Pangaea was the name Alfred Wegener gave to the supercontinent that existed on Earth 250 million years ago. Over the course of many millions of years, this supercontinent broke into different pieces, which became the landmasses we see on the globe today. Extensional forces on the tectonic plates causes continents to break apart—as Pangaea once did—creating new ocean basins. Large parts of these extended continents are not visible because they lie under water and are named rifted margins.
Click here for original story, New study of continental margins could provide better understanding on the way to a carbon-neutral economy
Source: Phys.org