Expedition to help solve mystery of underwater continent near Australia

Zealandia, including today's Lord Howe Rise, was largely part of Australia until 75 million years ago, when it started to break away and move to the northeast. That movement halted 53 million years ago. An expedition led by ANU will help solve the mysteries of Zealandia, an underwater continent to the east of Australia, and the Pacific 'Ring of Fire' which is a hotspot for volcanoes and earthquakes. The drill ship JOIDES Resolution is visiting Townsville on Friday before it undertakes the two-month expedition that is part of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP). Professor Neville Exon from ANU said the expedition would help scientists better understand the major changes in the global tectonic configuration that started about 53 million years ago as the 'Ring of Fire' came into existence. "Zealandia, including today's Lord Howe Rise, was largely part of Australia until 75 million years ago, when it started to break away and move to the northeast. That movement halted 53 million years ago," said Professor Exon from the ANU Research School of Earth Sciences.
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