According to the theory of Plate Tectonics, the continental shelf of our planet is divided into plates that are continuously moving due to convection currents in the Earth's mantle. The constant movement of the continents will cause the plates to move within 250 million years from now, our planet may not look the same as it does today.
Millions of years ago, when the seas and continents were formed, there was only one, PangeaToday, the movement of the plates tends to separate the continents, and there are predictions that, after so much separation, they will reunite. What will our planet be like in 250 million years?
The continents move
Business Insider has put together an animation, using projections from the professor Christopher Scotese of Northwestern University, to visualize millions of years into the future of the Earth. These projections suggest that, after the plates continue to shift, there will come a time when the continents will be together again into one, forming a new supercontinent. This could have significant implications, as seen in previous geological events and also in projections of climate change.
Imagine a world where there are no continents or borders. All the countries of the world would coexist on the same portion of land, and only those living on the sides could enjoy the coasts and the sea. Maritime transport would be more expensive to move inland, and there would be a higher percentage of people who wouldn't be able to set foot on a beach as easily. This transformation could be related to future geological changes in the planet.
The continents are moving away from each other, and others are joining together to form land masses that could form a supercontinent. The final image is of a world with an ocean filling most of one side and land masses pushed together to form a single, larger continent. This type of displacement has been key to Earth's geological history.
To get a better understanding, just watch the video. This is what our planet will look like in 250 million years:
Watch video about the future of the Earth
The supercontinent cycle
According to experts, during the last 4.500 million years, the Earth has gone through multiple supercontinent cycles. A study notes that land masses come together every 400 to 500 million yearsThis means that this is not the first time that continents have been joined, and this process has been repeated continuously throughout the planet's geological history, where supercontinents such as Vaalbara, Ur, Kenorland, Columbia (also known as Nuna or Hudsonia), Rodinia, Pannotia, and Pangea have formed.
The most recent supercontinent, Pangea, was established approximately 335 million years and began to fragment a few years ago 175 or 200 million yearsThis process gave rise to the current Earth map that we know. In approximately 250 million years, it is believed that a supercontinent, which was initially called Pangea Ultima and subsequently Pangea ProximaThis phenomenon resonates with cycles of transformation, such as those that have led to events such as the earthquake in Nepal.
Geological history of the Earth is full of significant changes that affect its formation.
Pangaea Proxima: the future supercontinent
Projecting Christopher Scotese has captured worldwide attention and generated interest in what it could be like Pangea ProximaA viral map shared on Reddit has illustrated what our planet could look like in the future. According to this projection, most of the land mass would be joined, although islands like New Zealand, Chukotka (part of present-day northeastern Russia), and Scotland, which would be separated from England and Wales, would remain. In the center would be the Indian Ocean, which would now be the Indian Ocean Sea.
As for the Spain, it is suggested that it would remain to the north and would still be attached to Portugal and France, but would also be connected to Italy, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. However, the current political boundaries are considered unlikely to last 250 million years later, and changes in geographical and climatic conditions could also influence the biodiversity of the time. These changes remind us of the importance of climate change which can drastically alter our living conditions.
A relevant point is that Living conditions on Pangea Proxima could be extreme.Projections suggest that much of the new supercontinent would experience temperatures exceeding 40°C, which would make it uninhabitable for most mammals and other life forms. Only 8% to 16% of the Earth's surface is expected to be habitable, raising serious questions about the viability of life as we know it today, similar to the challenges some regions face now due to global warming.
Weather and vegetation predictions
As plate tectonics continues its course, it is expected that significant climatic transformations. In the eventual dissolution of the oceans, new mountain ranges could emerge due to the collision of plates. According to a study by the Bristol University, it is considered that, when Pangea Proxima was formed, extreme temperatures and volcanic activity could lead to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO₂). This phenomenon is closely related to how climate may change drastically in the future.
This could result in a catastrophic event, as the combination of rising temperatures and reduced habitable areas could overwhelm the adaptive capacities of many species. Large areas of the supercontinent are expected to become deserts, making life as we know it virtually unsustainable, a problem that can also be seen in contemporary natural disaster situations, as reported in historical natural disasters.
Climate models of these changes are based on a combination of seismic data and computer simulations, and although they are projections, they offer an important glimpse into the future of our planet. However, these models also contain uncertainty; variations in the final arrangement of continents reflect the complexity of the interactions between them and geological phenomena.
Changes in temperature They may also influence the future vegetation of Pangea Proxima.
Implications for humanity
The possibility of a new supercontinent and the extreme conditions it could present also raise questions about the future of humanity. Scientists warn that, like the past, the future could be marked by a mass extinction or the adaptation of new species to a drastically different environment. Some researchers, such as Alexander Farnsworth, suggest that increased solar radiation and extreme heat in the center of Pangaea Ultima could make it difficult for most species, including humans, to survive, an issue that has also been discussed in relation to the effects of global warming.
Despite these challenges, Earth's history indicates that life always finds ways to adapt. Perhaps in the distant future, new species could emerge in response to new environmental conditions, just as they did in the past. The adaptation of life could take unexpected paths, challenging our notions about extinction and the continuity of life on Earth.
