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Paleocontinent
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Paleocontinent
A paleocontinent or palaeocontinent is a distinct area of continental crust that existed as a major landmass in the geological past. There have been many different landmasses throughout Earth's time.[citation needed] They range in sizes; some are just a collection of small microcontinents while others are large conglomerates of crust. As time progresses and sea levels rise and fall more crust can be exposed making way for larger landmasses. The continents of the past shaped the evolution of organisms on Earth and contributed to the climate of the globe as well. As landmasses break apart, species are separated and those that were once the same now have evolved to their new climate. The constant movement of these landmasses greatly determines the distribution of organisms on Earth's surface. This is evident with how similar fossils are found on completely separate continents. Also, as continents move, mountain building events (orogenies) occur, causing a shift in the global climate as new rock is exposed and then there is more exposed rock at higher elevations. This causes glacial ice expansion and an overall cooler global climate. The movement of the continents greatly affects the overall dispersal of organisms throughout the world and the trend in climate throughout Earth's history. Examples include Laurentia, Baltica and Avalonia, which collided together during the Caledonian orogeny to form the Old Red Sandstone paleocontinent of Laurussia. Another example includes a collision that occurred during the late Pennsylvanian and early Permian time when there was a collision between the two continents of Tarimsky and Kirghiz-Kazakh. This collision was caused because of their askew convergence when the paleoceanic basin closed.
The examples below are condensed in order to portray a brief overview of several paleocontinents.
Gondwana was located in the southern hemisphere, with the land mass that makes up current day Antarctica closest to the South Pole. The continent reaches from just above the equator to the South Pole. Current day South America and Africa are closest to the equator with Northern Africa intersecting the equator.
600-180 mya, Precambrian - Jurassic Period.
Gondwana was made of present-day South America, Africa, Arabia, India, Antarctica, Australia, and Madagascar. The Continent was fully formed by the late Precambrian period. This was 600 million years ago. It was an amalgamation of all the current southern hemisphere continents. Gondwana lasted through many different time periods and was a part of other super continents, like Pangea.
Gondwana broke up in distinct stages. The continent started to split during the Jurassic Period around 180 million years ago. The first event was the separation of the western half of Gondwana, which includes Africa and South America, from the eastern half, which includes Antarctica, Australia, Madagascar, and India. Next, 40 million years later, South America and Africa began to split which began to open up the Atlantic Ocean. Also around this time India and Madagascar began to detach from Australia and Antarctica. This separation created the Indian Ocean. Lastly, in the Cretaceous, India and Madagascar began to split and Australia and Antarctica began to detach from one another.
The life on Gondwana has changed throughout its existence. Gondwana was a smaller piece of Rodinia and stayed together all the way through the breakup of Pangea. This allowed Gondwana to host almost all species that have ever lived on Earth. Gondwana also was a part of some great mass extinction events. During the Ordovician, sea levels rose so much that the entire Gondwana continent was covered, at this time marine life was dominant. Also, vertebrates started to make an appearance in the fossil record. Terrestrial species started to become more prominent in the Silurian, however, in the Devonian modern fish and shark species began to diversify, and terrestrial vegetation begun colonizing the continent, as organic soil accumulation can be detected. Amniotic eggs started to evolve as more terrestrial land became available with rising land masses and lowering sea levels. During the Permian extinction, almost all marine species were lost, along with some terrestrial species. This event gave rise to terrestrial species, such as reptiles, dinosaurs, and small mammals.
Gondwana experienced a variety of climates as it has been a land mass from 600 million years ago in the Precambrian to the Early Jurassic with the breakup of Pangea. In the Cambrian, there was a warmer and milder climate because most continental crust was closer to the equator and not the poles. The continent endured an ice age during the Ordovician period and deglaciation was still occurring during the Silurian period. The climate started to become more humid and tropical throughout the globe and there was a lack of seasonality. The climate began to change again during the Mesozoic, this time period was dominated by a very large and lengthy monsoon season, because of Pangea. Once Pangea began to break apart the climate started to cool, but Gondwana was already being broken apart.
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Paleocontinent
A paleocontinent or palaeocontinent is a distinct area of continental crust that existed as a major landmass in the geological past. There have been many different landmasses throughout Earth's time.[citation needed] They range in sizes; some are just a collection of small microcontinents while others are large conglomerates of crust. As time progresses and sea levels rise and fall more crust can be exposed making way for larger landmasses. The continents of the past shaped the evolution of organisms on Earth and contributed to the climate of the globe as well. As landmasses break apart, species are separated and those that were once the same now have evolved to their new climate. The constant movement of these landmasses greatly determines the distribution of organisms on Earth's surface. This is evident with how similar fossils are found on completely separate continents. Also, as continents move, mountain building events (orogenies) occur, causing a shift in the global climate as new rock is exposed and then there is more exposed rock at higher elevations. This causes glacial ice expansion and an overall cooler global climate. The movement of the continents greatly affects the overall dispersal of organisms throughout the world and the trend in climate throughout Earth's history. Examples include Laurentia, Baltica and Avalonia, which collided together during the Caledonian orogeny to form the Old Red Sandstone paleocontinent of Laurussia. Another example includes a collision that occurred during the late Pennsylvanian and early Permian time when there was a collision between the two continents of Tarimsky and Kirghiz-Kazakh. This collision was caused because of their askew convergence when the paleoceanic basin closed.
The examples below are condensed in order to portray a brief overview of several paleocontinents.
Gondwana was located in the southern hemisphere, with the land mass that makes up current day Antarctica closest to the South Pole. The continent reaches from just above the equator to the South Pole. Current day South America and Africa are closest to the equator with Northern Africa intersecting the equator.
600-180 mya, Precambrian - Jurassic Period.
Gondwana was made of present-day South America, Africa, Arabia, India, Antarctica, Australia, and Madagascar. The Continent was fully formed by the late Precambrian period. This was 600 million years ago. It was an amalgamation of all the current southern hemisphere continents. Gondwana lasted through many different time periods and was a part of other super continents, like Pangea.
Gondwana broke up in distinct stages. The continent started to split during the Jurassic Period around 180 million years ago. The first event was the separation of the western half of Gondwana, which includes Africa and South America, from the eastern half, which includes Antarctica, Australia, Madagascar, and India. Next, 40 million years later, South America and Africa began to split which began to open up the Atlantic Ocean. Also around this time India and Madagascar began to detach from Australia and Antarctica. This separation created the Indian Ocean. Lastly, in the Cretaceous, India and Madagascar began to split and Australia and Antarctica began to detach from one another.
The life on Gondwana has changed throughout its existence. Gondwana was a smaller piece of Rodinia and stayed together all the way through the breakup of Pangea. This allowed Gondwana to host almost all species that have ever lived on Earth. Gondwana also was a part of some great mass extinction events. During the Ordovician, sea levels rose so much that the entire Gondwana continent was covered, at this time marine life was dominant. Also, vertebrates started to make an appearance in the fossil record. Terrestrial species started to become more prominent in the Silurian, however, in the Devonian modern fish and shark species began to diversify, and terrestrial vegetation begun colonizing the continent, as organic soil accumulation can be detected. Amniotic eggs started to evolve as more terrestrial land became available with rising land masses and lowering sea levels. During the Permian extinction, almost all marine species were lost, along with some terrestrial species. This event gave rise to terrestrial species, such as reptiles, dinosaurs, and small mammals.
Gondwana experienced a variety of climates as it has been a land mass from 600 million years ago in the Precambrian to the Early Jurassic with the breakup of Pangea. In the Cambrian, there was a warmer and milder climate because most continental crust was closer to the equator and not the poles. The continent endured an ice age during the Ordovician period and deglaciation was still occurring during the Silurian period. The climate started to become more humid and tropical throughout the globe and there was a lack of seasonality. The climate began to change again during the Mesozoic, this time period was dominated by a very large and lengthy monsoon season, because of Pangea. Once Pangea began to break apart the climate started to cool, but Gondwana was already being broken apart.