Mantle

Earth's mantle may have been cooler than thought before Pangea's breakup

• When the supercontinent Pangea began to fragment around 200 million years ago during the Early Jurassic, it reshaped the face of the planet. • Vast new oceans opened, continents

Earth's mantle may have been cooler than thought before Pangea's breakup

• When the supercontinent Pangea began to fragment around 200 million years ago during the Early Jurassic, it reshaped the face of the planet. • Vast new oceans opened, continents

Mantle plume vs. plate tectonics: Basalt cores reshape the North Atlantic breakup debate

• About 56 million years ago, Europe and North America began pulling apart to form what became the ever-expanding North Atlantic Ocean. • Vast amounts of molten rock from Earth’s m