Pontus existed 150 million years ago and covered much of the Pacific Ocean. 
Cindy Fernández Meteors in Argentina October 22, 2023 1:00 p.m. 4 min
The remnants of a tectonic plate that existed 150 million years ago and covered much of the Pacific Ocean were recently discovered by geologists from Utrecht University. This amazing discovery, the result of computer simulations and field research in various mountainous regions, sheds new light on the dynamics of the Earth.
This is the Pontus Plate, which is now mostly sunk beneath the Earth’s mantle and whose existence has so far only been theorized.
The area from Japan to New Zealand has been a geological mystery for years. When analyzing the tectonic plate movements in this region over the last 150 million years, it is noticeable that the Australian, Eurasian, Indian and Pacific plates do not coincide perfectly. It was therefore suspected that a sign was missing.
Dr. Suzanna van de Lagemaat and her team conducted field research in North Borneo (Indonesia). where they found an important piece of the puzzle. Initially they thought they were the remains of a known plaque, but a laboratory analysis of the rocks revealed the surprising truth: they were the remains of a previously unknown memorial plaque.
The Pontus Plate was formed when the supercontinent Pangea broke up. This resulted in two large landmasses: Laurasia in the north and Gondwana in the south. A new ocean has opened between them, the Tethys, which was associated with the ancient Panthalassa Ocean, the precursor to the Pacific.
Tectonic plates
The surface of our planet is covered with a dozen tectonic plates, huge fragments of the Earth’s crust floating on the Earth’s mantle. Over the eons, these plates have changed in number and shape due to different processes.
Earth’s outer rigid layer is divided into a dozen large tectonic plates and microplates. These plates move slowly across the asthenosphere, the layer of molten rock beneath the crust.
The Pontus Plate formed about 160 million years ago from the separation of two other older plates, the Izanagi and Farallon Plates. For about 10 million years, the Pontus plate was the main ocean surface of western Panthalassa until it was swallowed by another younger plate, the Kula, about 150 years ago. Millions of years.
Van de Lagemaat believes that Pontus disappeared through a process known as subduction. This happens especially when one plate gradually sinks beneath another due to its natural movement. This usually leaves traces Fragments of underwater mountain ranges and ridges composed of molten rock.