Three globes showing deep mantle structures in shades of red (hot structures) and blue (cold structures), with shading in each color family indicating depth. The first globe represents the mantle at 200 million years ago. The second shows the mantle at 100 million years ago. The third shows the present-day mantle. Superimposed atop the mantle structures are gray outlines of where a new model shows the continents were at each time. These globes show Asia and Australia on the left and the Pacific Ocean on the right.

Billion-Year Rewind Tracks Supercontinents and Mantle Structures

Scientists have traced past pathways of tectonic plates back a billion years using computer models, with intriguing results. Incorporating geologic data as a check on model output, however, has proven tricky.

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