Ancient Supercontinents and the Paleogeography of Earth

Ancient Supercontinents and the Paleogeography of the Earth offers a systematic examination of the cratons of the Precambrian and the supercontinent cycle. Through detailed maps of drift histories and paleogeography of each continent, the book addresses questions about Earth’s evolution, such as whether continental drift took place before Pangea, what was the drift velocity of the ancient continents, whether the continents collided, and whether Earth had supercontinents before Pangea. Additionally, the book will cover the methodologies used, and will apply those methodologies to testing the dipole hypothesis.

Structured clearly with consistent coverage for all cratons, Ancient Supercontinents and the Paleogeography of the Earth combines state-of-the-art paleomagnetic and radiometric data to reconstruct the paleogeography of the Precambrian Earth in the context of major ancient events, such as global glaciations, and summarize apparent polar wander paths (APWPs) of the continents. It is an ideal, up-to-date reference for geoscientists and geographers looking for answers to questions surrounding the continental evolution of Earth.

• Provides robust paleogeographies of Precambrian cratons based on high-quality paleomagnetic and radiometric data and critically tested by global geological datasets
• Includes links to updated databases for the Precambrian such as PALEOMAGIA and other geological databases
• Presents full-color maps of the drift histories of each continent as well as their paleogeographies
• Discusses key questions regarding continental drift, the supercontinent cycle, and the dipole hypothesis and analyze palaeography in the context of Earth’s past events

Researchers and graduate students in geosciences and geography

1. Introduction
2. A mantle dynamics perspective on the drift of cratons and supercontinent formation in Earth´s history
3. Precambrian geomagnetic field: An overview
4. The Precambrian paleogeography of Laurentia
5. The Precambrian drift history and paleogeography of Baltica
6. The Precambrian drift history and paleogeography of Amazonia
7. The Precambrian drift history and paleogeography of Rio de la Plata craton
8. The Precambrian paleogeography of Siberia
9. Whence Australia: Its drift history and paleography
10. The Precambrian Drift History and Paleogeography of India
11. The Precambrian drift history and paleogeography of the Chinese cratons
12. The Precambrian drift history and paleography of Kalahari
13. The Precambrian drift history and paleogeography of West Africa
14. The Precambrian drift history and paleogeography of Congo-São Francisco craton
15. Neoarchean-Paleoproterozoic supercycles
16. Paleo-Mesoproterozoic Nuna supercycle
17. Precambrian Supercontinents: Rodinia
18. Phanerozoic Paleogeography and Pangea
19. An expanding list of reliable paleomagnetic poles for Precambrian tectonic reconstructions