rydan t1_j2tcwu0 wrote on January 3, 2023 at 8:37 PM

Reply to comment by GeoGeoGeoGeo in 450 - 440 million years ago a ~50˚ True Polar Wander event swept Gondwana across the South Pole, triggering glaciation and the second most lethal of the “Big Five” mass extinctions, the end-Ordovician mass extinction by GeoGeoGeoGeo

I was basing that on someone else's comment that said it takes 100 million years to shift 61 degrees.

The conspiracy theory back then was that the Earth was too heavy at the south pole and a planetary alignment was going to basically shift all the continents on the planet causing a major catastrophe. Scientists of course refused to comment so as to not panic the public of our impending doom.

GeoGeoGeoGeo OP t1_j2tjpsh wrote on January 3, 2023 at 9:17 PM

That was actually my comment above explaining the differences between ATP and TPW and the theoretical speed limits to TPW (not that actual reported rate in the study, which was 40–50° over 10 million years or upwards of 55.5 cm/yr).

Interesting. As is the case with most conspiracy theories perhaps one or more of the individual components are correct on their own, but the details, mechanisms, and relationships between their interactions are woefully lacking in understanding.