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Research literature: continental drift

On this page, you will find a collection of links to scientific publications that are relevant to this project or that can contribute to a deeper exemplary understanding of the processes and circumstances that may be related to the Reinterpretation of Germania Magna presented here. These publications span different research areas.

The collection includes:

  • Primary literature: Scientific publications presenting the results of new research.
  • Secondary literature: Scientific publications summarizing, analyzing, or interpreting primary literature.
  • Comparative literature: Publications that exemplify similar processes and circumstances in other contexts.
  • Additional resources: Links to websites, databases, and other resources that may be relevant to the reinterpretation

The following publications are intended to help answer specific questions exemplarily, which may be related to the necessary processes and events required for extensive landscape transformation. These include considerations of tectonic fracture events and rift systems, with corresponding effects on maritime landslide events and the formation of new sedimentation basins.

A new tectonic model for the Laurentia-Avalonia-Baltica sutures in the North Sea: A case study along MONA LISA profile 3


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Lyngsie, S.B. & Thybo, H.. (2007). A new tectonic model for the Laurentia−Avalonia−Baltica sutures in the North Sea: A case study along MONA LISA profile 3. Tectonophysics. 429. 201-227. 10.1016/j.tecto.2006.09.017.

DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2006.09.017 Abstract We present a new model for the lithospheric structure of the transitions between Laurentia, Avalonia and Baltica in the North Sea, northwestern Europe based on 2¾D potential field modelling of MONA LISA profile 3 across the Central Graben, with constraints from seismic P-wave velocity models and the crustal normal incidence reflection section along the profile. The model shows evidence for the presence of upper-and lower Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks as well as differences in crustal structure between the palaeo-continents Laurentia, Avalonia and Baltica. Our new model, together with previous results from transformations of the gravity and magnetic fields, demonstrates correlation between crustal magnetic domains along the profile and the terrane affinity of the crust. This integrated interpretation indicates that a 150 km wide zone, characterized by low-grade metamorphosis and oblique thrusting of Avalonia crust over Baltica lower crust, is characteristic for the central North Sea area. The magnetic … Read moreA new tectonic model for the Laurentia-Avalonia-Baltica sutures in the North Sea: A case study along MONA LISA profile 3

Dynamics of Mid-Palaeocene North Atlantic rifting linked with European intra-plate deformations


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Nielsen, S., Stephenson, R. & Thomsen, E. Dynamics of Mid-Palaeocene North Atlantic rifting linked with European intra-plate deformations. Nature 450, 1071–1074 (2007).

DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06379 Abstract The process of continental break-up provides a large-scale experiment that can be used to test causal relations between plate tectonics and the dynamics of the Earth’s deep mantle1,2. Detailed diagnostic information on the timing and dynamics of such events, which are not resolved by plate kinematic reconstructions, can be obtained from the response of the interior of adjacent continental plates to stress changes generated by plate boundary processes. Here we demonstrate a causal relationship between North Atlantic continental rifting at ∼62 Myr ago and an abrupt change of the intra-plate deformation style in the adjacent European continent. The rifting involved a left-lateral displacement between the North American-Greenland plate and Eurasia, which initiated the observed pause in the relative convergence of Europe and Africa3. The associated stress change in the European continent was significant and explains the sudden termination of a ∼20-Myr-long contractional intra-plate deformation within Europe4, during the late Cretaceous … Read moreDynamics of Mid-Palaeocene North Atlantic rifting linked with European intra-plate deformations

The Thor suture zone: From subduction to intraplate basin setting


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Smit, Jeroen & Van Wees, J. & Cloetingh, Sierd. (2016). The Thor suture zone: From subduction to intraplate basin setting. Geology. 44. G37958.1. 10.1130/G37958.1.

DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/G37958.1 Abstract The crustal seismic velocity structure of northwestern Europe shows a low P-wave velocity zone (LVZ) in the lower crust along the Caledonian Thor suture zone (TSZ) that cannot be easily attributed to Avalonia or Baltica plates abutting the TSZ. The LVZ appears to correspond to a hitherto unrecognized crustal segment (accretionary complex) that separates Avalonia from Baltica, explaining well the absence of Avalonia further east. Consequently, the northern boundary of Avalonia is shifted ∼150 km southward. Our interpretation, based on analysis of deep seismic profiles, places the LVZ in a consistent crustal domain interpretation. A comparison with present-day examples of the Kuril and Cascadia subduction zones suggests that the LVZ separating Avalonia from Baltica is composed of remnants of the Caledonian accretionary complex. If so, the present-day geometry probably originates from pre-Variscan extension and eduction during Devonian–Carboniferous backarc extension. The reinterpretation of deep crustal zonation provides a … Read moreThe Thor suture zone: From subduction to intraplate basin setting