The opening of the Arctic Ocean

Abstract

We present reconstructions of the northern hemisphere, north of 55°N, with respect to a fixed North America for each 20 million years from 180 Ma to Present. At 180 Ma, most of the northern hemisphere consisted of one unbroken continental mass that stretched from the western margin of North America to the eastern margin of the Siberian Platform. The tectonic evolution leading to the present plate configuration is discussed. -from Authors