Scientists have achieved a major breakthrough in world geography, discovering the lost 120 million-year-old tectonic plate in Borneo. Suzanna van de Lagemaat, a graduate geologist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, along with her supervisor, Douwe van Hinsbergen, made this discovery while studying the geological data from mountains in the Asia-Pacific region. Pontus, the lost tectonic plate came to their attention while analysing the data.

Tectonic Plate in Borneo: The Science Review

The Dutch geologist found the clue to the long-lost Pontus tectonic plate in Borneo while studying the rock formation. “We thought we were dealing with relics of a lost plate that we already knew about. But our magnetic lab research on those rocks indicated that our finds were originally from much farther north and had to be remnants of a different, previously unknown plate," Suzanna stated.

Tectonic Plate in Borneo
Image Source: ResearchGate

Van de Lagemaat, along with her team, had to study the Junction region (a complex region of tectonic plate activity) in order to deepen their research and determine the movement of the plate. This complex region is formed by Japan, Borneo, the Philippines, New Guinea, and New Zealand.

The study led to the reconstruction of tectonic plate movements since the dinosaur's age. It suggested that the lost Pontus plate was part of the world’s crust before the supercontinent Pangaea broke up. Estimating the size of the tectonic plate 160 million years ago, scientists claimed that it was as huge as a quarter of the size of the Pacific Ocean.

Earlier, a massive ocean used to separate Eurasia and Australia, and the Pontus was believed to be underneath the water body, but as Pangea broke up, it got engulfed by other plates where countries like the Philippines and Borneo currently exist.

You might also be interested in - Scientists discover how various types of love illuminates distinct brain regions