Paleo-Tethys Ocean
The Paleo-Tethys or Palaeo-Tethys Ocean was an
Paleo-Tethys was a precursor to the
The so-called Hunic terranes are divided into the European Hunic (today the crust under parts of Europe – called Armorica – and Iberia) and Asiatic Hunic (today the crust of parts of southern Asia). A large transform fault separated the two terranes.
The role the Paleo-Tethys played in the supercontinent cycle, and especially the break-up of Pangaea, is unresolved. Some geologists argue that the opening of the North Atlantic was triggered by the subduction of Panthalassa under the western margins of the Americas while other argue that the closure of the Paleo-Tethys and Tethys resulted in the break-up. In the first scenario, mantle plumes caused the opening of the Atlantic and the break-up of Pangaea and the closure of the Tethyan domain was one of the consequences of this process; in the other scenario, the longitudinal forces that closed the Tethyan domain were transmitted latitudinally in what is today the Mediterranean region, resulting in the initial opening of the Atlantic.[5]
History
The Paleo-Tethys Ocean began to form when
In the Early
These events caused Proto-Tethys Ocean to shrink until the Late Carboniferous, when the Chinese blocks collided with Siberia.[7] In the Early Carboniferous however, a subduction zone developed south of the European Hunic terranes consuming Paleo-Tethys oceanic crust. [9] Gondwana started moving north, and in the process the western part of the Paleo-Tethys would close.[7][10]
In the Carboniferous
had completely disappeared, and the western Paleo-Tethys was closing.By the Late
In the Early
The Paleo-Tethys Ocean sat where the Indian Ocean and Southern Asia are now located. The Equator ran the length of the sea, giving it a tropical climate. The shores and islands probably supported dense coal forests.
See also
- List of ancient oceans – List of Earth's former oceans
References
Notes
- ^ Stampfli & Borel 2000 - Tethyan Plate Tectonic working group of the Institut of Mineralogy and Petrography, University of Lausanne
- ^ Zhai et al. 2015, Abstract
- ^ Muttoni et al. 2009, Fig. 2, p. 19
- ^ Müller & Seton 2015, p. 5
- ^ Keppie 2015a, Abstract; Keppie 2015b, Abstract
- ^ Stampfli, von Raumer & Borel 2002, Middle Devonian Phase, p. 272
- ^ a b c d Stampfli, von Raumer & Borel 2002, Fig. 3, pp. 268–629
- ^ Stampfli, von Raumer & Borel 2002, Hun Superterrane, p. 267
- ^ Stampfli, von Raumer & Borel 2002, European Hunic active margin in Armorica (sensu lato), p. 273
- ^ Stampfli, von Raumer & Borel 2002, Fig. 4e, p. 270
Sources
- Keppie, D. F. (2015a). "How the closure of paleo-Tethys and Tethys oceans controlled the early breakup of Pangaea". Geology. 43 (4): 335–338. doi:10.1130/G36268.1.
- Keppie, F. (2015b). "How subduction broke up Pangaea with implications for the supercontinent cycle" (PDF). In Li, Z. X.; Evans, D. A. D.; Murphy, J. B. (eds.). Supercontinent Cycles Through Earth History. Geological Society, London, Special Publications. Vol. 424. pp. 265–288. S2CID 140610523. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
- Müller, R. D.; Seton, M. (2015). "Paleophysiography of Ocean Basins". In Harff, J.; Meschede, M.; Petersen, S.; et al. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Marine Geosciences. Springer. pp. 1–15. ISBN 978-94-007-6237-4. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
- Muttoni, G.; Gaetani, M.; Kent, D. V.; Sciunnach, D.; Angiolini, L.; Berra, F.; Garzanti, E.; Mattei, M.; Zanchi, A. (2009). "Opening of the Neo-Tethys Ocean and the Pangea B to Pangea A transformation during the Permian" (PDF). GeoArabia. 14 (4): 17–48. S2CID 53416016. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
- Stampfli, G. M.; von Raumer, J. F.; Borel, G. D. (2002). "Paleozoic evolution of pre-Variscan terranes: From Gondwana to the Variscan collision" (PDF). In Catalán, M.; Hatcher, R. D. Jr.; Arenas, R.; et al. (eds.). Variscan-Appalachian dynamics: The building of the late Paleozoic basement (PDF). Boulder, Colorado: Geological Society of America Special Paper 364. pp. 263–280. ISBN 9780813723648. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- Zhai, Q. G.; doi:10.1130/B31296.1.
External links
- Late Carboniferous Map - at PaleoMap Project; a good picture of Paleo-Tethys Ocean before the Cimmerian Platemoves northward.
- Paleo-Tethys and Proto-Tethys - at global history
- Video from Christopher R. Scotese: Paleotethys - Indian subkontinent