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Mitchell, R. N., Raub, T. D., Silva, S. C. & Kirschvink, J. L. Was the Cambrian explosion both an effect and an artifact of true polar wander? Am. J. Sci. 315, 945–957 (2015).
Liu, C., Knoll, A. H. & Hazen, R. M. Geochemical and mineralogical evidence that Rodinian assembly was unique. Nat. Commun. 8, 1950 (2017). The modern-day conflict between Israel and Palestine emerged from the British Mandate for Palestine, which administered the former Ottoman Empire territory after World War I. But even after 75 years—and declarations of independence from each side—universal recognition eludes them.
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Torsvik, T. H. et al. Phanerozoic polar wander, palaeogeography and dynamics. Earth-Sci. Rev. 114, 325–368 (2012). Li, Z. X. et al. Geochronology of Neoproterozoic syn-rift magmatism in the Yangtze Craton, South China and correlations with other continents: evidence for a mantle superplume that broke up Rodinia. Precambrian Res. 122, 85–109 (2003). In the midst of the First Intifada, a five-year-long Palestinian uprising that began in 1987, the Palestine Liberation Organization proclaimed the new state in the city of Algiers on November 15, 1988. Cawood, P. A. et al. Deconstructing South China and consequences for reconstructing Nuna and Rodinia. Earth Sci. Rev. 204, 103169 (2020).
But it wasn't straightforward. "What we were nervous about is it's an incredibly blue-sky topic. It's not in the same kind of vein as a regular scientific paper," says Davies. "We wanted to say, 'Okay, we understand this much about plate tectonics after 40 years or 50 years. And we understand this much about mantle dynamics, and all of the other components of the system. How far can we take that knowledge into the future?'"
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Gardiner, N. J., Kirkland, C. L. & van Kranendonk, M. The juvenile hafnium isotope signal as a record of supercontinent cycles. Sci. Rep. 6, 38503 (2016). The movement of mainlands on the planet Earth in different periods from 225 million years ago to present due to continental drift. (Image credit: Tinkivinki via Getty Images)
Nance, R. D., Murphy, J. B. & Santosh, M. The supercontinent cycle: A retrospective essay. Gondwana Res. 25, 4–29 (2014). Gurnis, M. Large-scale mantle convection and the aggregation and dispersal of supercontinents. Nature 332, 695–699 (1988). U.S. President Truman granted de-facto recognition 11 minutes after the Israeli declaration. Not to be outdone by their Cold War adversary, the U.S.S.R. followed suit three days later with de-jure recognition and was joined by Warsaw Pact allies Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Poland. Condie, K. C. The supercontinent cycle: Are there two patterns of cyclicity? J. Afr. Earth Sci. 35, 179–183 (2002). However, Pangaea wasn't the megalithe most people think it is. "Pangea never included all the continents at any one time," according to the chapter. For instance, "the Paleotethys Ocean to the east of Pangea remained wide throughout the Carboniferous [359 million to 299 million years ago] and presented something of a barrier between the supercontinent and a number of large, independent Asian terranes, including Tarim, North China, South China, and Annamia."
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Worsley, T. R., Nance, R. D. & Moody, J. B. Global tectonics and eustasy for the past 2 billion years. Mar. Geol. 58, 373–400 (1984). Wang, C., Mitchell, R. N., Murphy, J. B., Peng, P. & Spencer, C. J. The role of megacontinents in the supercontinent cycle. Geology https://doi.org/10.1130/G47988.1 (2020). Establishes a megacontinent (for example, Gondwana) as an important geodynamic precursor to the later assembly of a supercontinent (for example, Pangaea). Worsley, T. R., Nance, R. D. & Moody, J. B. Tectonic cycles and the history of the Earth’s biogeochemical and paleoceanographic record. Paleoceanography 1, 233–263 (1986). Ebinger, C. J. & Sleep, N. H. Cenozoic magmatism throughout east Africa resulting from impact of a single plume. Nature 395, 788–791 (1998).