Articles | Volume 8, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-8-817-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-8-817-2017
Research article
 | 
07 Aug 2017
Research article |  | 07 Aug 2017

Breaking supercontinents; no need to choose between passive or active

Martin Wolstencroft and J. Huw Davies

Viewed

Total article views: 2,727 (including HTML, PDF, and XML)
HTML PDF XML Total Supplement BibTeX EndNote
1,529 1,044 154 2,727 243 145 149
  • HTML: 1,529
  • PDF: 1,044
  • XML: 154
  • Total: 2,727
  • Supplement: 243
  • BibTeX: 145
  • EndNote: 149
Views and downloads (calculated since 08 Feb 2017)
Cumulative views and downloads (calculated since 08 Feb 2017)

Viewed (geographical distribution)

Total article views: 2,727 (including HTML, PDF, and XML) Thereof 2,441 with geography defined and 286 with unknown origin.
Country # Views %
  • 1
1
 
 
 
 

Cited

Discussed (final revised paper)

Discussed (preprint)

Latest update: 22 Apr 2024
Download
Short summary
A key aspect of plate tectonics is the periodic assembly and subsequent break-up of supercontinents. There is strong evidence that this has happened repeatedly over geological history, but exactly how a supercontinent breaks up is still debated. In this paper, we use computer modelling of Earth's interior to show that the force needed to break a supercontinent should always arise from a combination of global-scale passive pulling apart and active pushing apart forces driven by the mantle.