Panthalassa

Panthalassa (Greek Πάν "everything" and Θάλασσα "sea" ) is the name of a global ocean, the global supercontinent Pangaea in the era of the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic - 300-150 mya - surrounded them.

The former supercontinent Rodinia - 1100-800 mya - was surrounded by Mirovia, the forerunner Panthalassas.

Development

Since in the course of the Earth, the plate tectonic distribution of land and water masses by the constant

  • Riftzonenbildung and hot spot volcanism of the lithosphere
  • Seafloor spreading
  • Subduction of oceanic plates and the general
  • Continental drift of the continental plates and cratons

Changed several prehistoric oceans can be distinguished. It existed alongside or in the global ocean Panthalassa from approximately:

  • Triassic - 240 mya - the Tethys forms an eastern bay of Pangaea.
  • Ediacaran to the Paleozoic - 600 mya to 300 mya - the Proto - Tethys and the Palaeotethys, the Iapetus Ocean, the Khanty- Mansi Ocean and the Ocean Rheische form as part of the oceans in the global Panthalassa.
  • Cryogenium - 750 mya - Mirovia freezes up to two miles deep around the South Pole. The Pan-African ocean forms a bay of the now Panthalassa and surrounding Gondwana, the then equator nearer part Rodinias.
  • Stenium - 1100 mya - Mirovia surrounds as a precursor Panthalassas the resulting Rodinia.
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