Fictitious Supercontinent Cycles

TL;DR

This paper argues that supercontinent cycles are artificial constructs and presents a new geoscience paradigm that eliminates the need to assume their existence.

Contribution

It introduces a new, indivisible geoscience paradigm that challenges the traditional concept of supercontinent cycles.

Findings

Supercontinent cycles are unnecessary under the new paradigm.

Published considerations support the paradigm shift.

The new approach simplifies understanding Earth's geological processes.

Abstract

Descriptions of phenomena, events, or processes made on the basis of problematic paradigms can be unreasonably complex (e.g. epicycles) or simply wrong (e.g. ultraviolet catastrophe). Supercontinent cycles, also called Wilson cycles, are, I submit, artificial constructs, like epicycles. Here I provide the basis for that assertion and describe published considerations from a fundamentally different, new, indivisible geoscience paradigm which obviate the necessity for assuming supercontinent cycles.