supercontinent
Sign in to savethumb|upright=1.35|The supercontinent of Pangaea with the positions of the continents at the [[Permian-Triassic boundary, about 250 Ma. AR=Amuria; NC=North China; SC=South China; PA=Panthalassic Ocean; PT=Paleotethys Ocean; NT=Neotethys Ocean. Orogens shown in red. Subduction zones shown in black. Spreading centers shown in green.]] thumb|Although not a supercontinent, the current Afro-Eurasian landmass contains about 57% of Earth's land area.
AI overview
A supercontinent is an enormous landmass formed when most or all of Earth's continents collide and merge together, with Pangaea being the most famous example from about 250 million years ago. Supercontinents matter because they significantly affect global climate, ocean circulation, and the distribution of life on Earth, and understanding them helps scientists reconstruct Earth's geological history and predict how continents may reconfigure in the future.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Article
17 sectionsContents
- Theories
- Series
- Protopangea–Paleopangea
- Cycles
- Volcanism
- Plate tectonics
- Climate
- Glacial
- Precipitation
- Temperature
- Milankovitch cycles
- Atmospheric gases
- Proxies
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
thumb|upright=1.35|The supercontinent of Pangaea with the positions of the continents at the [[Permian-Triassic boundary, about 250 Ma. AR=Amuria; NC=North China; SC=South China; PA=Panthalassic Ocean; PT=Paleotethys Ocean; NT=Neotethys Ocean. Orogens shown in red. Subduction zones shown in black. Spreading centers shown in green.]] thumb|Although not a supercontinent, the current Afro-Eurasian landmass contains about 57% of Earth's land area.
In geology, a supercontinent is the assembly of most or all of Earth's continental blocks or cratons to form a single large landmass. 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. To separate supercontinents from other groupings, a limit has been proposed in which a continent must include at least about 75% of the continental crust then in existence in order to qualify as a supercontinent.