POLAR WANDERING AND SEA-FLOOR SPREADING IN SOUTHERN INDIAN OCEAN

The palaeomagnetically determined apparent polar-wander curve for the Cenozoic of Australia is made up of two components. The major component, due to continental drift of Australia relative to Antarctica, can be estimated from sea-floor spreading data. The remaining component, inferred to be polar wandering, is shown to be similar in magnitude and direction to both the African and the European apparent wander curves. This suggests that movement between Europe, Africa and Antarctica has been small since the Eocene, and that polar wandering of between 10° and 15° has occurred during this period. © 1969.