Lost continent Argoland found: 'It is of vital importance'

Dutch scientists have found the remains of the lost continent "Argoland" beneath the forests of Southeast Asia.

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Lost continent Argoland found: 'It is of vital importance'

In a study published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Gondwana Research, geoscientists Douwe van Hinsbergen and Eldert Advokaat from Utrecht University in the Netherlands reconstructed the lost continent they named Argoland using a modeling method.

According to Independent Türkçe; geoscientists have long known that a 5,000-kilometer-long piece of continent broke away from Western Australia and drifted away approximately 155 million years ago. According to scientists, the evidence for this was the void left by the basin known as the Argo Abyssal Plain, deep in the ocean off the coast of northwestern Australia.

FRAGMENTS FOUND, NOT A WHOLE

The study indicated that the structure of the seabed there suggests that Argoland drifted toward the northwest of the continent and ended up where the islands of Southeast Asia are located. Researchers were expecting to find an intact continent hidden beneath the islands of Southeast Asia, but they only discovered small fragments.

On the other hand, these remains showed that Argoland began to drift much earlier than previously thought.

Using reconstruction models and field data from various islands, including Sumatra, Borneo, and the Andaman Islands, the researchers discovered that Argoland was never a single, unified continent.

The research utilized software that allowed them to reconstruct plate movements from hundreds of millions of years ago.

THE CONTINENT DID NOT SEPARATE NEATLY

The study also showed that the fragmentation of Argoland accelerated approximately 215 million years ago. This finding also shed light on why the continent was divided into many pieces.

"The situation in Southeast Asia is very different from Africa and South America, where continents split neatly in two," said Eldert Advokaat, adding, "Argoland was divided into different pieces. That is why our research took so long. We spent 7 years putting the puzzle together."

Pointing to the importance of knowing how lost continents disappear, Douwe van Hinsbergen said, "It is of vital importance for us to understand processes such as the evolution of biodiversity and climate, or for finding raw materials."

News Source: 12punto