Scientists have finally managed to reconstruct the image of the lost supercontinent Gondwana after 550 million years, discovering that it was much larger than previously thought.
It has been known for years that Gondwana included what is now known as South America, Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Madagascar, India, Australia, and Antarctica.
But a new study by researchers from the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences has revealed hidden fragments in Precambrian continental blocks—ancient blocks of Earth’s crust that formed before the Cambrian period—that were once part of Gondwana.
Previous estimates had ruled out these fragments because they had become deeply embedded within more recent mountain belts, making their identification, correlation, and estimation of their area difficult. But the team, led by Tao Wang, analyzed data from hundreds of geochemists worldwide, encompassing 25,346 igneous rocks, and discovered buried fragments in Southeast Asia, Central Europe, and Southeast North America.
Based on this, scientists estimated that Gondwana made up about 80% of the Earth's landmass at that time, exceeding previous estimates that placed it at 64% of the landmass and 19% of the total Earth surface.
The team emphasizes that this estimate remains conservative, as there are still components that have not yet been discovered.
The 75% threshold is the scientifically accepted threshold for classifying any landmass as a "supercontinent," and according to the new study, Gondwana has exceeded this threshold, thus reinforcing its status as a fully-fledged supercontinent.
This enormous size has led scientists to believe that Gondwana was able to influence the Cambrian Explosion about 541 million years ago, the event that led to the emergence of most of the basic animal life forms we know today, through its influence on sea level, mantle convection currents, and volatile gases in the atmosphere.
It was previously thought that Gondwana was too small to cause these effects, but the new study, published in the journal Science Advances, opens the door to a deeper understanding of how supercontinents have influenced the evolution of life on Earth.
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