For decades, historians and scientists believed Antarctica was discovered by Europeans and Americans. But according to a new study, it may have been New Zealand's indigenous Maori people who first laid eyes on the icy landscape.
Should Scotese s hypothesis become a reality, most of the world s countries will likely merge over the next hundreds of millions of years into a single, arch-shaped landmass.
But maps show even if this happens, New Zealand is likely to be one of just a few island nations to retain their independence from the rest of the world.
One map suggests Aotearoa will be the second-largest island outside of the main Pangaea landmass, with just Chukotka - which is now a far-east region of Russia - bigger after splitting off to sit west of Canada. A map of Pangaea Proxima. Photo credit: Unknown
“The fact we are all here today is recognition of what an incredibly important project this is,” she said. “An exercise of this size is not just a matter of picking up tools and locating them down there and constructing something, it will be a six-year project that will have a massive local benefit.”
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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern pets a husky during a visit to the International Antarctic Centre. The cost of the rebuild had increased by more than $50m since it was first unveiled in June 2019, but Ardern said the work would be done “without question” because of how critical Scott Base was.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was among the first to get a virtual tour of the Scott Base rebuild, and said the work would be done "without question".