Some problems in current concepts of continental drift

Tecfonoph~vsjcs

Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam - Printed in The Nederlands

SOME PROWLERS IN CURRENT CONCEPTS OF CONTINENTAL

DRIFT

A.A. MEYERHOFF and JAMES L. HARDING The American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Tulsa, Okla. (U.S.A.) Oceanonics, Inc., Houston, Texas (U.S.A.j

(Received August 27, 1971)

ABSTRACT Meyerhoff, A.A. and Harding, J.L., 1971. Some problems in current concepts of continental drift. Tectonophysics, 12: 235-260. Evaporites (gypsum, anhydrite, halite, etc.) of all ages, Proterozoic to the present, have been plotted on world maps. Without exception, 95-100% of the evaporites of each age, by volume and area, occupy areas which today are the earth’s dry wind belts. This implies that the wind-circulation patterns of the tower astmosphere have not changed for 1,000 million years. This cannot be true unless the present position of the earth’s rotational pole, ocean basins, and continents have also remained essentially unchanged since Middle Proterozoic time. Additional evidence corroborates this conclusion. (1) The present horse-latitude (desert) belts of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, as shown by the stratigraphic record, have occupied the same approximate positions during the same length of time. The widths of the two horse-latitude belts have fluctuated, but the mean positions have been constant. This suggests great latitudinal stability through time. (2) The evaporite zones of the earth since Middle Proterozoic or earlier time have been ~mmetric~ about the present equator and, therefore, symmetrical with respect to the present rotational axis. (3) Since Late Silurian time, two coal zones, one north of the evaporite zone and the other south of it, have maintained a similar symmetry. (4) In any reconstruction of Gondwanaland, Laurasia, or Pangaea, tillite deposits (e.g., Late Ordovician and Permo-Carboniferous tillites) are in the centers of the supercontinents. This is a physical impossibility because the centra1 parts of the supercontinents are 3,000-4,000 km from the nearest ocean moisture source. Glaciers require abundant moisture (1,000 mm plus per year) for initiation and growth. In all current Laurasia-Gondwanaland reconstructions, not even one-tenth of this amount of moisture could have reached the supercontinents’ interiors. (5) The same argument applies to the extensive coal deposits of interior Gondwanaland and Laurasia, except that 1,500-2,000 mm of annual rainfall is required. (6) An argument repeatedly raised in favor of drift is that large trees could not have grown in polar regions. Plots of coal deposits on widely accepted Gondwanaland-Laurasia reconstructions show that dense forests of Permian and Carboniferous ages grew at the Permo-C~boniferous pole, and that thick evaporite deposits (up to 2,000 m thick) were deposited within 15” of the Permian pole (as determined from paleomagnetic studies). We conclude that continental drift (by many mechanism) and polar wandering should be subjected to large-scale reevaluation. Our studies show that, since Middle Proterozoic time, the “new global tectonics” are not applicable and that they introduce major, unexplained inconsistencies into geology and geophysics. Teetorzop~ysics,

12 (1971) 235-260

A.A. MEYERHOFF AND J.L. HARDING

236 INTRODUCTION

The “new global tectonics” have been characterized as a simple unifying concept in geology, a concept which readily reconciles and relates, in an orderly way, a maze of previously unrelated geological data. The truth seems to be the very reverse. The new global tectonics are a complex concept which apparently disrupts thousands of previously related and easily explained facts. The “new global tectonics” consist of two old concepts: that of polar wandering, which was worked out mathematically by Laplace in 1825; and that of continental drift, proposed by Von Humboldt in 1801. Continental drift by sea-floor spreading was published by Arthur Holmes in 193 1. PALEOMAGNETIC POLE DETERMINATIONS

The modern basis for polar wandering is paleoma~etism which supposedly tells us where the earth’s magnetic poles-and by inference, the rotational poles-were in the past. Rezanov (1968) showed that a plot of paleomagnetic pole positions for each period and epoch of geologic time (positions determined from single continents and even from single localities) has an immense geographical spread, around which an ellipse may be drawn. In

0

RELIABLE

D

UNRELIABLE

ASIAN USSR

+_

ASIA

X

A GREENLAND

SCATTER ELLIPSE (MIN.

DIAMETER

= 6,500

tt M;

MAXzl4,OOO

KM)

PERMIAN (FROM WELLS 1967;

IRVING, 1964; AND VERHOOGEN, REZANOV, 1968)

Fig. 1. Permian paleomagnetic pole positions plotted for northern continents. Poles which do not meet Irving’s (1964) minimum criteria of reliability also are shown. McElhirmy’s (1968) data have been added to those of Irving, Wells and Verhoogen, and Rezanov. (Published with permission of The University of Chicago Press and the Journal of Geology, 1970, 78 (l), p.11.)

237

PROBLEMS IN CURRENT CONCEPTS OF CONTINENTAL DRIFT

every case, for every age, the short diameter of the ellipse is wider than the Atlantic Ocean (Meyerhoff, 1970a). Fig. 1 shows this for the Permian; Fig. 2 shows the same phenomenon for the Pliocene-Holocene; and Fig.3 shows the “movements” of a single locality from Proterozoic through Triassic time. The spread of polar positions shown in Fig. I and 2 is wider than the Atlantic, which simply means that the paleomagnetic method cannot be used to derive unique polar wandering paths and - more important - should not be used to demonstrate drifting of the Americas away from Europe and Africa. Paleomagnetically determined poles have inspired some magneticists to construct lines of paleolatitude. The assertion is made repeatedly (e.g., Irving, 1964) that paleolatitude determinations from paleomagnetic data correspond remarkably well with paleoclimate indicators. Meyerhoff (1970a) showed that such statements are incorrect. Some of the figures from Meyerhoff s article are repeated in subsequent pages to demonstrate the error of this assertion.

l =

WESTERN EUROPE

0 = ASIAN

USSR

X =

ASIA

’ =

NORTH AMERICA

+I =

HAWAII

I

ICELAND

=

L =

GALAPAGOS

a=

PRESENT MAGNETIC

0 DIAME

TER=6,000

GEOPOLE

KM

THAN GREA i%4 WIDTH Of ATLANTK * OCEAN

Fig. 2. Pliocene-Holocene paleomagnetic pole positions (reliable positions only) plotted for northern continents. Many poles are not shown because of overlap. Actual spread is now known to be greater than the 6,000 km shown. (Published with permission of The University of Chicago Press and the Journal of Geology, 1970, 78 (I), p.12.

Tectonophysics,

12 (1971) 235-260

238

A.A. MEYERHOFF AND J.L. HARDING

X = PROTERO 0:

CAM~R.

l = ORD.

cl= SIL. l = DEV.

A= CAR& ..’

PERM.

V= TRIAS.

SCATTER ELLIPSE: PROTEROZOIC THROUGH TRIASSIC COLLECTED AT ONE LOCAUTY (REZANOV. 1968) (MIN. DIAM; MAX.=l2,000

9.000Kb.4 KM)

Fig. 3. Paleomagnetic pole positions plotted from Proterozoic through Triassic from a single locality on a shield. From Rezanov (1968), but based largely on Irving’s tables (Irving, 1964, pp. 296-315). This is not an isolated case or exception. (Published with permission of The University of Chicago and the Journal o~.~~ol~~, 1970,78 (11, p.13.)

BASES OF THE “NEW GLOBAL TECTONICS’

The principal bases of the “new global tectonics” are: (1) linear magnetic anomalies on the ocean floors; (2) the Bullard et al. (1965) computer fit of four of the continents; (3) the results of the JOIDES (‘Glomar Challenger’) drill holes; and (4) the alleged similarity between the Paleozoic and Mesozoic faunas and floras of the Laurasian and Gondwana continents. These four sets of observations have created a bandwagon which appears to have no real parallel in the history of earth science. Scientific papers challenging the new global tectonics are almost unheard of outside of Russia. Even in Russia, we now see the bandwagon acquiring a train of riders. This prompts a question: in an age and society where dissent seems to be the rule rather than the exception, why is there so little dissent among earth scientists? It seems strange to us that earth scientists - famous for their great debates and arguments, and acclaimed for their questioning spirits - fall silent before an onslaught of publications which appear to espouse a single working hypothesis for all geology and geophysics. What is even more ~cong~ous is the fact that many of these papers contradict one another, yet no one seems to notice this, to judge from the almost total absence of published discussions of these papers.

PROBLEMSINCURRENTCONCEPTSOFCONTINENTALDRIFT

239

From the preceding statements, it is clear that we dissent from the majority position. We dissent for a very good reason. Our studies show that 9S percent of all evaporite deposits -- a dry climate indicator - from the Proterozoic to the present, are in areas which today underlie the dry ~}ind belts of the earth ‘slower ut~zosphere areas with fess ihan 1,&X? mm of rainfhli. Those areas having more than 1,000 mm of rainfall have 5% or less of all evaporite deposits, Proterozoic to the present. This cannot be explained by assuming that the evaporites in the areas having more than 1,000 mm of rainfall were dissolved by rain water, because almost all control for the evaporites is from the subsurface. This coincidence of ancient evaporite deposits with today’s dry wind beits implies that the circulation pattern of the earth’s lower atmosphere has not changed since Middle Proterozoic time, one billion years ago. This is not physically possible urzless the positions of the earth’s rotational axis, ocean basins, and continents have been relatively unchanged since Middle Proterozoic time. The “new global tectonics” do not adequately account for this observation, and, for this reason, they must be reevaluated. Sea-floor spreading, if it ever took place, is a pre-Middle Proterozoic event. It is not our intent to discuss here each of the four bases of the “new global tectonics”; we deal with these bases in papers being published elsewhere. It is our intent, however, to show why the “new global tectonics” do not provide a satisfactory model for global tectonic problems. EVAPORITE-MAXIMUMANDGLACIAL-MAXIMUMPERIODS

Fig. 4 illustrates the inclination of the earth’s axis at the winter solstice (Northern Hemisphere), and demonstrates that the degree of axia1 tilt and intensity of solar radiation determine the range of seasonal changes and widths of climatic zones. A large number of earth scientists apparently believe that the widths of the earth’s climatic zones have remained fixed through time. If this were true, the absence in the stratigraphic record of tillites of all ages is difficult to explain, as are the repeated occurrences, from Proterozoic through Tertiary times (Kremp, 1964), of warm climate at very high latitudes, both in the Arctic and Antarctic. Fig. 5 provides evidence that worldwide climatic changes have taken place repeatedly. The right-hand deflections of the curve represent times when evaporite deposition took place across a wide range of latitude (up to 122”). These are evaporite-m~imum periods (Meyerhoff, 1970a), when evaporite deposition could take place at high latitude (Meyerhoff, 1970b) and only two climatic zones existed: a broad torrid zone centered on the earth’s meteorological equator (Trewartha, 1968) and two temperate zones in the present polar regions. The left-hand deflections of the curve represent times when evaporite deposition was minimal (across a latitudinal spread of only 40 - 60”). These are glacialmaximum periods (Meyerhoff, 1970a). During such periods, a torrid zone, two temperate zones (at middle latitudes), and two frigid zones (at polar latitudes) existed. Coal deposition was important in middle latitudes near the end of glacial-maximum periods, but before the onset of the succeeding evaporite-m~imum periods.

Tectonophysics,12(1971)235-260

A.A. MEYERHOFF AND J.L. HARDING

240 Inclination

OF

EARTH’S

AXIS

4

4 EQUATORIAL

RAYS

OF HORSE

ECLIPTIC

OF

LAT.

SUN

@dlNTER

SOLSTICE,

NORTHERN

HEMISPHERE

Fig. 4. Idealized wind-circulation zones on a globe with a homogeneous surface. Compiled from various sources. (Published with permission of The University of Chicago Press and the Journal of Geology, 1970, 78 (l), p. 19.)

i Fig. 5. Evaporite-maximum and minimum periods, late Riphean through Miocene. Revised from Meyerhoff (1970b). Time scale from Harland et al. (1964). (Published with permission of The University of Chicago Press and the Journal of Geology, 1970, 78 (4), p. 413.)

PROBLEMS

IN CURRENT

BASIC FACTS

CONCEPTS

OF METEOROLOGY

OF CONTINENTAL AND PHYSICAL

DRIFT

241

OCEANOGRAP~~Y

We shall review several facts to the understanding of the earth and its climatic belts. Fig. 6 shows the circulation patterns of the earth’s ocean and the relation of these patterns to rainfall distribution. The dry wind belts on the continents are the white, diagonally lined, and black areas. Fig. 6 also shows that the Southern Equatorial Current bifurcates off the eastern tip of Brazif, with a part of it eventually passing into the Gulf Stream-North Atlantic Drift system. During warmer climatic periods (when the Arctic ice cap was absent}, the climatic effects of this warm-water mass moving into the Arctic must have been substantial, for the Arctic surface waters invading the epicontinental seas would have been very warm during the summer months. In fact, evaporites could have precipitated at high northern latitudes (Meyerhoff, 1970b). This is exactly the case, as is shown later. Fig. 7 and 8 illustrate a major northward offset of the meteorological equator. Fig. 7 shows that the 26°C water temperature band is centered on the equator during the northern winter, whereas Fig. 8 shows a 10’ northward offset during the northern summer. If the rotational axis, ocean basins, and continents have not changed positions since Middle Proterozoic time, the effects of this northern zonal offset should be evident in the geological record. The following evidence should be present in the stratigraphic record.

yz-_

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120

j SEMIARID

60 4

oOhs,,

#.60

0

;*H

fl

180

COOL

00

CURRENT

Fig. 6. World map of modem deserts, and belts, and cold- and warm-water ocean currents. The black areas lie in the world’s two horse-latitude (desert) belts. Areas shown in white, diagonal lines, and black receive less than 1,000 mm of rainfall annually. (Published with permission of The University of Chicago Press and the Journnl of Geologir, 1970, 78 (1) p. 20.)

Il*ectoflophySiCS,

12 (1971)

235-260

A.A. MEYERHOFF AND J.L. HARDING

POSITIVE AN0MALlC.S

I22

THERMAL

~~~~~~~~T

A;k”,,

3

>X’C

-

F.a

Fig. 7. Positive thermnl anomalies and surface-water temperature, norrhcfn winter (February). Note that 26°C band (dotted) is centered approximately on equator. This centering retlects large temperature gradients in Northern Hemisphere and northward offset of meteorological equator. From Meyerhoff (1970a).(Published with permission of The University of Chicago Press and the Jofcmad o,! &oiom*, 1970,78 ~1kp.21.)

El

PUSlTlVE ANOMALlES

TWERMAL f.23

NORl-HERN ARK) DE3E RT AREAS

AND

q

Fig. 8. Positive thermal anomaIier and surface-water temperatures, northern summer (August). Note that 26°C band (dotted) is north of equator except in Australian region. This illustration shows northward offset of world’s meteorological equator. From Meyerhoff I197OaL (Published wjth permission of The University of Chicago Press and the&mm& of Gmlog?*, 1970, 78 ( I), p_22.1

PROBLEMS

IN CURRENT

CONCEPfS

OF CONTINENTAL

DRIFT

243

(I) There should be a northerr~ offset of evaporites to very high northern latitudes in the North Atlantic basin. (2) Evaporite deposits should be in the same areas where, today, water evaporation exceeds water input. (3) Belts of desert and dry continental deposits associated with the horse latitudes of the past should be in the same positions as the present horse-latitude belts. (4) The coal and evaporite zones of the past should be symmetrical about the present rotational *axis. The subsequent figures show that these four conditions are, in fact, mirrored in the stratigraphic record. EVAPORITE

AND COAL ZONES

OF THE PAST

Fig. 9 shows the distribution of Proterozoic and Cambrian evaporite deposits. It should be noted that all evaporites occur only in areas which today receive less than 1,000 mm of rainfall. This period of time represents one of the evaporite-maximum periods (Fig. 5). Fig. 10 shows the relationship of Proterozoic and Cambrian evaporites to submarine sills in the North Atlantic-Arctic region. The Lomonosov ridge labelled “LO”, is a Proterozoic-Early Ordovician erogenic belt and ridge. It extends on the Eurasian side into the

PRECAMBRIAN

AND

CAMBRIAN

Fig. 9. Late Proterozoic and Cambrian evaporite distribution. Compiled from 43 sources. Black = evaporites; horizontal lines = areas currently having more than 1,000 mm of annual rainfall; solid arrows = warm ocean currents; open arrows = cold ocean currents. (Published with permission of The University of Chicago Press and the Journal of Geology, 1970, 78 (1) p. 24.)

Tectonop~ys~cs,

12 (~9?~)

235-260

A.A.MEYERWOFF ANDJ.L.HARDING

244

-1-

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ALEUTIAN

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BROOKS

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OROGENIC

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BELT

FJ 0

FRANZ

0 S

~~~~~~~~~SYNCLi~~-

SfLL

-

.-

COMBINED SILL AND ~______

LT 0

LENA

@

~~~~REE~LAND

SUBMARINE OROGEN

FRO”GH

RANGE @

JAPAN

(5J “UPPER DEVONIAN UPLIFT” OF DE WIT (1964) RICHARDSON BASIN

ARC

@

(=LOMONOSOV DEV. UPiIFT”

SILL:‘UPPER , BROOKS

@

TAIMYR

@

URAL

@

OROGEN OROGEN

WESTty.N

rrlan,

--

Fig. 10. LateProterozoic and Cambrian evaporite deposits of Northern Hemisphere. Compiled from 35 sources. (Published with permission of The University of Chicago Press and the Journal of Geology, 1970, 78 (41, p.424.)

Chukotskiy range, labefled “CL-I”, and on the Canadian side, into the “Upper De~cmian’~ or Prince Patrick uphft, labelled “P’. Fig. 11 shows the distribution of Devonian evaporites and coals. Coal deposits are few, and are mainly Early Devonian. The evaporite deposits are many, and most are Middle and Late Devonian. The Devonian evaporites were deposited during an evaporitemaximum period (Fig. S), and more widespread than those of the Proterozoic and Cambrian, but have about the same distribution. Fig. 12 shows that all hip-latitude evaporites are south of and on the North Atlantic side of the Lomonosov ridge and its shoreward extensions (Meyerhoff, 1970b). Fig. 13 shows Permian coals and evaporites. The coals generally are in two belts nortiz and south of the main body of evaporites. Almost all evaporites are in lower latitudes

PROBLEMS IN CURRENT CONCEPTS OF CONTINENTAL DRIFT

DEVONlAN

245

--

Fig. 11. Devonian evaporite, coal, and tillite distribution. Evaporites are mainly Middle and Late Devonian, although Early Devonian evaporites are present in lower latitudes. Coal is mainly Early Devonian south of 60”N. Compiled from 78 sources. Black = evaporites; black crosses = coal; black triangles = tillite; horizontal lines = areas currently having more than 1,000 mm of annual rainfall; solid arrows = warm ocean currents; open arrows = cold ocean currents. The two lines separate coaltillite from evaporite zones. (Published with permission of The University of Chicago Press and the Journal of Geology, 1970,78 (i), p. 26.)

than the coals, which shows that coal is formed in a cooler climate than evaporites. There is a northward deflection of evaporites in the North Atlantic. The reason for this deflection presumably was the flow of the warm Gulf Stream-North Atlantic Drift into the Arctic (Meyerhoff, 1970b). The fact also should be noted that all but a few of the coal deposits in the Northern Hemisphere are north of 30-40”N, and that the Southern Hemisphere coals extend to lo-20”s. This pronounced northward offset of the two coal belts and of the intermediate evaporite belt is similar to that of today’s northward offset of the meteorological equator (Fig. 8), su~esting that the offset has been prevalent since Early Paleozoic time. This, in turn, suggests stability, not mobility, of the continents and ocean basins. Fig. 14 shows Permian evaporite distribution in the North Atlantic-Arctic area. Evaporite deposits are scarce north of the Franz Josef sill, labelled “FJ” on the figure. After Devonian time, the Franz Josef sill was uplifted and, except at the Lena trough, labelled “LT’” just west of Spitsbergen, was exposed or near sea level through most of postDevonian time. Thus, a barrier was present to inhibit the passage of large quantities of warm saline water into the Eurasian basin of the Arctic Ocean after Devonian time. A passageway into the North Sea--Northwest German basin, as delineated by recent deep drilling in Norwegian waters, existed between present-day Scotland and Norway TeCtO~O~~YSjcs, 12 (1971) 235-260

246

A.A. MEYERWOFF AND J.L. HARDING

Fig_ 12. Devonian evaporites of Northern Hemisphere. Compiled from 53 sources. (Published with permission of The University of Chicago Press and theJournal ofGeolag~>, 1970, 78 (4), p. 425.)

(King, 1969). This is difficult to explain, unless the Norwegian Sea part of the North Atlantic was aheady, in Permian time, a basin with Mediterranean characteristics - that is, with siils at the northern and southern ends ~Worth~ngton, 1970). The northern sill is apparent; it is the Franz Josef sill. If a sill was present at the southern end, then it must have been located between Scotland and Greenland. It is noteworthy that such a sill does exist today between the Faerderne Islands and Greenland - the Faeroerne-Greenland ridge, which passes through Iceland. The evaporite distribution in the North Atlantic during Permian time, therefore, suggests very strongly that the Faer~erne-Greenland silf formed after Devonian time, and before the end of Permian time. If this interpretation is not correct, then those who advocate continental drift must find an abernate explanation for the distribution pattern of Permian evaporites in the North Atlantic area during Permian time, and particularly in the North Sea-Northwest German basin.

PERMtAN

mM-

Fig. 13. Permian evaporite, coal, and tillite distribution. Late Pennsylvanian and Permian reefs of southern Chile are shown. Tillites include some Late Pennsylvanian. Most evaporites are Middle and Late Permian, although Early to Middle Permian evaporites occur at lower latitudes. Coals generally are younger than tillites. Compiled from f 03 sources. Symbols same as for Fig. 11, except for reefs of southern Chite. (Published with permission of The University of Chicago Press and the Jolot~r~nlo.# Gedogv. 1970,78 (I), p, 27.)

PERMIAN

Fig. 14. Permian evaporites of Northern Hemisphere. Compiled from 5 1 sources. (Published with permission of The University of Chicago Press and the Journal of Geolop, 1970, 78 (4), p. 428.)

248

A.A. MEYERHOFF AND J.L. HARDING

Fig. 15. Triassic evaporite, coal, and eolian sandstone distribution. Compiled from 111 sources. Symbols same as for Fig. 11, except that eolian sandstone is represented by dotted pattern. (Published with permission of The University of Chicago Press and the Journal of Geology, 1970, 78 (11, p. 28.)

Fig. 15 shows evaporite distribution during Triassic time. This period of time was characterized by the most widespread and extensive evaporite deposition in the history of the earth. It is clear from the figure that evaporite deposition took place across much of the earth; the two coeval coal zones are very narrow and limited in area. This is a classic example of an “evaporite-m~imum period”. These patterns of coal and evaporite deposition shown on Fig. 9-15 appear on every map for every period of time, Proterozoic to the present (Meyerhoff, 1970a) - the coal zones at higher latitudes than the evaporite zones (for the full set of maps, see Meyerhoff, 1970a and b). The coal and evaporite zones are symmetrical about the earth’s present axis of rotation. This fact and the northward deflection of the coal and evaporite zones demonstrate the great stability of the continents and the ocean basins, as well as of the rotational pole, since Middle Proterozoic time. MISCONCEPTIONS WIDELY HELD BY EARTH SCIENTISTS

As supporting evidence, we shall review a few widely held misconceptions. The first misconception is that paleoclimate indicators are “ambi~ous”. We hope that Fig. 9-15 will have helped to dispel this misconception. The paleoclimate indicators used form a logical and orderly global pattern in the stratigraphic successions of the past. A second misconception has done a great deal of harm to geology and geophysics. Many geologists and geophysicists assume that the present widths of the earth’s climatic

PROBLEMS fN CURRENT

CONCEPTS OF CONTINENTAL

DRIFT

249

zones - frigid, temperate, and torrid - were the same in the past as today. Such an assumption makes it difficult to explain high-latitude evaporite deposition, high-latitude coal deposition, high-latitude reef formation, and low-latitude glaciation, particularly continental glaciation. However, climatic zones have nnt retained constant widths through geologic time, as shown by Fig. 5. A third misconception is that evaporite deposition cannot take place at high latitudes. Fig. 9 -- 15 show that, during evaporite-maximum periods - specifically, Late Proterozoic-Cambrian, Devonian, and Permo-Triassic - evaporite deposition did take place at high northern latitudes. Evaporite deposition did not take place at high ~~~~he~ latitudes because of (I) the presence of the Roaring Forties and its associated West Wind Drift, and (2) the northward offset of the meteorological equator. The southernmost known evaporites in the world are Jurassic and Triassic deposits at 40”s in Argentina. Misconception four is that coal deposits cannot form at high latitudes. Implicit in this misconception are the concepts that coal is a tropical to subtropical deposit, and that the present widths of climatic zones have characterized the past. Today, nearly 2 ft.-diameter trees grow as far north as 60”, and many 12- to 1&-inch-diameter trees grow to 73%. The fifth misconception is that high-latitude trees of past geologic ages do not have tree rings. This is not true; most fossil trees in present-day high-latitudes do have rings (Axelrod, 1963). Some earth scientists assume that tree rings are caused by alternate cold and hot seasons. This is only one reason for tree rings. Tree rings actually represent periods ofgrowth alternating with periods of non-growth. Alternate cold and warm seasons are but one cause of rings. One other is alternate periods of darkness and light; still another is alternate dry and rainy seasons. The absence of tree rings means only that the climate was moist and equable. Misconception six is that coal deposits are tropical. This is not strictly true, as the data presented on Fig. 13 and 15 demonstrate. The coal belts are at higher latitudes than the evaporite beds - and this relation is seen consistently back in geologic time (Meyerhoff, 1970a; Meyerhoff and Teichert, 1971a). It is true that coal can form under tropical conditions (Teichmtiller, 1962; Jux, 1968) but it probably is not common. Bacteria, “rot”, and termites will destroy a single mahogany tree in a year or less. Thus, for coal to form, there must be a cool, or even cold, season during each year, during which the wooddestroying bacteria are destroyed or their growth is inhibited. The origin of the many misconceptions about coal seems to have been the classic work of Potonie’( 1909) who insisted on the tropical origin of coal. The irony is that Potonie’s ideas were refuted by his fellow botanists in his own day. Another important point concerning coal deposition is that a large amount of rainfall is necessary. At least 1,500-2,000 mm of annual rainfall is needed for swamps to accumulate significant amounts of woody material (Shaler, 1 X88- 1889; White and Thiessen, 1913; Stutzer, 1923; Arnold, 1947; Kremp, 1964). Fig. 16 shows the distribution of Pennsylvanian coals. Coal is concentrated along the eastern parts of North and South America, which lie precisely within the areas which today receive more than 1,000 mm of annual rainfall. Similar, but not so pronounced developments of coal are seen in eastern Africa and Asia. The coal deposits of northwestern Europe seem to be an exception, but in reality are not as is discussed below. Tectonophysics, 12 (1971) 235-260

250

A.A. MEYERHOFF AND J.L. HARDING

Fig. 16. World distribution of Pennsylvanian coal: preliminary map.

Fig. 17. World distribution

of Permian coal: preliminary map.

PROBLEMS IN CURRENT CONCEPTS OF CONTINENTAL

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Fig. 17 shows coal deposits of the Permian. The development of Permian coal in eastern North and South America is not so pronounced because these areas were in the process of uplift. However, the eastern sides of India, Africa, Australia, and Asia show large developments of coal. No one has questioned the existence of the Pacific Ocean east of Asia and Australia during Permian time. The coals of eastern India, Africa, and the Americas show a distribution which is very much like that of eastern Asia and Australia. Therefore it is logical to assume that during the Paleozoic Era the Atlantic and Indian Oceans were in existence. The coal deposits of northwestern Europe (Fig. 16, 17) would seem to refute our arguments. However, the reverse is true; they strengthen them. This is true because the Gulf Stream, where it reaches the Grand Banks off Newfoundland, is deflected eastward across the Atlantic where, as the North Atlantic Drift, the surface waters move into the northernmost Atlantic and Arctic off northwestern Europe. Thus, the warm Gulf StreamNorth Atlantic Drift water and associated moisture-laden winds reach northwestern Europe, and logically explain the heavy concentration of coals in that region. Therefore, the distribution of coals in the eastern parts of the continents, and the presence of coals in northwestern Europe, are strong arguments for the existence of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans during post-Silurian time. Several persons have suggested to us that shallow, geosynclinal, or epeiric seaways in the positions of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans would solve the problem and provide the moisture. This cannot be true, as a study of the current-circulation patterns of the Atlantic demonstrates. We mentioned previously that much of the surface water of the North Atlantic comes from the splitting of the South Equatorial Current at the eastern tip of Brazil. How does this water return to the Southern Hemisphere? The surface waters are returned to the Southern Hemisphere as intermediate and abyssal currents. This circulation pattern maintains the water balance in the Atlantic (Von Arx, 1962). Such a circulation pattern would not be possible if one assumes that epeiric seas provided the moisture for the coal formation. Fig. 18 is a Gondwanaland reconstruction that includes Permian and Pennsylvanian evaporite and coal deposits. Major evaporite deposits are within 15” of the pole. Large coal fields are so far in the interior of Gondwanaland that an impossible situation is created from both climatological and meteorological standpoints. Most of Wegener’s (1912) fellow meteorologists repeatedly pointed out to him that his Gondwanaland reconstruction was not possible, because moisture could not reach the center of Gondwanaland to form glaciers and coal deposits (e.g., Salomon-Calvi, 1933; see also Rukhin, 1958). The interior of Gondwanaland is more than 3,00&4,000 km from its coast. The seventh misconception is that continental glaciation cannot take place at low latitudes. A corollary is that continental glaciation takes place only at high latitudes near the poles. Many misconceptions concerning glaciation revolve on the belief that glaciation is latitude-dependent. SO it is, but only to a degree. Fig. 5 shows a large number of glacialmaximum periods. During such periods, glaciation could extend across wide belts of latitude. For continental glaciation to take place, only three conditions are necessary (Brooks, 1949; Flint, 1957): (1) cool winters, with subfreezing conditions extending to a few hundred meters above sea level; (2) highlands to serve as ice-cap loci; and (3) an abundant moisture supply. Tectonophysics, 12 (1971) 235-260

A.A. MEYERHOFF AND J.L. HARDING

Fig. 18. Gondwanafand reconstruction for Pennsylvanian and Permian times. Coal and evaporite distributions are shown. Interior coals are 3,000-4,000 km from coast, too far for moisture to reach. Major evaporite deposits are within 15” of pole.

Hariand (1964, 1965) showed that, during the Proterozoic, two glaciations of worldwide extent took place. Even during the Pleistocene, areas ,uch as Northeast Borneo and New Guinea, less than 5” from the equator, were covered by large mountain ice caps whose associated tills reached to 2,000 meters above sea level, and whose tilloids, or outwash (easily confused with tillite after diagenesis), extend to sea level. One glaciation which receives much attention in the literature is that of the PermoCarboniferous. Most of the ice sheets of that time were in the Southern Hemisphere -and for an excellent reason. The greatest highlands on earth during Late Pennsylvanian and Early Permian times were in southern South America, Africa, parts of Australia, India, the central to northern Urals, and northeastern Siberia (Meyen, in preparation). In contrast, most of the Northern Hemisphere continental areas were lowlands with climateameliorating epi~ontinental seas. Fig. 19 shows the extent of the various Late Pennsyfvanian and Early Permian ice centers. Only three large ice sheets, with the possible exception of Antarctica, existed; 27 small mountain ice-cap centers were developed (Meyerhoff and Teichert, 1971a and b). The largest is less than 1,600 km across - less than a quarter of the area of the Pleisto-

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Fig. 19. Late Permian and Pennsylvanian ice centers. All but three centers were sites of mountain glaciation. Note that largest ice center is only 1,600 km across, less than a fifth the area of the Pleisto-

cene Keewatin ice sheet. Keewatin ice sheet. Thus it is not correct to say that large-scale continental glaciation took place during the Permo-Carboniferous in the Southern Hemisphere. Generally, the glaciation was on a small scale, and by far the greater part of it was mountain glaciation. Almost all of the present-day drainage patterns of eastern and western Australia, of central and southern Africa, of eastern India, and of parts of Argentina and Bolivia are exhumed Permo-Carboniferous glacial valleys. Some of the fossil valleys are more than 1,000 m deep. All are U-shaped and many have been found with hanging valleys (for descriptions of Permo-Carboniferous mountain-valley glaciation, see Du Toit, 1908; Boutakoff, 1940, 1948; Campana and Wilson, 1955; Traves et al., 1956; Hill and Denmead, 1960; Veevers and Wells, 1961; Banks, 1962; Harrington, 1962; Whetten. 1965; Lindsay, 1966; Condon, 1967; Brown et al., 1968; Martin, 1968; Veevers and Roberts, 1968; White, 1968; Bowen, 1969a,b; Douglas, 1969; Gosh and Mitra, 1969, in preparation; Ludbrook, 1969a,b; McElroy et al., 1969; Packham, 1969; Plumstead, 1969; Specer-Jones, 1969; Stratten,-l969; ~eyerhoff and Teichert, 1971a,b; Mathews, in preparation; Micholet et al., in preparation; Wopfner, in preparation). Africa, after Early Ordovician time, was uplifted as far north as the central Sahara, with large mountain ranges and high plateaus covering two-thirds of the continent. Africa remained uplifted through most of Phanerozoic time. Therefore, it should be no surprise to find that, during glacial-maximum periods, Africa was the site of repeated glaciations.

cene

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254

A.A. M~YERHOFF

and J.L. HARDING

Ordovician glaciations are known from North Africa (Beuf et al., 1968; Fairbridge, 1969), South Africa (Cocks et al., 1969; Teichert, in preparation), and southern South America (Harrington, 1962). The North African continental glaciers are only 100-200 km south of the latitude of the Pleistocene ice sheet which reached central Kansas (United States). Fig. 20 shows a Gondwanaiand reconstruction of the Permo-Carboniferous ice centers. The impossibility of meeting the moisture requirement for glaciation is readily apparent. In fact, if Gondwanaland had existed, its interior would have been a barren, acid, arctic-type desert, such as that which characterized much of Siberia and parts of North America during the Pleistocene. The glaciation of India has puzzled many geologists and geophysicists. Recent detailed work by Gosh and Mitra (1969, in preparation) has established that almost aii PermoCarboniferous glaciation in India was mountain glaciation. Moreover, India was the largest mountainous area of the Northern Hemisphere during Permo-Carboniferous time. It was the on@ mountainland between the northeastward-moving, warm, moist air currents of the Indian Ocean and the southward-mo~ng dry polar air of the Arctic. Therefore, India and the Salt Range area of northern Pakistan (Teichert, 1967) were the only

Fig. 20. ~~ndwanaland reconstruction for Late P~nnsyIvani~ and Permian ice centers. Interior ice caps are 3,000-4,000 km from coast, too far for moisture to reach.

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255

places where ice caps could form in most of Asia during Late Pennsylvanian and Early Permian times. Minor exceptions were small glacial centers in the central and polar Urals (A. Khabakov, written communication, June 1969) and northeastern Siberia (Meyen, in preparation). Additional evidence for the existence of the Atlantic, Indian, and Southern Oceans is provided by the drainage network of the Permo-Carboniferous glacial valleys, Fig. 21 shows the drainage pattern of the Congo Republic (Kinshasa) - the Permo-Carboniferous streams ran west; so do the present ones, and they occupy many of the same valleys. Fig. 22, from Southwest Africa, also shows a pronounced westward drainage pattern. In southern Australia, the valleys flowed south and west @owen, 1969b; Ludbrook, 1969a. i969b; Specer-Jones, 1969) and some may have been traced offshore with geophysical techniques to the present edge of the continental shelf (Conolly et al., 19’70). In western Australia, the valleys drained westward toward the Indian Ocean (Traves et al., 1956;

-

\

i &.3!J”UND;.?

u.-

ZAMBIA UATANGA \ m

LUKUGA

to”i I

SERIES

<=UWYKA

AND

ECCA) FROM AFTER

IiAUCHTON BOUTAKOFF,

(1963: 19481

Fig. 21 Permo-Carboniferous dendritic drainage patterns, Congo Republic (Kinshasa). Mountain glaciers occupied these valleys, some more than i ,000 m deep. Note that drainage is toward present Atlantic Ocean. ambushed with permission of O&r and Boyd, London and Edenburgh, and of Dr. S.H. Haugh~~~.~

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A.A. MEYERHOFF and J.L. HARDING

Fig. 22. Late PennsyIvanian or Early Permian glacial valley system along Atlantic coast of Sou~west Africa. Note that valleys drained toward present Atiantic. (Published with permission of GeoEogische Kundschnu and Dr. Il. Martin.)

Veevers and Wells, 1961; Condon, 1967). In New South Wales, on the eastern side of the continent, the valleys drained eastward (Bowen, 196933). In Bolivia and Argentina, the valley patterns converge eastward (Harrington, 1962; Lohmann, 1965; Frakes and Crowell, 1969; Rolleri and Baldis, 1969). A careful plotting of all glacial valleys shows that the present drainage divides of these continents are not greatly different from what t,hey were in the Late Pennsylvanian and Early Permian. If the ocean basins during Permo-Carboniferous time were not where they are today, the coincidence of PermoCarboniferous drainage divides and stream patterns is very remarkable and difficult to explain. It is not unreasonable to conclude that the Atlantic, Indian, and Southern Oceans were very much in existence during Permo-Carboniferous time. CONCLUSIONS

(I) The occurrence of 95 100% of all evaporites, Proterozoic to the present, in areas underlain by today’s dry wind belts shows that circulation patterns of the lower atmosphere have remained essentially unchanged, except in minor details, for billion years. This is a physical impossibility unless the rotational axis, the continents, and the ocean basins have remained essentially stable since Middle Proterozoic time. (2) Coal distribution shows that coat must have formed in the deep interior of Gondwanaland and Laurasia - a physical impossibjlity, because the requisite moisture could not have reached the interior areas from the surrounding oceans. Furthermore, the patterns of distribution of coals along the eastern margins of all continents and India are deflected towards the equator which shows that ocean-current patterns have been the same since Late Silurian time.

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(3) Tillite distribution leads to the same conclusion as for coals. Most PermoCarboniferous glaciation was in the form of mountain glaciation. Continental-type ice sheets were scarce and small. (4) Permo-Carboniferous drainage patterns of the southern continents were essentially the same as those of today, a fact which implies that the Permo-Carboniferous streams had the same base level as today’s streams (i.e., the Atlantic, Indian, Southern, and Pacific Oceans). The data given in this paper hopefully will encourage earth scientists to attack the problems of global tectonics from the viewpoints of many scientific disciplines. The current method of the single working hypothesis must be abandoned, and the “new global tectonics” carefully reviewed, in order to include it in the multiple working hypotheses so basic to geological science. All of us should recall the words of Mark Twain, that, “There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact.” Ironically, Mark Twain was writing specifically about geology. We have the feeling that he might have been describing the “new global tectonics”, had he written those words today. Perhaps his last statement should be changed to read, “One could get such wholesale returns in answers out of careful investments in facts.” ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are indebted to J. Tuzo Wilson for his invitation to present this paper; to William R. Bryant and Worth D. Nowlin, Jr. for their valuable criticisms and suggestions which have been incorporated in the text; to Mrs. Kathryn L. Meyerhoff for drafting the figures; and to Amy Lee Brown, Carol Thompson, and Ernestine Voyles for typing the manuscript. REFERENCES Arnold, CA., 1947. An Introduction to Paleobotany. McGraw-Hill, New York, N.Y., 433 pp. Axelrod, D.I., 1%3. Fossil floras suggest stable, not drifting, continets. J. Ceophys. Res. 68 (10): 3257-3264.

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