Ancient Supercontinents And The Paleogeography Of Earth

Ancient Supercontinents and the Paleogeography of Earth offers a systematic examination of Precambrian cratons and supercontinents. Through detailed maps of drift histories and paleogeography of each continent, this book examines topics related to Earth’s tectonic evolution prior to Pangea, including plate kinematics, orogenic development, and paleoenvironments. Additionally, this book discusses the methodologies used, principally paleomagnetism and tectonostratigraphy, and addresses geophysical topics of mantle dynamics and geodynamo evolution over billions of years. Structured clearly with consistent coverage for Precambrian cratons, this book combines state-of-the-art paleomagnetic and geochronologic data to reconstruct the paleogeography of the Earth in the context of major climatic events such as global glaciations. It is an ideal, up-to-date reference for geoscientists and geographers looking for answers to questions surrounding the tectonic evolution of Earth. Provides robust paleogeographies of Precambrian cratons based on high-quality paleomagnetic and geochronologic data and critically tested by global geological datasets Includes links to updated databases for the Precambrian such as PALEOMAGIA and the Global Paleomagnetic Database (GPMDB) Presents full-color maps of the drift histories of each continent as well as their paleogeographies Discusses key questions regarding continental drift, the supercontinent cycle, and the geomagnetic dipole hypothesis and analyzes palaeography in the context of Earth’s holistic evolution

This book provides a complete Phanerozoic story of palaeogeography, using new and detailed full-colour maps, to link surface and deep-Earth processes.

The purpose of the series is to compile and pass on the accumulated knowledge of regional geology that is being lost as generalists with field experience are replaced by specialists with computers. It is designed to appeal to both academic and petroleum geologists. In this third and final part of Volume One, geologists discuss extensional basins including rifts, passive margins, and inverted extensional basins. The chapters have a broadly similar layout, and where appropriate include a section on the petroleum system. They cover non-volcanic and transform passive margins, cratonic basins on pre-Cambrian and Paleozoic basements, and world maps. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

The supercontinent-cycle hypothesis attributes planetary-scale episodic tectonic events to an intrinsic self-organizing mode of mantle convection, governed by the buoyancy of continental lithosphere that resists subduction during the closure of old ocean basins, and the consequent reorganization of mantle convection cells leading to the opening of new ocean basins. Characteristic timescales of the cycle are typically 500 to 700 million years. Proposed spatial patterns of cyclicity range from hemispheric (introversion) to antipodal (extroversion), to precisely between those end members (orthoversion). Advances in our understanding can arise from theoretical or numerical modelling, primary data acquisition relevant to continental reconstructions, and spatiotemporal correlations between plate kinematics, geodynamic events and palaeoenvironmental history. The palaeogeographic record of supercontinental tectonics on Earth is still under development. The contributions in this Special Publication provide snapshots in time of these investigations and indicate that Earth’s palaeogeographic record incorporates elements of all three end-member spatial patterns.

The Palaeoproterozoic era (2500-1600 Ma) is a critical period of Earth history, with dynamic evolution from the deep planetary interior to its surface environment. Several lines of geological evidence suggest the existence of at least one pre-Rodinia supercontinent, named Nuna or Columbia, which formed near the end of Palaeoproterozoic time. Prior to this assembly, there may have been an older supercontinent (Kenorland) or perhaps only independently drifting supercratons. The tectonic records of amalgamation and dispersal of these ancient landmasses provide a framework that links processes of the deep Earth with those of its fluid envelope. The sixteen papers in this volume present reviews and new analytical data that span the geological record of Palaeoproterozoic Earth. The volume is useful as a reference book for students and professional geoscientists interested in this important period of global evolution.

Some 250 million years ago, at the beginning of the Mesozoic era, the world's continents were grouped into a single supercontinent known as Pangaea. This publication contains information on the key stages in the break-up of this supercontinent into the geological face of the Earth as we know it today. It includes 11 maps, based on recent scientific work, with explanatory notes, a glossary of terms and a CD-ROM of the map images in bmp, tiff, pict and powerpoint formats.

"This Memoir focuses on 7 'turning points' that had specific and lasting impacts on Laurentian evolution: The Neoarchean, characterized by cratonization; the Paleoproterozoic and the initial assembly of Laurentia; the Mesoproterozoic southern margin of Laurentia; the Midcontinent rift and the Grenville orogeny; (5) the Neoproterozoic breakup of Rodinia; the mid-Paleozoic phases of the Appalachian-Caledonian orogen; and the Jurassic-Paleogene assembly of the North American Cordillerar"--