breakup of Gondwana
E55394
The breakup of Gondwana was a major tectonic event during the Mesozoic era in which the ancient southern supercontinent fragmented into the continents and oceanic plates of the Southern Hemisphere, reshaping global geography and climate.
Statements (58)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
geological process
→
plate tectonic event → tectonic event → |
| endTime |
Cenozoic era
→
|
| evidencedBy |
fossil distributions
→
matching geological structures on now-separated continents → paleomagnetic data → stratigraphic correlations → |
| follows |
assembly of Gondwana supercontinent
→
breakup of Laurasia → |
| hasCause |
mantle convection
→
plate tectonics → rifting → |
| hasConsequence |
formation of circum-Antarctic current
→
onset of Antarctic glaciation → |
| hasEffect |
biogeographic isolation of southern landmasses
→
changes in global climate → divergent evolution of Southern Hemisphere biotas → formation of modern Southern Hemisphere continents → fragmentation of Gondwana supercontinent → opening of the Indian Ocean → opening of the South Atlantic Ocean → opening of the Southern Ocean → reorganization of global ocean circulation → |
| hasPhase |
initial rifting between East and West Gondwana
→
isolation of Antarctica → northward drift of India → separation of Africa and South America → |
| involves |
continental rifting
→
formation of mid-ocean ridges → seafloor spreading → transform faulting → |
| occursIn |
Mesozoic era
→
|
| partOf |
breakup of Pangaea
→
|
| precededBy |
late Paleozoic orogenies
→
|
| resultsIn |
African Plate
→
Antarctic Plate → Australian Plate → Indian Plate → Indo-Australian Plate → Nazca Plate → Scotia Plate → South American Plate → microplates in the Indian Ocean → |
| separates |
Africa from Antarctica
→
Africa from Australia → Africa from India → Africa from South America → Australia from Antarctica → India from Antarctica → India from Australia → Madagascar from Africa → New Zealand from Antarctica → South America from Antarctica → |
| startTime |
Early Jurassic
→
|
| studiedBy |
geologists
→
paleoclimatologists → paleomagnetists → |
Referenced by (3)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Antarctic Plate
→
|
formedBy |
|
Phanerozoic Eon
→
|
includesEvent |
|
West Antarctic Rift System
→
|
relatedTo |