Hidden Landscapes Revealed: Gondwana May Have Covered ~80% Of Earth's Land 500 Million Years Ago

New geochemical maps suggest the prehistoric supercontinent Gondwana was far larger than previously thought, potentially covering about 80% of Earth's land surface roughly 500 million years ago. Researchers reached this conclusion by analyzing the elemental fingerprints of more than 25,000 deeply buried volcanic rocks and matching those signatures to ancient crustal fragments now found beneath modern continents.

How the Study Was Done

The team compiled geochemical data from multiple global databases and examined the chemical composition of volcanic rocks that formed deep in Earth’s crust. By mapping distinctive elemental distributions, they traced pieces of crust that were once contiguous with Gondwana but are now buried beneath parts of Asia, Europe and North America.

Major Findings

The new reconstruction expands earlier estimates — which placed Gondwana at roughly 64% of global land area — to about 80%. This substantially larger footprint suggests Gondwana’s assembly and size may have had pronounced effects on global sea level, atmospheric chemistry and large-scale volcanism during the early Paleozoic.

Implications for Early Life

The authors argue that these environmental impacts could have influenced conditions leading into the Cambrian explosion (about 540–530 million years ago), a pivotal interval when the ancestors of most modern animal groups first appeared. Changes in sea level, ocean chemistry and volcanic outgassing are plausible drivers that could have altered habitats and nutrient cycles at that time.

Limitations and Next Steps

The researchers caution that parts of Gondwana may remain undiscovered because fragments could have been submerged beneath oceans or recycled into the deep crust by tectonic processes. Consequently, even the enlarged estimate may be conservative. Future work combining more geological, geochemical and geophysical data will help refine the continent’s ancient outline.

Publication: The findings are published in Science Advances.