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The role of mantle plumes in continental breakup: case histories from Gondwanaland

Nature volume 377, pages 301–308 (1995)Cite this article

Abstract

After thirty years of plate-tectonic theory, the reasons why supercontinents disintegrate and disperse to form smaller continental plates remain enigmatic. Possible causes range from abnormally hot mantle upwellings, or plumes, to changes in plate-boundary driving forces. The breakup of the Gondwanaland super-continent, which started about 180 million years ago, provides an excellent case history against which to test models.

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  1. British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 OET, UK

    Bryan C. Storey

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Storey, B. The role of mantle plumes in continental breakup: case histories from Gondwanaland. Nature 377, 301–308 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/377301a0

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