Ancient Supercontinents and the Paleogeography of Earth

by Lauri J. J Pesonen (Editor), Johanna Salminen (Editor), Sten-Ake Elming (Editor), David A.D. A.D. Evans (Editor), Toni Veikkolainen (Editor)

Overview

Ancient Supercontinents and the Paleogeography of Earth offers a systematic examination of Precambrian cratons and supercontinents. Through detailed maps of drift histories and paleogeography of each continent, this book examines topics related to Earth's tectonic evolution prior to Pangea, including plate kinematics, orogenic development, and paleoenvironments. Additionally, this book discusses the methodologies used, principally paleomagnetism and tectonostratigraphy, and addresses geophysical topics of mantle dynamics and geodynamo evolution over billions of years. Structured clearly with consistent coverage for Precambrian cratons, this book combines state-of-the-art paleomagnetic and geochronologic data to reconstruct the paleogeography of the Earth in the context of major climatic events such as global glaciations. It is an ideal, up-to-date reference for geoscientists and geographers looking for answers to questions surrounding the tectonic evolution of Earth. - Provides robust paleogeographies of Precambrian cratons based on high-quality paleomagnetic and geochronologic data and critically tested by global geological datasets - Includes links to updated databases for the Precambrian such as PALEOMAGIA and the Global Paleomagnetic Database (GPMDB) - Presents full-color maps of the drift histories of each continent as well as their paleogeographies - Discusses key questions regarding continental drift, the supercontinent cycle, and the geomagnetic dipole hypothesis and analyzes palaeography in the context of Earth's holistic evolution

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780128185346
Publisher:	Elsevier Science
Publication date:	10/06/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	662
File size:	89 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Lauri J. Pesonen is an Emeritus Professor of solid earth geophysics at Physics Departmentof University of Helsinki. He is a graduate at the Helsinki University of Technology andobtained PhD in 1978 at the University of Toronto. He is a member of the Finnish Academyof Science and Letters and has been the president of the Geophysical Society of Finland,and the Chair of Divison III (Paleomagnetism) of IUGG/IAGA during 1993_x0001_97. The IUA AU:1nominated the asteroid 1979A as “Pesonen” according to his activities in studies of super_x0002_continents and meteorite impacts. He received the Knight Medal of the First Class FinnishLion in 1995. Lauri is author or coauthor of over 150 peer-reviewed articles. He initiated theNordic Paleomagnetism Workshops and was a key-person in the developments of thePrecambrian (PALEOMAGIA) and Holocene (GEOMAGIA) paleomagnetic databases. Lauriorganized the International Supercontinent Symposium in 2012 in Helsinki. He has had academic (teaching andresearch) positions in Canada, Estonia, Norway, Germany, India, and Colombia. His research topics spread fromsupercontinents to the Earth’s ancient magnetic field, impact structures, meteorite petrophysics, archeomagnet_x0002_ism, environmental magnetism, and biomagnetism. He has built three paleomagnetism laboratories, the first oneat the Geological Survey of Finland, the second at the University of Helsinki, the third in Tarto University,Estonia. His latest interests include constructions of exhibitions of meteorites and impactites at several Finnishmuseums.
Johanna M. Salminen is a Docent at the University of Helsinki and has been leading theresearch of its Solid Earth Geophysics Laboratory during 2014_x0001_21. Since August 2021, shehas been the Director of the Geophysical Laboratory of the Geological Survey of Finland.She earned an MSc in Geophysics (2004) and a PhD in Solid Earth Geophysics (2009)from the University of Helsinki. Her research interests lie in continental reconstructions,Precambrian supercontinents, deep-time evolution of the Earth, Cenozoic magnetostrati_x0002_graphy, environmental magnetism, and biomagnetism. Her professional recognitionsinclude Academy of Finland Research Fellowship (2015_x0001_20) and Early Career ScientistAward by the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IAGA) (2015). She is acoleader of the Deep Time Digital Earth paleomagnetism working group
Sten-Åke Elming is Prof. Emeritus in Geophysics, , Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Luleå University of Technology. He is a graduate of Uppsala University and obtained a PhD in Geophysics at Luleå University of Technology (1982). Sten-Åke is an elected member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (2006) and was a member of the Academy jury for the Craaford prize in geosciences, 2014. He has been in the committee and steering group for geosciences of the Swedish Natural Science Research Council. He has been building research capacity and departments in Geophysics/geosciences at universities in developing countries, including Nicaragua, Thailand and Mozambique. Sten-Åke is the author and co-author of more than 100 peer-reviewed articles on topics that include basic as well as applied research, with focus on paleomagnetism and plate tectonics, rock magnetism, regional geophysics, exploration of water and mineral resources. He established and supported the building of two paleomagnetic laboratories, one at Luleå University of Technology and another at Prince of Songkla University, Thailand.
David A.D. Evans is a professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Yale University and theDirector of its Paleomagnetism Laboratory. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Geology &Geophysics from Yale University (1992) and a PhD in Geology from the California Instituteof Technology (1998). He is author of more than 100 peer-reviewed publications on paleo_x0002_magnetism and evolution of Earth’s geodynamo, Precambrian supercontinent reconstruc_x0002_tions, and deep-time paleoclimatology and evolution. His professional accolades include aPackard Fellowship in Science and Engineering, Blavatnik Award Finalist, and the GeorgeP. Woollard Award of the Geological Society of America “for outstanding contributions togeology through the application of the principles and techniques of geophysics.” He hasled two UNESCO International Geoscience Program (IGCP) projects on Precambrian super_x0002_continents. Since 2016, he has served as Head of Berkeley College, a residential college atYale University.
Toni Veikkolainen is a geophysicist at the Institute of Seismology, University of Helsinki.He completed his PhD degree in 2014. His thesis handled the geocentric axial dipole modelof the Precambrian geomagnetic field. He has been the first author or coauthor in 16 peer_x0002_reviewed publications on various aspects of geophysics, from supercontinent reconstruc_x0002_tions to theoretical aspects of paleomagnetic data, and seismic and thermal structure of theFennoscandian lithosphere. He has been the administrator of the global paleomagnetic data_x0002_base PALEOMAGIA since 2014. He has served as the secretary of the Geophysical Societyof Finland since 2013. He is an active member of the Finnish amateur astronomy commu_x0002_nity and has significantly contributed to the dissemination of scientific knowledge to thepublic. Currently, he works with the development of seismological analysis systems anddatabases and monitoring of seismic risk associated with commercial projects.

Table of Contents

1. Precambrian supercontinents and supercycles--an overview2. A mantle dynamics perspective on the drift of cratons and supercontinent formation in Earth´s history3. Precambrian geomagnetic field: An overview4. The Precambrian paleogeography of Laurentia5. The Precambrian drift history and paleogeography of Baltica6. The Precambrian drift history and paleogeography of Amazonia7. The Precambrian drift history and paleogeography of Rio de la Plata craton8. The Precambrian paleogeography of Siberia9. Whence Australia: Its Precambrian drift history and paleography10. The Precambrian drift history and paleogeography of India11. The Precambrian drift history and paleogeography of the Chinese cratons12. The Precambrian drift history and paleogeography of Kalahari Craton13. Constraints on the Precambrian paleogeography of West African Craton14. The Precambrian drift history and paleogeography of Congo-São Francisco craton15. Neoarchean-Paleoproterozoic supercycles16. Paleo-Mesoproterozoic Nuna supercycle17. Meso-Neoproterozoic Rodinia supercycle18. Phanerozoic paleogeography and Pangea19. An expanding list of reliable paleomagnetic poles for Precambrian tectonic reconstructions

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From the Publisher

A state-of-the-art resource for understanding the paleogeography of Earth in the context of supercontinent cycles