Scientists discover new continent: Where and how was it formed?

In a fascinating discovery, scientists have uncovered a hidden continental fragment buried beneath the thick ice of Greenland. The microcontinent, that the discoverers have named the Davis Strait proto-microcontinent, is submerged between Greenland and Canada. The groundbreaking discovery was detailed in a study published last year in the journal Gondwana Research by researchers from the University of Derby in England and Sweden's Uppsala University.

How was it formed?
The Earth's surface is made up of massive slabs of rock called tectonic plates. These plates are in constant but slow motion -- movement that is the driving force behind phenomena such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain formations, particularly at plate boundaries. One such plate boundary lies between Greenland and Canada, forming the Davis Strait seaway, which connects the Labrador Sea and the Baffin Bay.
The tectonic history of the Davis Strait dates back some 33 to 61 million years. It was during this period that an unusually thick piece of continental crust formed in the ocean, which has now been dubbed the Davis Strait proto-microcontinent.

Tectonic timeline
Rifting between Canada and Greenland began an estimated 118 million years ago, a time period when dinosaurs still roamed the face of Earth. Seafloor spreading started in the Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay nearly 61 million years ago.
A key period for the formation of the Davis Strait microcontinent took place between 49 and 58 million years ago, when the orientation of seafloor spreading between Greenland and Canada shifted.
The Davis Strait microcontinent was identified on the basis of crustal girth, with the microcontinent measuring between 19 to 24 kilometers thick, surrounded by two narrow bands of thinner crust.