Scientists have reconstructed Earth's plate tectonic movements over the past 1.8 billion years using geological data from rocks on the planet's surface. This is the first time such an extensive timeline of Earth's geological history has been mapped, covering roughly 40% of the planet's history. The study, led by Xianzhi Cao from the Ocean University in China and published in the journal Geoscience Frontiers, offers new insights into the formation and movement of Earth's continents through time.

The reconstruction begins with the current map of the world and traces the rapid movement of India and parts of Southeast Asia southward as they join the ancient continent of Gondwana in the Southern Hemisphere. Around 200 million years ago, Gondwana merged with other landmasses including North America, Europe, and northern Asia to form the supercontinent Pangaea, which existed during the age of the dinosaurs.




Going further back in time, Pangaea and Gondwana were themselves the result of even older plate collisions. An earlier supercontinent, Rodinia, emerged from these ancient land shifts. The timeline continues to reveal that Rodinia was formed by the breakup of an even older supercontinent known as Nuna, approximately 1.35 billion years ago.

This reconstruction provides a detailed view of how Earth's continents have drifted, collided, and reformed over billions of years, enhancing our understanding of the planet's geological and tectonic evolution. The findings highlight the dynamic nature of Earth’s crust and its ongoing transformations, offering valuable insights into the forces shaping our planet's surface through deep time.