Scientists will journey to the world's 'lost' 8th continent

Scientists are setting out on an expedition to Earth's 8th continent.

Called Zealandia, this chunk of land is half the size of Australia and is almost entirely lost beneath the sea, except for a handful of islands such as New Zealand.

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Called Expedition 371, this journey is funded by the National Science Foundation and aims to answer questions about how this forgotten land formed, how the earth's crust moves and even what the climate was like in the ancient past.

Thirty scientists will set sail for two months on the JOIDES Resolution, a scientific drilling ship.

In the Tasman Sea, the team will drill cores of rock from the seafloor allowing them to look back tens of millions of years to uncover Zealandia's secrets.