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Mini-continent, once joined to India, found
Daily News & Analysis ^ | Sunday, May 06, 2007 20:03 IST | Daily News & Analysis

Posted on 05/06/2007 10:56:52 PM PDT by CarrotAndStick

BREMERHAVEN (Germany): A mini-continent that was formerly joined to India has been discovered deep under the southern oceans by the world’s most powerful ice research vessel, said German scientists.

They spoke as the ship, the Polarstern, was due to dock in its homeport of Bremerhaven, Germany after a 19-month research voyage to Antarctica.

The ninth phase of the voyage was a study of the undersea Kerguelen Plateau, which was orphaned after the ancient continents separated, with India drifting away from Antarctica. The findings suggest that the plateau, about the size of Germany and France combined, is just the tip of a bigger piece of lost continental crust, the scientists said.

Geophysicists did seismic and magnetic surveys to explore the gap between the little-understood plateau and East Antarctica, the Alfred Wegener Institute of polar research in Bremerhaven said.

“This plateau was created by a massive volcanic eruption shortly after India and Antarctica separated about 120 million years ago to form the Indian Ocean,” said geophysicist Karsten Gohl.

“For the first time, we have been able to see how the succession of volcanic deposits at the southern side of the Kerguelen Plateau, which reach right to the Antarctic continent, mostly have continental crust underneath them.

“Our findings show that a continental fragment of a size hitherto never suspected must have existed between India and the Antarctic.” The data will be entered into a computer simulation to study ancient ocean currents and world climate. The Polarstern also explored the melting of the Antarctic ice shelves, which may be due to rising temperatures, or volcanic activity.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: catastrophism; continent; earth; india; lemuria; notsogreatflood; originoftheoceans; plates; tethysocean
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1 posted on 05/06/2007 10:56:54 PM PDT by CarrotAndStick
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To: SunkenCiv; blam

Of interest, ping?


2 posted on 05/06/2007 10:57:28 PM PDT by CarrotAndStick (The articles posted by me needn't necessarily reflect my opinion.)
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To: CarrotAndStick


3 posted on 05/06/2007 11:07:49 PM PDT by CarrotAndStick (The articles posted by me needn't necessarily reflect my opinion.)
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To: CarrotAndStick

Counting down until some kook inevitably claims this Atlantis (which Plato inevitably had to know about, despite the story being 120 million years old)...


4 posted on 05/06/2007 11:07:52 PM PDT by Alter Kaker (Gravitation is a theory, not a fact. It should be approached with an open mind...)
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To: Alter Kaker

Atlantis... You found it (just obliging)...


5 posted on 05/06/2007 11:10:34 PM PDT by Pikachu_Dad
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Its Bush’s fault.....

??? Or is it the Evil Oil Companies .....


6 posted on 05/06/2007 11:13:52 PM PDT by wodinoneeye
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To: CarrotAndStick; SunkenCiv

I just hate when I lose my continents - it’s so embarrassing.


7 posted on 05/06/2007 11:17:30 PM PDT by ValerieTexas
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To: CarrotAndStick
Re: Mini-continent, once joined to India, found...

Now, find my Father... you son of a...

Opps! Inigo, it says "...once joined to India!"

8 posted on 05/06/2007 11:18:11 PM PDT by Bender2 (A 'Good Yankee' comes down to Texas, then goes back north. A 'Damn Yankee' stays... Damn it!)
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To: CarrotAndStick

Dang, I’ve been looking for that all day!


9 posted on 05/06/2007 11:20:36 PM PDT by ovrtaxt (You know what they say about us guys with enormous carbon footprints...)
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To: CarrotAndStick

This isn’t a “new” discovery.


10 posted on 05/06/2007 11:20:57 PM PDT by Jedi Master Pikachu ( What is your take on Acts 15:20 (abstaining from blood) about eating meat? Could you freepmail?)
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To: CarrotAndStick

I can has mini-continent?


11 posted on 05/06/2007 11:21:41 PM PDT by Silly (http://www.sarcasmoff.com)
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To: Jedi Master Pikachu

I hope you were not mislead by my Pangaea pictures... those weren’t from the main article.

:)


12 posted on 05/06/2007 11:24:49 PM PDT by CarrotAndStick (The articles posted by me needn't necessarily reflect my opinion.)
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To: Silly

13 posted on 05/06/2007 11:30:29 PM PDT by CarrotAndStick (The articles posted by me needn't necessarily reflect my opinion.)
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To: CarrotAndStick
The comment was about the Kerguelen Plateau. Wikipedia even has an article on it: here. They used to have more about when the plateau was above sea level.

also here. They could have once had a page devoted to the microcontinent, but a quick search came up dry.

14 posted on 05/06/2007 11:36:21 PM PDT by Jedi Master Pikachu ( What is your take on Acts 15:20 (abstaining from blood) about eating meat? Could you freepmail?)
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To: Jedi Master Pikachu

Oh okay, thanks! Weird, though, because what else could have been the purpose of this German mission, then?


15 posted on 05/06/2007 11:41:39 PM PDT by CarrotAndStick (The articles posted by me needn't necessarily reflect my opinion.)
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To: CarrotAndStick

“This plateau was created by a massive volcanic eruption shortly after India and Antarctica separated about 120 million years ago to form the Indian Ocean,”

But some Christians believe the world is less than 10,000 years old. Shouldn’t “both sides” be presented?


16 posted on 05/07/2007 2:20:00 AM PDT by ConsistentLibertarian
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To: ConsistentLibertarian

Oh, no no no, my friend, ancient time spun faster than the present ones, so, when you take into account the inflation of time, it all neatly comes down to 4500-odd years, in toto.

;^)

Lol!

(No need for a sarc tag, right?)


17 posted on 05/07/2007 2:27:44 AM PDT by CarrotAndStick (The articles posted by me needn't necessarily reflect my opinion.)
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To: CarrotAndStick
So... this mini-continent was found in the ocean?

Could we then say it is incontinent? ;-)

(Sorry, trying to resist the "my fault" lines this morning...)

Oh, and here's a picture of Joey the Lemurian. :-)

18 posted on 05/07/2007 3:28:50 AM PDT by Jonah Hex ("How'd you get that scar, mister?" "Nicked myself shaving.")
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To: CarrotAndStick
Oh okay, thanks! Weird, though, because what else could have been the purpose of this German mission, then?

Professor Jones from Indiana investigated that quite a bit in the 1930's... something about an Ark of the Covenant.

19 posted on 05/07/2007 3:33:43 AM PDT by Jonah Hex ("How'd you get that scar, mister?" "Nicked myself shaving.")
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To: Jonah Hex

Hahahaha! Lol!


20 posted on 05/07/2007 3:38:52 AM PDT by CarrotAndStick (The articles posted by me needn't necessarily reflect my opinion.)
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