University scientists using seismic data to map lost land bridge
Submitted by Andy B on Sunday, 15 February 2004 Page Views: 2646
DiscoveriesCountry: Netherlands A team of university scientists is using earthquake data to map a prehistoric lost world deep under the North Sea where man once hunted animals and gathered plants. Archaeologists, geologists and engineers from the University of Birmingham said on Sunday that they have combined the latest computer techniques to devise a 3D reconstruction of 10,000-year-old plain.The reconstruction of the lost environment using seismic data has uncovered a large river comparable in size to Britain's Thames or Germany's Rhine - it is more than 600 meters (656 yards) wide and has so far been traced for a length of 27.5 kilometers (17 miles).
Scientists believe the river disappeared when its valley flooded due to glaciers melting.
The plain, part of a land mass that once joined Britain to northern Europe, disappeared about 8,000 years ago and was previously unknown to scientists.
"This pilot project has great significance to the whole of the quaternary research community, both in its environmental, geological and archaeological forms," said Dr Vince Gaffney, director of the university's Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity and lead investigator on the project.
"We intend to extend the project to visualize the whole of the now submerged land bridge that previously joined Britain to Northern Europe as one land mass, providing scientists with a new insight into the previous human occupation of the North Sea," he added.
Associated Press Story
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