Scientists Stumble on Part of Lost Continent Concealed in a Type of Diamond-Bearing Volcanic Rock, Stuns Them

In 2020, researchers uncovered a piece of a 'lost continent' beneath Canada, well-hidden inside a rock. The 'lost continent' reportedly disintegrated 150 million years ago, as per Live Science. A portion of the ancient continent exists as part of North America. The discovery in Canada has astounded researchers as it changed many of their previously-held assumptions about this elusive continent. Findings regarding this uncovered piece have been published in the Journal of Petrology.

The piece was discovered by scientists while examining diamond samples from Baffin Island, located near Greenland, according to BBC. After analysis, it was confirmed that the remnant inside the diamond was connected to the North Atlantic Craton. Cratons are the stable and ancient fragments of the continental crust. The North Atlantic Craton ran from Scotland to North America three billion years ago and later disintegrated into small landmasses.

Researchers found the piece while looking into kimberlites. "For researchers, kimberlites are subterranean rockets that pick up passengers on their way to the surface," University of British Columbia geologist, Maya Kopylova said. "The passengers are solid chunks of wall rocks that carry a wealth of details on conditions far beneath the surface of our planet over time." Kimberlite is a diamond-bearing volcanic rock, as per Live Science. It is formulated deep in the Earth's magma and on its way to the surface picks up many items.

Scientists analyzed the rock and found its chemical makeup to be very similar to the continent once formed by the North Atlantic craton. As per past studies, North Atlantic craton contained about about 85% olivine and around 10% orthopyroxene. This mineral ratio was closely resembled by the interiors of the rock found in Baffin Island. Further examinations shocked researchers as they uncovered through the dimensions of the portion inside the rock that the North Atlantic Craton was 10% larger than previously assumed. "Finding these 'lost' pieces is like finding a missing piece of a puzzle," lead author Kopylova stated.

Before this finding, parts of the North Atlantic craton had been uncovered in Scotland, Greenland, and Labrador. The kimberlite sample from Baffin Island was recovered 250 miles (400 kilometers) deep inside Earth. This is the deepest point from which a remnant of North Atlantic Craton has been collected. "Previous reconstructions of the size and location of Earth’s plates have been based on relatively shallow rock samples in the crust, formed at depths of 1 to 10 kilometers [0.6 to 6 miles]," Kopylova said. The location of unearthing gives more information about the placement of past continents on Earth.