"Pangaia" redirects here. For the Southeast Asian (and later African) native warships, seePenjajap.
Map of Pangaea around 250 million years ago, at the beginning of the Triassic
Pangaea orPangea (/pænˈdʒiːə/pan-JEE-ə)[1] was asupercontinent that existed during the latePaleozoic and earlyMesozoic eras.[2] It assembled from the earlier continental units ofGondwana,Euramerica andSiberia during theCarboniferous period approximately 335 million years ago, and began to break apart about 200 million years ago, at the end of theTriassic and beginning of theJurassic.[3] Pangaea was C-shaped, with the bulk of its mass stretching betweenEarth's northern and southern polar regions and surrounded by thesuperoceanPanthalassa and thePaleo-Tethys and subsequentTethys Oceans. Pangaea is the most recent supercontinent to have existed and was the first to be reconstructed bygeologists.
The supercontinent Pangaea in the early Mesozoic (at 200Ma)
Origin of the concept
Alfred Wegenerc. 1924–1930World map of Pangaea created by Alfred Wegener to illustrate his concept
The name "Pangaea" is derived fromAncient Greekpan (πᾶν, "all, entire, whole") andGaia or Gaea (Γαῖα, "Mother Earth, land").[4][9] The first to suggest that the continents were once joined and later separated may have beenAbraham Ortelius in 1596.[10] The concept that the continents once formed a contiguous land mass was hypothesised, with corroborating evidence, byAlfred Wegener, the originator of thescientific theory ofcontinental drift, in three 1912 academic journal articles written in German titledDie Entstehung der Kontinente (The Origin of Continents).[11] He expanded upon his hypothesis in his 1915 book of the same title, in which he postulated that, before breaking up and drifting to their present locations, all the continents had formed a singlesupercontinent that he called theUrkontinent.
Wegener used the name "Pangaea" once in the 1920 edition of his book, referring to the ancient supercontinent as "the Pangaea of the Carboniferous".[12] He used the Germanized formPangäa, but the name entered German and English scientific literature (in 1922[13] and 1926, respectively) in the Latinized formPangaea, especially during a symposium of theAmerican Association of Petroleum Geologists in November 1926.[14]
Wegener originally proposed that the breakup of Pangaea was caused bycentripetal forces from Earth's rotation acting on the high continents. However, this mechanism was easily shown to be physically implausible, which delayed acceptance of the Pangaea hypothesis.[15]Arthur Holmes proposed the more plausible mechanism ofmantle convection,[16] which, together with evidence provided by themapping of the ocean floor following theSecond World War, led to the development and acceptance of the theory ofplate tectonics. This theory provides the widely accepted explanation for the existence and breakup of Pangaea.[17]
Evidence of existence
The distribution of fossils across the continents is one line of evidence pointing to the existence of Pangaea.
The geography of the continents bordering the Atlantic Ocean was the first evidence suggesting the existence of Pangaea. The seemingly close fit of the coastlines of North and South America with Europe and Africa was remarked on almost as soon as these coasts were charted. Careful reconstructions showed that the mismatch at the 500 fathoms (3,000 feet; 910 meters) contour was less than 130 km (81 mi), and it was argued that this was much too similar to be attributed to coincidence.[18]
Additional evidence for Pangaea is found in the geology of adjacent continents, including matching geological trends between the eastern coast ofSouth America, the east coast ofNorth America (namely theAppalachian Mountains), and the western coast ofAfrica. Thepolar ice cap of theCarboniferous covered the southern end of Pangaea. Glacial deposits, specificallytill, of the same age and structure are found on many separate continents that would have been together in the continent of Pangaea.[19] The continuity of mountain chains provides further evidence, such as theAppalachian Mountains chain extending from the southeasternUnited States to theScandinavian Caledonides of Europe;[20] these are now believed to have formed a single chain, theCentral Pangean Mountains.
Fossil evidence for Pangaea includes the presence of similar and identical species on continents that are now great distances apart. For example, fossils of thetherapsidLystrosaurus have been found inSouth Africa,India andAntarctica, alongside members of theGlossopteris flora, whose distribution would have ranged from the polar circle to the equator if the continents had been in their present position; similarly, the freshwater reptileMesosaurus has been found only in localized regions of the coasts ofBrazil andWest Africa.[21]
Geologists can also determinethe movement of continental plates by examining the orientation ofmagnetic minerals in rocks. When rocks are formed, they take on the magnetic orientation of the Earth, showing which direction the poles lie relative to the rock; this determines latitudes and orientations (though not longitudes). Magnetic differences between samples ofsedimentary andintrusive igneous rock whose age varies by millions of years is due to a combination ofmagnetic polar wander (with a cycle of a few thousand years) and the drifting of continents over millions of years. The polar wander component, which is identical for all contemporaneous samples, can be subtracted, leaving the portion that shows continental drift and can be used to help reconstruct earlier continental latitudes and orientations.[22]
Formation
Appalachian orogeny
Pangaea is the most recent supercontinent reconstructed from the geologic record and therefore is by far the best understood. The formation of supercontinents and their breakup appears to becyclical through Earth's history. There may have been several others before Pangaea.
Paleomagnetic measurements help geologists determine the latitude and orientation of ancient continental blocks, and newer techniques may help determine longitudes.[23] Paleontology helps determine ancient climates, confirming latitude estimates from paleomagnetic measurements, and the distribution of ancient forms of life provides clues on which continental blocks were close to each other at particular geological moments.[24] However, reconstructions of continents prior to Pangaea, including the ones in this section, remain partially speculative, and different reconstructions will differ in some details.[25]
Previous supercontinents
The fourth-last supercontinent, calledColumbia or Nuna, appears to have assembled in the period 2.0–1.8 billion years ago(Ga).[26][27] Columbia/Nuna broke up, and the next supercontinent,Rodinia, formed from theaccretion and assembly of its fragments. Rodinia lasted from about 1.3 billion years ago until about 750 million years ago, but its configuration and geodynamic history are not nearly as well understood as those of the later supercontinents,Pannotia and Pangaea.[28]
According to one reconstruction,[29] when Rodinia broke up, it split into three pieces: proto-Laurasia, proto-Gondwana, and the smallerCongo Craton. Proto-Laurasia and proto-Gondwana were separated by theProto-Tethys Ocean. Proto-Laurasia split apart to form the continents ofLaurentia,Siberia, andBaltica. Baltica moved to the east of Laurentia, and Siberia moved northeast of Laurentia. The split created two oceans, theIapetus Ocean and Paleoasian Ocean.[30]
Most of these landmasses coalesced again to form the relatively short-lived supercontinent Pannotia, which included large areas of land near the poles and a small strip connecting the polar masses near the equator. Pannotia lasted until 540 Ma, near the beginning of theCambrian and then broke up, giving rise to the continents of Laurentia, Baltica, and the southern supercontinentGondwana.[31]
Formation of Euramerica (Laurussia)
In the Cambrian, Laurentia—which would later becomeNorth America—sat on theequator with three bordering oceans: thePanthalassa Ocean to the north and west, the Iapetus Ocean to the south, and theKhanty Ocean to the east. In the earlyOrdovician, around 480 Ma, the microcontinentAvalonia—a landmass incorporating fragments of what would become easternNewfoundland, the southernBritish Isles, and parts ofBelgium, northernFrance,Nova Scotia,New England, SouthIberia, and northwest Africa—broke free from Gondwana and began its journey to Laurentia.[32] Baltica, Laurentia, and Avalonia all came together by the end of the Ordovician to form a landmass calledEuramerica or Laurussia, closing the Iapetus Ocean. The collision resulted in the formation of the northern Appalachians. Siberia sat near Euramerica, with the Khanty Ocean between the two continents. While all this was happening, Gondwana drifted slowly towards the South Pole. This was the first step of the formation of Pangaea.[33]
Collision of Gondwana with Euramerica
The second step in the formation of Pangaea was the collision of Gondwana with Euramerica. By the middle of theSilurian, 430 Ma, Baltica had already collided with Laurentia, forming Euramerica, an event called theCaledonian orogeny. As Avalonia inched towards Laurentia, the seaway between them, a remnant of the Iapetus Ocean, was slowly shrinking. Meanwhile,southern Europe broke off from Gondwana and began to move towards Euramerica across theRheic Ocean. It collided with southern Baltica in the Devonian.[34]
By the late Silurian, Annamia (Indochina)[35] and theSouth China Craton split from Gondwana and moved northward, shrinking the Proto-Tethys Ocean and opening thePaleo-Tethys Ocean to the south. In the Devonian Gondwana moved towards Euramerica, causing the Rheic Ocean to shrink. In the EarlyCarboniferous, northwest Africa had touched the southeastern coast of Euramerica, creating the southern portion of the Appalachian Mountains, theMeseta Mountains, and theMauritanide Mountains, an event called theVariscan orogeny. South America moved northward to southern Euramerica, while the eastern portion of Gondwana (India,Antarctica, andAustralia) headed toward the South Pole from the equator. North and South China were on independent continents. TheKazakhstania microcontinent had collided with Siberia. (Siberia had been a separate continent for millions of years since the breakup of Pannotia.)[36]
The Variscan orogeny raised the Central Pangaean Mountains, which were comparable to the modernHimalayas in scale.
Formation of Laurasia
Western Kazakhstania collided with Baltica in the late Carboniferous, closing theUral Ocean and the western Proto-Tethys (Uralian orogeny), causing the formation of theUral Mountains andLaurasia. This was the last step of the formation of Pangaea. Meanwhile, South America had collided with southern Laurentia, closing the Rheic Ocean and completing the Variscian orogeny with the formation of the southernmost part of the Appalachians andOuachita Mountains. By this time, Gondwana was positioned near the South Pole, and glaciers formed in Antarctica, India, Australia, southern Africa, and South America. TheNorth China Craton collided with Siberia by theJurassic, completely closing the Proto-Tethys Ocean.[37]
By theEarly Permian, theCimmerian plate split from Gondwana and moved towards Laurasia, thus closing the Paleo-Tethys Ocean and forming theTethys Ocean in its southern end. Most of the landmasses were all in one. By theTriassic, Pangaea rotated a little, and the Cimmerian plate was still travelling across the shrinking Paleo-Tethys until theMiddle Jurassic. By theLate Triassic, the Paleo-Tethys had closed from west to east, creating theCimmerian Orogeny. Pangaea, which looked like aC, with the Tethys Ocean inside theC, had rifted by the Middle Jurassic.[38]
Assembly of Pangaea (490–250 Ma)
Paleogeography of Earth in the late Cambrian, around 490 Ma
Paleogeography of Earth in the middle Silurian, around 430 Ma. Avalonia and Baltica have fused with Laurentia to form Laurussia.
Paleogeography of Earth in the late Carboniferous, around 310 Ma. Laurussia has fused with Gondwana to form Pangaea.
Paleogeography of the Earth at the Permian–Triassic boundary, around 250 Ma. Siberia has fused with Pangaea to complete the assembly of the supercontinent.
Map of two alternative proposals of the configuration of Pangaea at the Carboniferous-Permian boundary (~300 million years ago), differing in their placement ofGondwana, the classic Wegnerian "Pangea A" (red) and "Pangea B" (blue). Yellow dashed line is the suggested location of the hypothetical megashear. Hatched lines represent theVariscan orogeny.
The paleogeography of Pangaea prior the Late Permian is disputed. A number of authors have argued based onpaleomagnetic data, that Pangaea originally exhibited a different configuration than the classic Wegnerian configuration, known as "Pangea B", where Gondwana was shifted over 3,500 kilometres (2,200 mi) northeastwards relative to Laurasia than in the Wegnerian configuration ("Pangea A"), with South America adjacent to eastern North America and western Europe, and that over the course of the Permian, Gondwana moved southwest towards the classic Wegnerian/"Pangea A" configuration along a massive 6,000 kilometres (3,700 mi) longtransformmegashear.[42][43] Other authors have questioned the paleomagnetic data, which is only sparsely sampled geographically and temporally, and argue that Pangaea exhibited the classic Wegnerian configuration since its formation in the Carboniferous, and question the supporting evidence for such a massive tectonic displacement implied by the "Pangea B" hypothesis.[43]
Pangaea and its surrounding water bodies during thePermian period.
The early Permian also saw the Cimmerian plate being rifted and detached from the Gondwanan shores of thePaleo-Tethys, forming theCimmerian terranes.[45]
Central Pangean mountain range at the equator of Pangaea during the early Permian period (285Mya).
TheCentral Pangaean Mountains reached their maximum elevation during the early Permian (295Mya) comparable to the present dayHimalayan mountain range. These mountains underwent immense physical and mechanicalweathering, creating deep valleys and reducing the mountains to half their original elevation by theLopingian.[40]
By the end of thePermian period, the North China Craton, the South China Block and Indochina fused together and with Pangaea.[46]
Geography during the Triassic
Pangaea at the start of theTriassic period (250Mya).
TheCimmerianterranes, that had detached fromGondwana in the earlyPermian drifted northwards during theTriassic, increasing the expanse of the Neo-Tethys Ocean which had formed from this event while shrinking thePaleo-Tethys.[47]
Since Pangaea existed for a span of millions of years, from the lateCarboniferous period up until the earlyJurassic period, its climate varied across these periods.[51] Due to its geographic extent, it experienced significantclimatic variations.[52]
Interior climate
The inner parts of thesupercontinent were, in comparison to itsshores, significantlydrier and cooler, likely forming one of the most extensive desert systems in Earth'sgeological history with extreme variations of heat and cold (continental climate),[53] though several paleoclimatologists have found evidence of short rainy seasons in the interior regions.[52]
Oceanic influences
Pangaea'sclimate was also influenced by the water bodies of thatera (thesuperoceanPanthalassa, the Paleo Tethys and theTethys seas). ThePaleo Tethys andTethysseas, surrounded on their peripheries by various parts of Pangaea together formed an immense warm water sea and isolated the equatorial waters ofPanthalassa from coldocean currents. This warm-water system also influenced the supercontinent'sclimate by bringing tropical moisture laden-air from the surrounding seas over the land, henceforth causing rainfall.[52]
Monsoons and rainfall
During the lateCarboniferous, regions of present day Europe and Eastern North America experienced significant wetter, swamp like conditions due to theCentral Pangean Mountains forming a perennial monsoon climate in that area close to the equator,[54] contrasting the dry conditions of the Colorado Plateau. By the end of the Carboniferous, the equatorial regions of Pangaea became drier.[51]
During thePermian period, the landmass received seasonal rainfall in contrast to the aforementioned dryness.[51] However, the regions lying north of theCentral Pangaean Mountains received littleprecipitation as they lied in therain shadow of the mountain range which blocked monsoon winds from the Southern Hemisphere.[50]
During theTriassic period, the monsoons reached their maximum extent, such that the previously dry conditions of the Colorado Plateau were alleviated and it started to receive moisture due to the changing wind directions. In contrast, the regions of present day Australia were at higher latitudes and experienced much drier and seasonal conditions around the same time.[51]
When Pangaea finally broke apart by the middleMesozoic era, themegamonsoon fell apart completely.[51] The breakup could have contributed to an increase in polar temperatures as colder waters mixed with warmer waters,[52] also accompanied by outgassing of large quantities of carbon dioxide from continental rifts. This produced a Mesozoic CO2 high that contributed to the very warm climate of theEarly Cretaceous.[55] The opening of the Tethys Ocean also contributed to the warming of the climate.[56] The very activemid-ocean ridges associated with the breakup of Pangaea raised sea levels to the highest in the geological record, flooding much of the continents.[57]
Life
FossilDicroidium zuberi leaf from the Early Triassic of Argentina.Dicroidium was a ubiquitous tree across much of southern Pangaea during the Triassic period.The four floristic provinces of the world at the Permian-Carboniferous boundary, 300 million years ago
Pangaea existed as a supercontinent for 160 million years, from its assembly around 335 Ma (Early Carboniferous) to its breakup 175 Ma (Middle Jurassic).[3] During this interval, important developments in the evolution of life took place. The seas of the Early Carboniferous were dominated byrugose corals,brachiopods,bryozoans,sharks, and the firstbony fish. Life on land was dominated bylycopsid forests inhabited byinsects and otherarthropods and the firsttetrapods.[58] By the time Pangaea broke up, in the Middle Jurassic, the seas swarmed withmolluscs (particularlyammonites),[59]ichthyosaurs, sharks and rays, and ray-finned bony fishes, while life on land was dominated by forests ofcycads andconifers in whichdinosaurs flourished and in which the first truemammals had appeared.[60][61]
The evolution of life in this time reflected the conditions created by the assembly of Pangaea. The union of most of thecontinental crust into one landmass reduced the extent of sea coasts. Increased erosion from uplifted continental crust increased the importance of floodplain and delta environments relative to shallow marine environments. Continental assembly and uplift also meant increasingly arid land climates, favoring the evolution ofamniote animals andseed plants, whose eggs and seeds were better adapted to dry climates.[58] The early drying trend was most pronounced in western Pangaea, which became a center of the evolution and geographical spread of amniotes.[62]
Coal swamps typically form in perpetually wet regions close to the equator. The assembly of Pangaea disrupted theIntertropical Convergence Zone and created an extrememonsoon climate that reduced the deposition of coal to its lowest level in the last 300 million years. During thePermian, coal deposition was largely restricted to the North and South China microcontinents, which were among the few areas of continental crust that had not joined with Pangaea.[63] The extremes of climate in the interior of Pangaea are reflected in bone growth patterns ofpareiasaurs and the growth patterns ingymnosperm forests.[64]
Early TriassicLystrosaurus fossil from South Africa
The lack of oceanic barriers is thought to have favoredcosmopolitanism, in which successful species attain wide geographical distribution. Cosmopolitanism was also driven bymass extinctions, including thePermian–Triassic extinction event, the most severe in the fossil record, and also theTriassic–Jurassic extinction event. These events resulted indisaster fauna showing little diversity and high cosmopolitanism, includingLystrosaurus, which opportunistically spread to every corner of Pangaea following the Permian–Triassic extinction event.[65] On the other hand, there is evidence that many Pangaean species wereprovincial, with a limited geographical range, despite the absence of geographical barriers. This may be due to the strong variations in climate by latitude and season produced by the extreme monsoon climate.[66] For example, cold-adaptedpteridosperms (early seed plants) of Gondwana were blocked from spreading throughout Pangaea by the equatorial climate, and northern pteridosperms ended up dominating Gondwana in the Triassic.[67] The expansion of the temperate climate zones that accompanied the breakup of Pangaea may have contributed to the diversification of the angiosperms.[68]
Mass extinctions
The tectonics and geography of Pangaea may have worsened thePermian–Triassic extinction event orother mass extinctions. For example, the reduced area of continental shelf environments may have left marine species vulnerable to extinction.[69] However, no evidence for a species-area effect has been found in more recent and better characterized portions of the geologic record.[70][71] Another possibility is that reducedseafloor spreading associated with the formation of Pangaea, and the resulting cooling and subsidence ofoceanic crust, may have reduced the number of islands that could have served asrefugia for marine species. 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. The eruptions of theEmeishan Traps may have eliminated South China, one of the few continental areas not merged with Pangaea, as a refugium.[72]
Rifting and break-up
Separation of Pangaea.
There were three major phases in the break-up of Pangaea.
Opening of the Atlantic
Map of Earth around 170 million years ago during the Early Jurassic, demonstrating opening of the North Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean did not open uniformly;rifting began in the north-central Atlantic. The first breakup of Pangaea is proposed for the lateLadinian (230 Ma) with initial spreading in the opening central Atlantic. Then the rifting proceeded along the eastern margin of North America, the northwest African margin and theHigh,Saharan and TunisianAtlas Mountains.[73]
Another phase began in the Early-Middle Jurassic (about 175 Ma), when Pangaea began to rift from the Tethys Ocean in the east to thePacific Ocean in the west. The rifting that took place between North America and Africa produced multiplefailed rifts. One rift resulted in the North Atlantic Ocean.[20]
Map of Earth around 120 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous
The South Atlantic did not open until the Cretaceous when Laurasia started to rotate clockwise and moved northward with North America to the north, andEurasia to the south. The clockwise motion of Laurasia led much later to the closing of the Tethys Ocean and the widening of the "Sinus Borealis", which later became theArctic Ocean. Meanwhile, on the other side of Africa and along the adjacent margins of east Africa, Antarctica andMadagascar, rifts formed that led to the formation of the southwesternIndian Ocean in the Cretaceous.
Break-up of Gondwana
Map of Earth around 85 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous
The second major phase in the break-up of Pangaea began in the Early Cretaceous (150–140 Ma), when Gondwana separated into multiple continents (Africa, South America, India, Antarctica, and Australia). The subduction atTethyan Trench probably caused Africa, India and Australia to move northward, causing the opening of a "South Indian Ocean". In the Early Cretaceous,Atlantica, today's South America and Africa, separated from eastern Gondwana. Then in the Middle Cretaceous, Gondwana fragmented to open up the South Atlantic Ocean as South America started to move westward away from Africa. The South Atlantic did not develop uniformly; rather, it rifted from south to north.
Map of Earth around 60 million years ago, during the Early Cenozoic (Paleocene)
Also, at the same time, Madagascar andInsular India began to separate from Antarctica and moved northward, opening up the Indian Ocean. Madagascar and India separated from each other 100–90 Ma in the Late Cretaceous. India continued to move northward toward Eurasia at 15 centimeters (6 in) per year (a plate tectonic record), closing the eastern Tethys Ocean, while Madagascar stopped and became locked to theAfrican Plate.New Zealand,New Caledonia and the rest ofZealandia began to separate from Australia, moving eastward toward the Pacific and opening theCoral Sea andTasman Sea.
Opening of the Norwegian Sea and break-up of Australia and Antarctica
Map of Earth around 30 million years ago, during the mid-Cenozoic (Oligocene)
The third major and final phase of the break-up of Pangaea occurred in the early Cenozoic (Paleocene toOligocene). Laurasia split when Laurentia broke from Eurasia, opening theNorwegian Sea about 60–55 Ma. The Atlantic and Indian Oceans continued to expand, closing the Tethys Ocean.
Meanwhile, Australia split from Antarctica and moved quickly northward, just as India had done more than 40 million years before. Australia is currently on a collision course witheastern Asia. Both Australia and India are currently moving northeast at 5–6 centimeters (2–3 in) per year. Antarctica has been near or at the South Pole since the formation of Pangaea about 280 Ma. India started to collide withAsia beginning about 35 Ma, forming theHimalayan orogeny and closing the Tethys Ocean; this collision continues today. The African Plate started to change directions, from west to northwest toward Europe, and South America began to move in a northward direction, separating it from Antarctica and allowing complete oceanic circulation around Antarctica for the first time. This motion, together with decreasing atmosphericcarbon dioxide concentrations, caused a rapid cooling of Antarctica and allowedglaciers to form. This glaciation eventually coalesced into the kilometers-thick ice sheets seen today.[74] Other major events took place during the Cenozoic, including the opening of theGulf of California, the uplift of theAlps, and the opening of theSea of Japan. The break-up of Pangaea continues today in theRed Sea Rift andEast African Rift.
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