Assembly and breakup of the core of Paleoproterozoic-Mesoproterozoic supercontinent Nuna

Idealized conceptual models of supercontinent cyclicity must be tested against the geologic record using pre-Pangean reconstructions. We integrate tectonostratigraphic records and paleomagnetic data from Siberia, Laurentia, and Baltica to produce a quantitative reconstruction of the core of the Nuna...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geology (Boulder) 2011-05, Vol.39 (5), p.443-446
Main Authors: Evans, David A. D, Mitchell, Ross N
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Asia
Baltica
continental drift
Continental dynamics
continental margin
Geophysics
Laurentia
Mesoproterozoic
Neoproterozoic
Nuna
paleogeography
paleomagnetism
Paleoproterozoic
Plate tectonics
polar wandering
Precambrian
Proterozoic
reconstruction
Rodinia
Siberia
solid Earth (tectonophysics)
Stratigraphy
supercontinents
tectonostratigraphic units
theoretical models
upper Precambrian
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Idealized conceptual models of supercontinent cyclicity must be tested against the geologic record using pre-Pangean reconstructions. We integrate tectonostratigraphic records and paleomagnetic data from Siberia, Laurentia, and Baltica to produce a quantitative reconstruction of the core of the Nuna supercontinent at 1.9-1.3 Ga. In our model, the present southern and eastern margins of Siberia juxtapose directly adjacent to, respectively, the arctic margin of Laurentia and the Uralian margin of Baltica. Consistent tectonostratigraphic records of the three cratons collectively indicate the history of Nuna's assembly and breakup. According to this reconstruction, the late Mesoproterozoic transition from Nuna to Rodinia appears to have been much less dramatic than the subsequent late Neoproterozoic transition from Rodinia to Gondwana.
ISSN:0091-7613
1943-2682
DOI:10.1130/G31654.1