Over 180 million years post the supercontinent Gondwana’s dissolution, researchers continue to explore the vastness of this ancient landmass that once spanned the globe.
A recently conducted study, which examined over 25,000 volcanic rocks, suggests that Gondwana covered approximately 80% of the Earth’s total land area around 500 million years ago. This research has identified portions of Earth’s crust located deep beneath Asia, Europe, and North America as remnants of the supercontinent. These findings indicate that Gondwana was significantly larger than previously believed, as earlier studies had estimated its size to be about 64% of the global land area.
The extensive size of Gondwana suggests that its formation and evolution may have played a crucial role in the Cambrian explosion, a period from about 540 to 530 million years ago when the ancestors of nearly all modern animals first appeared on Earth.
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To reveal these hidden landscapes, scientists analyzed the chemical makeup of deeply buried rocks from various geochemistry databases, mapping Gondwana by examining the distribution of elements within these rocks.
The newly identified geographic regions, alongside existing knowledge of the supercontinent, suggest that Gondwana might have significantly impacted sea levels, atmospheric gases, and volcanic activities, collectively influencing early life on Earth. These findings were published today in Science Advances.
Researchers indicate that parts of the continent yet to be discovered might have been submerged or reintegrated into Earth’s crust. This implies that even the current massive estimation might be understated as scientists continue to reconstruct our planet’s early history.
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