighboring regions west of Britain are included in Greater Iceland, the entire area could be in an area of 1 million square kilometres - an area larger than Australia.
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Scientists say the semi-aquatic land could stretch from Greenland all the way to Europe.
If proven, then the supercontinent Pangaea, which included all of the Earth's surface and is thought to have collapsed more than 50 million years ago, did not in fact completely disintegrate.
The discovery also challenges old scientific ideas about the extent of oceanic and continental crust in the North Atlantic region, and how volcanic islands, such as Iceland, were formed.
The presence of continental crust, but not oceanic, could spark discussions about a new source of minerals and hydrocarbons, both of which are found in continental crust.
Study leader Professor Gillian Folger, Emeritus Professor of Geophysics in the Department of Earth Sciences at Durham University, said: 'So far, Iceland has baffled geologists because current theories that it is built from and surrounded by oceanic crust are not supported by multiple geological data. The crust under Iceland is more than 40 kilometers thick - seven times the thickness of normal oceanic crust. This is simply inexplicable. However, when we considered the possibility that this thick crust might be continental, our data suddenly made sense. And this immediately led us to realize that The continental area was much larger than Iceland itself - there is a continent hidden under the sea."
The research team is now working with collaborators from around the world to test their theory.
This work could include electrical conductivity surveys and the collection of zircon crystals in Iceland and elsewhere.
Other tests such as seismic profiling and drilling will require millions of pounds to fund, but such is the importance of this work, that funding may be imminent.
Professor Folger added: "There is wonderful work to be done to prove the existence of 'Icelandia', but it also opens up an entirely new view of our geological understanding of the world. Something similar could happen in many places. And we could eventually see maps of our oceans and seas being redrawn with Our understanding of what lies underground has changed."
Professor Philip Steinberg, Director of IBRU, Center for Frontier Research at Durham University, said: “Countries around the world spend enormous resources conducting subsea geological research in order to delineate the continental shelves and claim exclusive mineral rights there. Research such as Professor Folger's, which It forces us to rethink the relationship between the seafloor and continental geology, a far-reaching impact on countries trying to define the seafloor area for which it is an exclusive reserve."