Late Carboniferous-Early Tertiary apparent polar wander (APW) paths (300-40
Ma) for North America and Europe have been tested in various reconstructio
ns. These paths demonstrate that the 500 fathom Bullard et al. fit is excel
lent from Late Carboniferous to Late Triassic times, but the continental co
nfiguration in northern Pangea changed systematically between the Late Tria
ssic (ca. 214 Ma) and the Mid-Jurassic (ca. 170 Ma) due to pre-drift extens
ion. Best fit North Atlantic reconstructions minimize differences in the La
te Carboniferous-Early Jurassic and Late Cretaceous-Tertiary segments of th
e APW paths, but an enigmatic difference exists in the paths for most of th
e Jurassic, whereas for the Early Cretaceous the data from Europe are nearl
y non-existent. Greenland's position is problematic in a Bullard et al. fit
, because of a Late Triassic-Early Jurassic regime of compression (> 300 km
) that would be inherently required for the Norwegian Shelf and the Barents
Sea, but which is geologically not defensible. We suggest a radically new
fit for Greenland in between Europe and North America in the Early Mesozoic
. This fit keeps Greenland 'locked' to Europe for the Late Paleozoic-Early
Mesozoic and maintains a reconstruction that better complies with the offsh
ore geological history of the Norwegian Shelf and the Barents Sea. Pre-drif
t (A24) extension amounted to approximately 450 km on the Mid-Norwegian She
lf but with peak extension in the Late Cretaceous. (C) 2001 Published by El
sevier Science B.V.