| 释义 |
ˈprotocontinent Geol.
[f. proto- + continent n.]
= supercontinent. Hence ˌprotocontiˈnental a.
1958L. King in Continental Drift (Univ. of Tasmania) 13 Recent studies..suggest once more the validity of continental drift, with two proto-continents Laurasia and Gondwana. 1968Sat. Rev. (U.S.) 2 Mar. 48 (caption) The hegira of the Indian subcontinent about 60,000,000 years ago is suggested on the above map of earth's proto⁓continent. 1977Sci. Amer. Mar. 104/2 As long as the fairly coherent supercontinent could move in relation to its adjacent ocean floor, the ocean floor could have been subducted, partially melted and chemically differentiated to manufacture typical continental crust at the leading edge of the protocontinent. 1978Nature 10 Aug. 547/1 The protocontinental tectosphere produced in island-arc environments or along the active margins is probably thin, chemically heterogeneous and poorly consolidated. |