Step-by-step reconstruction of Pontus up to 120 million years ago, and its subsequent disappearance (VIDEO)
Caption
Utrecht University geologist Suzanna van de Lagemaat has reconstructed a massive and previously unknown tectonic plate that was once one-quarter the size of the Pacific Ocean. Her colleagues in Utrecht had already predicted the existence of the plate years ago, based on fragments of old tectonic plates found deep in the earth’s mantle. Van de Lagemaat reconstructed lost plates through field research and detailed investigations of the mountains of Japan, Borneo, the Philippines, New Guinea and New Zealand. To her astonishment, she found that oceanic remnants on northern Borneo must have belonged to the long-suspected plate, which scientists have named Pontus. She has now reconstructed the entire plate in its full glory.
Credit
Suzanna van de Lagemaat/Utrecht University
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