Photo: Ancient Imbalances Sent Earth's Continents "Wandering"



An illustration shows what Earth's continents looked like 110 million to 100 million years ago and their rotation based on magnetic signatures in ancient rocks.

A new study suggests that the motion represents a phenomenon called true polar wander, in which Earth's landmasses become imbalanced compared to its spin axis and then move rapidly to right themselves.

Image courtesy Bernhard Steinberger


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