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Pannotia, first described by Ian W. D. Dalziel in 1997, is a hypothetical supercontinent
Supercontinent

In geology, a supercontinent is a landmass comprising more than one continental core, or craton. The assembly of cratons and terrane that form Eurasia qualifies as a supercontinent today....
 that existed from the Pan-African orogeny
Pan-African orogeny

The Pan-African orogeny was a series of major Neoproterozoic orogeny which related to the formation of the supercontinents Gondwana and Pannotia about 900 million years ago....
 about 600 million years ago to the end of the Precambrian
Precambrian

The Precambrian is an informal name for the supereon comprising the eon of the geologic timescale that came before the current Phanerozoic eon....
 about 540 million years ago. It is also known as the Vendian supercontinent.

t 750 million years ago (750 Ma), the previous supercontinent Rodinia
Rodinia

In geology, Rodinia is the name of a supercontinent, a continent which contained most or all of Earth's landmass. According to plate tectonic reconstructions, Rodinia existed between 1100 and 750 million years ago, in the Neoproterozoic era ....
 rifted apart into three continents: Proto-Laurasia (which broke apart and eventually re-formed as Laurasia
Laurasia

Laurasia was a supercontinent that most recently existed as a part of the split of the Pangaean supercontinent in the late Mesozoic era . It included most of the landmasses which make up today's continents of the northern hemisphere, chiefly Laurentia , Baltica, Siberia , Kazakhstania, and the North China Craton and East China Craton craton...
), the continent
Continent

A continent is one of several large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents ? they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia ....
al craton
Craton

A craton is an old and stable part of the continental crust that has survived the merging and splitting of continents and supercontinents for at least 500 million years....
 of Congo
Congo craton

The Congo craton, covered by the Palaeozoic-to-recent Congo basin, is an ancient Precambrian craton that with four others makes up the modern continent of Africa....
, and Proto-Gondwana (all of Gondwana
Gondwana

Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland is the name given to a southern precursor-supercontinent and then as a remnant separated from Laurasia 180- during the breakup of the Pangaea supercontinent that existed about 500 to 200 Annum ago into two large segments. except the Congo craton and Atlantica
Atlantica

Atlantica was an ancient continent theorised to have formed about two billion years ago. About 200 million years later, it became part of the major supercontinent Columbia ....
).

Proto-Laurasia rotated southward toward the South Pole
South Pole

The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's rotation intersects the surface....
.






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Pannotia, first described by Ian W. D. Dalziel in 1997, is a hypothetical supercontinent
Supercontinent

In geology, a supercontinent is a landmass comprising more than one continental core, or craton. The assembly of cratons and terrane that form Eurasia qualifies as a supercontinent today....
 that existed from the Pan-African orogeny
Pan-African orogeny

The Pan-African orogeny was a series of major Neoproterozoic orogeny which related to the formation of the supercontinents Gondwana and Pannotia about 900 million years ago....
 about 600 million years ago to the end of the Precambrian
Precambrian

The Precambrian is an informal name for the supereon comprising the eon of the geologic timescale that came before the current Phanerozoic eon....
 about 540 million years ago. It is also known as the Vendian supercontinent.

Formation

About 750 million years ago (750 Ma), the previous supercontinent Rodinia
Rodinia

In geology, Rodinia is the name of a supercontinent, a continent which contained most or all of Earth's landmass. According to plate tectonic reconstructions, Rodinia existed between 1100 and 750 million years ago, in the Neoproterozoic era ....
 rifted apart into three continents: Proto-Laurasia (which broke apart and eventually re-formed as Laurasia
Laurasia

Laurasia was a supercontinent that most recently existed as a part of the split of the Pangaean supercontinent in the late Mesozoic era . It included most of the landmasses which make up today's continents of the northern hemisphere, chiefly Laurentia , Baltica, Siberia , Kazakhstania, and the North China Craton and East China Craton craton...
), the continent
Continent

A continent is one of several large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents ? they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia ....
al craton
Craton

A craton is an old and stable part of the continental crust that has survived the merging and splitting of continents and supercontinents for at least 500 million years....
 of Congo
Congo craton

The Congo craton, covered by the Palaeozoic-to-recent Congo basin, is an ancient Precambrian craton that with four others makes up the modern continent of Africa....
, and Proto-Gondwana (all of Gondwana
Gondwana

Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland is the name given to a southern precursor-supercontinent and then as a remnant separated from Laurasia 180- during the breakup of the Pangaea supercontinent that existed about 500 to 200 Annum ago into two large segments. except the Congo craton and Atlantica
Atlantica

Atlantica was an ancient continent theorised to have formed about two billion years ago. About 200 million years later, it became part of the major supercontinent Columbia ....
).

Proto-Laurasia rotated southward toward the South Pole
South Pole

The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's rotation intersects the surface....
. Proto-Gondwana rotated counterclockwise. The Congo craton
Craton

A craton is an old and stable part of the continental crust that has survived the merging and splitting of continents and supercontinents for at least 500 million years....
 came between Proto-Gondwana and Proto-Laurasia about 600 Ma. This formed Pannotia. With so much landmass around the poles, evidence suggests that there were more glaciers during this time than at any other time in geologic history
Geologic time scale

File:Geologic clock.jpgThe geologic time scale is a chronology schema relating stratigraphy to time that is used by geologys and other earth sciences scientists to describe the timing and relationships between events that have occurred during the history of the Earth....
.

Geography and lifespan

Pannotia looked like a V that faced northeast. Inside the V was an ocean that opened up during the break-up of Rodinia
Rodinia

In geology, Rodinia is the name of a supercontinent, a continent which contained most or all of Earth's landmass. According to plate tectonic reconstructions, Rodinia existed between 1100 and 750 million years ago, in the Neoproterozoic era ....
, the Panthalassic Ocean, an ocean that became the early Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
. There was a mid-ocean ridge
Mid-ocean ridge

A mid-ocean ridge or mid-oceanic ridge is an underwater mountain range, typically having a valley known as a rift running along its spine, formed by plate tectonics....
 in the middle of the Panthalassic Ocean. Outside of the V was a very large ancient ocean called the Panafrican Ocean that may have surrounded Pannotia, equivalent to the future Panthalassic Ocean.

Pannotia was short-lived. The collisions that formed Pannotia were glancing collisions, and the continents composing Pannotia already had active rifting. By about 540 Ma, or only about 60 million years after Pannotia formed, Pannotia disintegrated into four continents: Laurentia
Laurentia

Laurentia , like all craton land, was created as continents moved about the surface of the Earth , bumping into other continents and drifting away....
, Baltica
Baltica

Baltica redirects here. For the Russian beer, see Baltika BreweriesBaltica is a name applied by geologists to a late-Proterozoic, early-Palaeozoic continent that now includes the East European craton of northwestern Eurasia....
, Siberia
Siberia (continent)

Siberia is the craton located in the heart of the region of Siberia. Siberia or "Angaraland" is today the Central Siberian Plateau. It is an extremely ancient craton that formed an independent continent before the Permian...
 and Gondwana
Gondwana

Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland is the name given to a southern precursor-supercontinent and then as a remnant separated from Laurasia 180- during the breakup of the Pangaea supercontinent that existed about 500 to 200 Annum ago into two large segments.. Later, altered landmasses would recombine to form the most recent supercontinent, Pangaea
Pangaea

Pangaea, Pang?a or Pangea was the supercontinent that existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras about 250 million years ago, before the component continents were separated into their current configuration....
.

Another term for the supercontinent that is thought to have existed at the end of Neoproterozoic
Neoproterozoic

The Neoproterozoic Era is the unit of geologic time scale from 1,000 to 542 +/- 0.3 million years ago. The terminal Era of the formal Proterozoic Eon , it is further subdivided into the Tonian, Cryogenian, and Ediacaran Periods....
 time is "Greater Gondwanaland", suggested by Stern in 1994. This term recognizes that the supercontinent of Gondwana, which formed at the end of the Neoproterozoic, was once part of the much larger end-Neoproterozoic supercontinent.

See also

  • Plate tectonics
    Plate tectonics

    Plate tectonics describes the large scale motions of Earth's lithosphere. The theory encompasses the older concepts of continental drift, developed during the first decades of the 20th century by Alfred Wegener, and seafloor spreading, understood during the 1960s....
  • Supercontinent cycle
    Supercontinent cycle

    The supercontinent cycle describes the quasi-periodic aggregration and dispersal of Earth's continental crust. There are varying opinions as to whether Earth's budget of continental crust is increasing, decreasing, or remaining about constant, but it is agreed that this inventory is constantly being reconfigured....


External links

  • An showing Pannotia according to Christopher Scotese
    Christopher Scotese

    Christopher Scotese is geologist at the University of Texas at Arlington. He received his Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Chicago in 1985....
    . (it is referred to as the late Precambrian
    Precambrian

    The Precambrian is an informal name for the supereon comprising the eon of the geologic timescale that came before the current Phanerozoic eon....
     Supercontinent in the image    ).