The Neoproterozoic Era is known for rapid continental scale movements manifested by at least two major supercontinent assemblies: Rodinia and Gondwana. It is believed that the early-middle Proterozoic continental fragments grew to form Rodinia by a series of collisions at ~1000 Ma and broke up in stages from 1000 to 520 Ma. Before Rodinia had completely broken up, some of its segments had already begun to form Gondwana, which assembled completely by ~500 Ma.
The Neoproterozoic Era sandwiched between the Grenvillian and Pan-African orogenic activities, experienced dramatic changes in the global environment and the development and fragmentation of supercontinents. Significant crustal readjustments from Rodinia to Gondwana during the Neoproterozioc era (1000-542 Ma) have been reported. This interval of rapid plate configuration changes is often considered an important factor for the preceding biological changes. Therefore, it’s crucial to understand the paleogeographic distribution of cratons during the Neoproterozoic Era to understand the dawn of complex life. Despite significant developments, a major gap in our understanding exists between the breakup of Rodinia and the assembly of Gondwana.
This session invites Earth scientists to explore and investigate the 1100-500 million years ago interval to illuminate the intricate dynamics of this transformative era.