The Pacific Ocean will be closed over the next 300 million years due to the creation of a new supercontinent called Amasia.
The study was published in the National Science Review last week and plots the geological future of our planet over the next few decades.
"Over the past two billion years, Earth's continents have collided together to form a supercontinent every 600 million years," said study lead author Chuan Hung. The current continents are going to come together again in a couple of hundred million years.
The researchers used 4D modeling of the Earth's tectonic plates to figure out why previous supercontinents formed in different ways.
When continents close over an internal ocean that was formed when the previous supercontinent broke apart, it's called introversion. Extroversion has the continents closing over the ocean. Researchers could better predict the next supercontinental assembly if they could clear up the rocky history.
The researchers found that extroversion will be the cause of the next supercontinent because of the strength of the ocean. The Pacific is the former superocean that surrounds the previous supercontinent.
When America collides with Asia, some believe that the Pacific Ocean will close, leading to the creation of Amasia. Australia is expected to play a role in connecting America and Asia once the Pacific Ocean closes.
These findings give a glimpse of the planet's future. The idea that the Atlantic and Indian oceans will close instead of shifting is one of many theories.
There is a new island in the ocean.
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