Supercontinent cycle

Was there really a supercontinent? Can that happen again?

1. Supercontinent Cycle Copyright by Kella Randolph, B.S., M.Ed. https://get.pxhere.com/photo/landscape-coast-nature-rock-waterfall-river-stone-travel-formation-cliff-environment-europe-stream-jungle-park-plate-landmark-iceland-tourism-terrain-ridge-body-of-water-national-parliament-geology-ravine-continent-lava-heritage-geological-site-water-feature-scandinavia-volcanic-continental-ingvellir-tectonic-drift-thingvellir-mid-atlantic-pingvellir-dinamet7-continental-drifting-continental-drift-thingvellir-national-park-geological-phenomenon-632599.jpg

2. The theory of Pangea Pangea's existence was first proposed in 1912 by German meteorologist Alfred Wegener as a part of his theory of continental drift. Its name is derived from the Greek pangaia , meaning “all the Earth.” continental drift. The land on Earth is constantly moving. Story: https://www.britannica.com/www.britannica.com › place › Pangea Picture: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F487444359656891241%2F&psig=AOvVaw3KRMnQHgP_IzXdA1oAwM0z&ust=1573508238662000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCLju5o7N4OUCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

3. Rodinia The existence of Wegener’s supercontinent Pangaea is completely accepted by geologists today. The movements of continents explain so much about the geological activity we see. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/courses-images/wp-content/uploads/sites/115/2016/05/24171421/Figure5_3_5.png

4. Was Earth really ever like this? https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/courses-images/wp-content/uploads/sites/115/2016/05/24171421/Figure5_3_5.png But did it all begin with Pangaea? Or were there other supercontinents that came before? What does the future of the continents hold?

5. Pangaea Wegener had lots of evidence for his  continental drift   hypothesis . One line of evidence was the similarity of the mountains on the west and east sides of the Atlantic. Those mountains rose at convergent plate boundaries. The continents on both sides of the ocean (where the Atlantic is now) smashed together to create Pangaea. The proto-Atlantic ocean shrank as the Pacific Ocean grew. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mFBHW6o6ds0/TKPUle8m2BI/AAAAAAAABb4/jnaf53ZVkFQ/s1600/Pangea+1.JPG Pangaea

6. The Appalachian mountains The Appalachian mountains of eastern North America formed at this convergent plate boundary ( Figure   below ). About 200 million years ago, they were probably as high as the Himalayas. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/AppalachianLocatorMap2.png https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7236/7158830805_81f9aa544b_z.jpg The Appalachian Mountains in New Hampshire

7. The Appalachians along the eastern U.S. Pangaea has been breaking apart since about 250 million years ago. Divergent plate boundaries formed within the continents to cause them to rift apart. The continents are still moving apart. The Pacific is shrinking as the Atlantic is growing. The Appalachians (Figure below) are now on a passive margin. The mighty mountains have weathered and eroded to what they are today. The Appalachians along the eastern U.S. These mountains began when North America and Eurasia collided as Pangaea came together. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/Appalachians_NC_BLRI9242.jpg/500px-Appalachians_NC_BLRI9242.jpg

8. The Supercontinent Cycle Back before Pangaea, there were earlier supercontinents. Rodinia existed 750 million to 1.1 billion years ago. Columbia existed 1.5 to 1.8 billion years ago. If the continents continue in their  current  directions, they will come together to create a supercontinent on the other side of the planet in around 200 million years. This is known as the  supercontinent cycle . The continents smash together on opposite side of the planet around every 500 million years. The creation of supercontinents is responsible for most of the geologic features that we see. It is responsible for many features that are long gone. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u_OJwXwxIws/T-dDrdWmlDI/AAAAAAAABsw/k0OWVpkDTXc/s1600/drift.jpg

9. Over billions of years the continents have moved. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Wilson-stages_hg-de.png https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Wilson-stages_hg-de.png

10. Going under Image left in Spanish: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Limiteconvergente-oceanoycontinente.png/250px-Limiteconvergente-oceanoycontinente.png The Pacific Plate is sliding underneath the North American Plate. The heat and pressure has been causing rocks to melt. That goes on to create volcanoes and a row of mountains along the Pacific Ocean. gifAbove in English: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/Oceanic-continental_convergence_Fig21oceancont.gif/250px-Oceanic-continental_convergence_Fig21oceancont.

11. https://files.mtstatic.com/site_4038/1230/0/webview?Expires=1553374803&Signature=MiZxo7XioXojA9iSiktnYYYsNK9G6SSlqIhGGLkPbGM2WUgZIIqycsxWELVgFYzHPeCh2l8TXOSDYRqRQ4Os5FrgOtEzk8DlGJUHwAI8PXjMJVE1IA2de~N3rG9OOI7P6bZPmtH4cpVrMm5R5iLCipWu7ASZePuPJYFyWFP5MAA_&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJ5Y6AV4GI7A555NA https://62e528761d0685343e1c-f3d1b99a743ffa4142d9d7f1978d9686.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/62631/area14mp/cysfbpyv-1414063343.jpg

12. Different names https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Laurasia-Gondwana.png As the continents merged at different times they took different shapes. So scientists have given them names to indicate their stages. It’s sort of like names we humans have as we age: baby, child, teen, adult and elderly person.

13. Have these landmasses moved back and forth? Modern Asia Ancient Rodinia http://www.madrimasd.org/blogs/ universo /wp- content/ blogs.dir /42/files/370/o_Rodinia1%20Protolaurasia%20Wiki%20inglés.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Asie.svg/750px-Asie.svg.png

14. Explore More Story and some images were adapted from Supercontinent Cycle and Pangaea Describes the supercontinent cycle and its relationship to past and future plate tectonic activity. cK-12 Open Source text FlexBook https://www.ck12.org/c/earth-science/supercontinent-cycle-and-pangaea/lesson/Supercontinent-Cycle-MS-ES/?referrer=concept_details https://www.truthinsideofyou.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Earth_after_100_Million_Years.jpg