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Special Paper 470 provides an excellent nuanced view of how these concepts fit together. They conclude, "Whether it is termed the Wilson Cycle, or the more encompassing
Supercontinent Cycle, the tectonic episodicity identified by Tuzo Wilson in his 1966 paper defines a fundamental aspect of Earth's
34:
Phases of Wilson cycle: From ten o'clock position clockwise: (10) initial pre-drift extension, (12) rift-to-drift phase, initial opening of an oceanic basin, (2 and 4) seafloor spreading, widening of the basin, (6) subduction of oceanic lithosphere, closure of the basin,
139:
of two continents and closure of the ocean basins. The first three stages (Embryonic, Young, Mature) describe the widening of the ocean and the last three stages (Declining, Terminal, and Relic Scar/Geosuture) describe the closing of the ocean and creation of mountain ranges like the
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A depiction of the Wilson Cycle in action. The continents are drifting apart and coming together in a cyclical fashion as shown. The
Atlantic Ocean is shown to be formed from the separation of Pangaea. It was preceded, however, by the
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and the development of another and takes place on a global scale. The Wilson cycle rarely synchronizes with the timing of a supercontinent cycle. However, both supercontinent cycles and Wilson cycles were involved in the formation of
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Wilson, R. W.; Houseman, G. A.; Buiter, S. J. H.; McCaffrey, K. J. W.; Doré, A. G. (2019). "Fifty years of the Wilson Cycle concept in plate tectonics: an overview". Geological
Society, London, Special Publications.
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A case study of the Wilson Cycle can be seen with the development of the
Atlantic Ocean. Various parts of the modern day Atlantic Ocean opened at different times over the
111:, and a formation of new ocean on the former suture zone. The Wilson Cycle can be described in six phases of tectonic plate motion: the separation of a
479:
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From the case of the
Atlantic Ocean, Wilson Cycle plate margins can broadly be described as having the following attributes:
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periods following the Wilson Cycle. Seafloor spreading in the central
Atlantic Ocean likely occurred around 134-126 Ma on
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and other techniques have led to updates to the Wilson Cycle to include relationships between activation of rifting and
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155:. Plume-induced rifting and rifting-induced mantle upwelling can explain the high correlation of ages of
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Former collision zones, young, and old sutures are where continental break-up can most readily occur;
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and his development in a classic 1968 paper of what was later named the "Wilson cycle" in 1975 by
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71:. The Wilson Cycle model was a key development in the theory of plate tectonics during the
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The Wilson cycle theory is based upon the idea of an ongoing cycle of ocean closure,
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277:"Start of the Wilson Cycle at 3 Ga Shown by Diamonds from Subcontinental Mantle"
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tectonic, climatic and biogeochemical evolution over much of its history."
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Large igneous provinces, which do not always lead to continental break-up.
59:. A classic example of the Wilson Cycle is the opening and closing of the
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Oceanic transfer faults, which can reactivate young and old sutures;
63:. It has been suggested that Wilson cycles on Earth started about 3
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in recognition of his iconic observation that the present-day
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400:"Static or Mobile Earth: The Current Scientific Revolution"
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is a model that describes the opening and closing of
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Geophysical model of the opening and closing of rifts
275:Shirey, Steven B.; Richardson, Stephen H. (2011).
404:Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society
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208:eruptions around 55 Ma, the northern Atlantic
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460:"Assembly and Dispersal of Supercontinents"
340:"Did the Atlantic Close and then Re-Open?"
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131:, closure of ocean basins due to oceanic
458:Rogers, John J. W.; Santosh, M. (2004),
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159:and the break-up age for these margins.
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55:during the assembly and disassembly of
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35:(8) continent-continent collision
446:https://doi.org/10.1144/SP470-2019-58
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234:A Wilson cycle is distinct from the
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147:In the 21st century, insights from
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472:10.1093/oso/9780195165890.003.0008
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254:The 50-year retrospective in the
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212:rifted to their present state.
206:North Atlantic Igneous Province
464:Continents and Supercontinents
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196:sutures. South Atlantic Ocean
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1:
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204:around 112 Ma. Following the
256:Geological Society of London
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466:, Oxford University Press,
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521:
202:Congo-Sao Francisco Craton
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73:Plate Tectonics Revolution
135:subduction, and finally,
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83:The model is named after
398:Wilson, J. Tuzo (1968).
338:Wilson, J. Tuzo (1966).
301:10.1126/science.1206275
157:large igneous provinces
91:appears along a former
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163:Atlantic Ocean Example
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109:continental collision
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236:supercontinent cycle
230:Supercontinent cycle
190:Pan-African Orogenic
356:1966Natur.211..676W
293:2011Sci...333..434S
198:seafloor spreading
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51:and divergence of
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500:Scientific models
481:978-0-19-516589-0
350:(5050): 676–681.
287:(6041): 434–436.
125:continental drift
97:Kevin C. A. Burke
16:(Redirected from
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365:10.1038/211676a0
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200:began along the
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85:John Tuzo Wilson
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505:Plate tectonics
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57:supercontinents
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410:(5): 309–320.
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240:supercontinent
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174:Iapetus Ocean
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153:mantle plumes
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115:(continental
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133:lithospheric
121:ocean basins
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45:ocean basins
41:Wilson Cycle
40:
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18:Wilson cycle
93:suture zone
69:Archean Eon
494:Categories
263:References
129:subduction
49:subduction
416:0003-049X
374:0028-0836
309:0036-8075
142:Himalayas
137:collision
113:continent
325:35270916
317:21778395
186:Cenozoic
182:Mesozoic
47:and the
382:4226266
352:Bibcode
289:Bibcode
281:Science
249:Rodinia
247:and of
245:Pangaea
123:during
79:History
67:in the
478:
424:986051
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380:
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344:Nature
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103:Theory
420:JSTOR
378:S2CID
321:S2CID
194:Rheic
476:ISBN
444:DOI:
412:ISSN
370:ISSN
313:PMID
305:ISSN
192:and
117:rift
39:The
468:doi
408:112
360:doi
348:211
297:doi
285:333
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184:to
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65:Ga
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20:)
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