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In geology, a supercontinent is the assembly of most or all of Earth's continental blocks or cratons to form a single large landmass. [1] [2] [3] However, some geologists use a different definition, "a grouping of formerly dispersed continents", which leaves room for interpretation and is easier to apply to Precambrian times. [4]
Species diversity may have already been reduced prior to mass extinction events due to mingling of species possible when formerly separate continents were merged. However, there is strong evidence that climate barriers continued to separate ecological communities in different parts of Pangaea.
Like most breakups, the separation of continents is not a quick and painless process.. Take the supercontinent Gondwana, for example. Some 180 million years ago, the landmass separated from what ...
Map of Pangaea with modern continental outlines. The supercontinent cycle is the quasi-periodic aggregation and dispersal of Earth's continental crust.There are varying opinions as to whether the amount of continental crust is increasing, decreasing, or staying about the same, but it is agreed that the Earth's crust is constantly being reconfigured.
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Gondwana (/ ɡ ɒ n d ˈ w ɑː n ə /) [1] was a large landmass, sometimes referred to as a supercontinent.The remnants of Gondwana make up around two-thirds of today's continental area, including South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, Zealandia, Arabia, and the Indian subcontinent.
The idea that a supercontinent existed in the early Neoproterozoic arose in the 1970s, when geologists determined that orogens of this age exist on virtually all cratons. [9] [failed verification] Examples are the Grenville orogeny in North America and the Dalslandian orogeny in Europe. Since then, many alternative reconstructions have been ...
The supercontinent Columbia about 1.6 billion years ago. Columbia, also known as Nuna or Hudsonland, is a hypothetical ancient supercontinent. It was first proposed by John J.W. Rogers and M. Santosh in 2002 [1] and is thought to have existed approximately (Ma), in the Paleoproterozoic era. The assembly of the supercontinent was likely ...