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Chapter 9: Problem 20

Why do geologists suspect that Pangaea was the most recent in a succession of supercontinents?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Geologists suspect that Pangaea was one of many supercontinents due to evidence garnered from historical climatic changes, fossil distribution across continents, and the fitting shape of continents, all of which suggest the earth's crust has experienced cycles of supercontinent assembly and breakup. These all point to the existence of supercontinents predating Pangaea.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding Pangaea and Supercontinents

Pangaea is postulated as a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. It assembled from earlier continental units approximately 335 million years ago and it began to break apart about 175 million years ago. In contrast, Supercontinents are large landmasses that comprise more than one continental core, or craton. Pangaea is one of the many supercontinents that have formed and broken up throughout Earth's history.
02

Understanding the Plate Tectonic Theory

Plate tectonics theory suggests that the earth's crust is made of large plates that are in constant, slow motion, driven by the convection currents in the mantle. These movements lead to the cycles of supercontinent assembly and breakup.
03

Analysis of Historical Climatic Changes

Evidence of ice ages in regions currently at the equator (like India and Africa) indicate shifts in the plate positioning over time. The theory of supercontinents suggests there were other landmasses before Pangaea in which similar climatic changes happened. This is a reason to suspect that Pangaea wasn't the first supercontinent.
04

Explanation Through Fossil Distribution

The discovery of the same plant and animal fossils in different current continents which were together in the supercontinent of Pangaea suggests that this landmass wasn't the first of its kind. These biological findings feed the theory of evolving and shifting supercontinents before Pangaea.
05

Understanding Contingent 'Fit'

The idea of Pangaea being the most recent supercontinent is supported by the jigsaw puzzle fit of the continents, especially between Africa and South America. This substantiates the existence of previous supercontinents by showing that continents have joined and split multiple times in geological history.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

In order to alleviate global warming, it will be necessary to dramatically reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that we release into the atmosphere by burning petroleum. What changes in technology and society do you think will be needed to bring this about?

Search the World Wide Web for information about Rodinia, the supercontinent that predated Pangaea. When did this supercontinent form? When did it break apart? Do we have any evidence of supercontinents that predated Rodinia? Why or why not?

Summarize the history of the Earth's atmosphere. What role has biological activity played in this evolution?

Use the World Wide Web to investigate the current status of the Antarctic ozone hole. Is the situation getting better or worse? Is there a comparable hole over the North Pole? Why do most scientists blame the chemicals called CFCs for the existence of the ozone hole?

What are the different types of seismic waves? Why are seismic waves useful for probing the Earth's interior structure?
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