New biostratigraphic data based on radiolarians recovered from deep within
the oceanic crustal section of Ocean Drilling Program Hole 801C in the west
ern Pacific, along with existing radiometric information, date this oceanic
crust as late Bajocian-early Bathonian (170-165 Ma). The overlying basal s
ediments at Hole 801C are essentially identical in age (middle Bathonian, 1
64-162 Ma) to the basal sediments at Deep Sea Drilling Program Hole 534A in
the central Atlantic. We estimate the time of formation of the Pacific pla
te as 175-170 Ma and the time of initial separation of the Pangea supercont
inent in the central Atlantic as 190-180 Ma. We also identify a time of ext
ensive subduction-zone magmatism (175-159 Ma) at the eastern and western ed
ges of Pangea. We suggest that the initial plate separation of Pangea incre
ased subduction rates at its outer margins and altered the plate boundaries
in the Pacific superocean, leading to formation of the Pacific plate.