Before Pangea: The Supercontinents

Long ago, the Earth's seven continents were assembled in a giant, sprawling supercontinent known as Pangea. You may've heard of it, but what is often less talked about is what came before Pangea. Our planet's current continental chunks have been smashing together and separating for over four billion years, and there have been more than a few "supercontinents" during that time. Those lost lands take the stage in this video, as we wind the clock back to the age of the supercontinents before Pangea.

This one has been in the pipeline for many months. It is slightly different to the usual astronomy content but I hope you will all enjoy it just the same.

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Content Disclaimer:
All the content in this video was researched, written, narrated and put together by me (Sam). I do not use AI for any part of my creative process, and my voice is my personal property and not authorised to be replicated anywhere else. I do sometimes use AI-generated stock footage, but this is infrequent, sometimes unintentional, and usually when I can’t use anything else. Thank you for understanding.

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BACKGROUND MUSIC: (In order of appearance)

- Meanwhile | Scott Buckley: https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/library/meanwhile/
- Ambient Cave | Storyblocks
- Everyone Parts with Everything Eventually | CO.AG Music: https://youtu.be/obyY4n352to?si=eY6KSlBPlWEXcRH8
- Dream a Silent Journey | Storyblocks
- Ambient Strings and Solo Cello for Meditation | Storyblocks
- Lost in Place | Storyblocks
- Time Drift | CO.AG Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tQiFbOhHBY&t
- The Disappearance | CO.AG Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLjXuckODT8
- Lost at Sea | Storyblocks
- Ascension | Storyblocks

CO.AG Music's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@co.agmusic

Scott Buckley’s track can be found on his website – released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au

FOOTAGE:
The space scenes in this video were captured using SpaceEngine Pro, a virtual universe simulator:
http://spaceengine.org/
Get SpaceEngine on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/314650/SpaceEngine/

Tectonic Observatory Subduction Animation: https://youtu.be/loFxYSHxTf0?si=GX8YkTZq7HR0gSLM

Gondwana Rupturing Video: Scotese, C.R., & van der Pluijm, B., 2020. Deconstructing Tectonics: Ten Animated Explorations, "Continental Breakup, Ocean Ridges, and Fracture Zones", Earth and Space Science, 7, e2019EA000989. https://doi. org/10.1029/2019EA000989

Pangaea Proxima Video: Scotese, C.R., 2013. Future Plate Tectonics and Pangea Proxima, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRVkB2daFjM

Numerous sequences and high-resolution images were provided by NASA to the public domain
https://www.nasa.gov

Multiple graphic sequences were provided by Storyblocks, a stock media site: https://www.storyblocks.com

Some scenes were downloaded from Vecteezy, for which a Pro Licence Holder is held: https://www.vecteezy.com/members/sea-media-stock

SOURCES OF INFORMATION:

Prof. John Rogers Research Profile: https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/John-J-W-Rogers-73575721

Supercontinents, Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/science/supercontinent

Rogers J.J.W. (1996) "A History of Continents in the past Three Billion Years"
https://www.jstor.org/stable/30068065

Cheney, E.S. (1996) "Sequence Stratigraphy and Plate Tectonic Significance of the Transvaal Succession of Southern Africa and its Equivalent in Western Australia"
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0301926895000852

"The Possible Supercontinent Kenorland": https://www.thearmchairexplorer.com/geology/kenorland.php

Rogers J.J.W, Santosh M (2002) "Configuration of Columbia, a Mesoproterozoic Supercontinent" https://web.archive.org/web/20150203145852/http://szczepan.ct8.pl/teksty/seminar/3.pdf

Williams, N.M.W. (2013) "The Boring Billion? Lid Tectonics, Continental Growth and Environmental Change Associated with the Supercontinent Columbia"
https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/504020/1/1-s2.0-S1674987113000807-main.pdf

Rodinia Profile, Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/place/Rodinia

Rodinia Mineral Underdensities Discovery: https://carnegiescience.edu/news/one-supercontinents-different-others-its-rodinia

Pangaea Background, Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/place/Pangea

Future Supercontinents: https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidbressan/2021/01/25/study-shows-what-earths-future-supercontinent-will-look-like/

CHAPTERS:
0:00 The Supercontinent Cycle
2:53 Plate Tectonics & Forming Land
5:57 Cratons
8:35 Vaalbara
10:48 Ur
14:03 Kenorland
17:52 Arctica / Atlantica / Nena
20:46 Columbia (a.k.a. "Nuna")
23:35 Rodinia
29:05 Gondwana / Laurasia
31:22 Pangea
34:13 Pangea Proxima?

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