The Pangea problem A recent study describes the problem plate
tectonics theory has with itself in assembling the
supercontinent Pangea. Here are excerpts. existence of Pangea is
one of the cornerstones of geology, the mechanisms responsible
for its amalgamation are poorly understood." of Pangea is
primarly recorded in the origin and evolution of the Paleozoic
oceans (Iapetus, Rheic, Prototethys) between Laurentia
(ancestral North America), Baltica (northwestern Europe), and
northern Gondwana (South America-West Africa)." These oceans had
to close for the various parts to come together to make Pangea.
"There is a broad consensus that sinking of cold lithosphere
(slab pull) provides 90% of the force needed to drive plate
tectonics and is indirectly responsible for upwelling beneath
mid-ocean ridges." "However, if these geodynamic arguments are
applied to the early Paleozoic, they fail to predict the
formation of Pangea in the correct configuration." Subduction in
the "By the early Paleozoic, Laurentia, Baltica,