when did the atlantic ocean start to open
Opening of the North Atlantic Ocean Rocks from the North Atlantic Igneous Province have been found in Greenland, the Irminger Basin, Faroe Islands, Vøring Plateau (off Norway), Faroe-Shetland Basin, Hebrides, Outer Moray Firth and Denmark.[2] The supercontinent known as Pangea existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras and began to rift around 200 million years ago.[3][4] Pangea had three major phases of breakup. The first major phase began in the Early-Middle Jurassic, taking place between North America and Africa.[5] The second major phase of breakup began in the Early Cretaceous. The South Atlantic Ocean opened around 140 million years ago as Africa separated from South America, and about the same time, India separated from Antarctica and Australia, forming the central Indian Ocean.[citation needed] The final major phase of breakup occurred in the early Cenozoic, as Laurentia separated from Eurasia.[5] As the two plates broke free from each other, the Atlantic Ocean continued to expand.[5]
Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, geologically the youngest of the oceans, was formed when Antarctica and South America moved apart, opening the Drake Passage, roughly 30 million years ago. The separation of the continents allowed the formation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.