Scientists have discovered a continent between Canada and Greenland, which was formed 60 million years ago

Scientists have discovered a lost continent deep in the southern arm of the Arctic Ocean between Canada and Greenland. According to scientists, it was formed 60 million years ago.

Researchers from the University of Derby in the UK accidentally discovered a 250-mile-long landmass under the Davis Strait while studying tectonic plate movements in the area. The team of scientists suggested that the proto-microcontinent separated from Greenland after tectonics between the country and Canada split into two parts about 118 million years ago, the DailyMail reports.

The Davis Strait proto-microcontinent is a tectonic block that has separated from the continent. According to the researchers, it was formed due to "a long period of rifting and seafloor spreading between Greenland and North America."

"Rifting and the formation of microcontinents are permanent phenomena. With each earthquake, we can work on the next separation of microcontinents. The goal of our work is to understand their formation well enough to predict the same future evolution," said Dr. Jordan Fetian.

The researchers identified the new microcontinent using a combination of crustal thickness data from gravity maps, seismic reflection data, and tectonic plate modeling. Gravity maps provide information on rock density, depth, and distribution of anomalous rocks.

The team focused on how the crustal anomaly formed, creating a reconstruction of tectonic movements that lasted approximately 30 million years.

The scientists described the proto-microcontinent as larger than other microcontinents, with a thickness of 17 to 22 kilometers. They also emphasized that understanding how it was formed is vital for modern science.

The mapping technique tracked how seafloor movements have changed over millions of years and identified "an isolated area of relatively thick continental crust that was separated from Greenland during a recently recognized phase of east-west expansion along West Greenland."

The researchers say that Davis Strait is one of the largest concentrations of known fault structures with well-defined changes in plate movement that can help us understand how microcontinents form.

Protomicrocontinents are part of the continental lithosphere, which is a section of the Earth's outer crust that is divided into several tectonic plates - plates of rocks.

There is a semi-liquid layer of rock located about 80-190 kilometers below the Earth's surface that heats up and subsequently melts, causing the rock to flow. The movement pushes the tectonic plates, causing them to rub against each other for millions of years, resulting in earthquakes and volcanic explosions. When this happens, land separates from the main continents, creating its own proto-microcontinent.

The initial rift between Canada and Greenland began about 118 million years ago. But the seafloor didn't start spreading until 61 million years ago to form what is known today as the Davis Strait.

After about three million years, scientists reported that the seafloor spreading shifted from northeast-southwest to north-south, which cut off the proto-microcontinent of the Davis Straight. The shift lasted approximately 33 million years and only stopped when Greenland collided with Ellesmere Island, which is located to the north.

The researchers hope that their findings can be used to understand how other proto-microcontinents around the world are formed, including the Jan Mayen microcontinent northeast of Iceland and Gulden Draak Hill off the coast of Western Australia.

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