North and South America occupy one hemisphere, Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australia occupy the other, and the South Pole sits alone. The continents were arranged in different ways. They formed a supercontinent called Gondwana. Between 500 and 180 million. It was around 200 million years ago.
The world's next supercontinent will be formed by the Earth's plates coming together again. This will happen between 200 and 300 million years from now according to the research. The Americas will drift west until they collide with Australia and Asia, and then they will join them. The new supercontinent will have profound implications for life on Earth.
The research was led by a researcher with the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences. Professors from The Institute for Geoscience Research and the Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution were with him. The National Science Review has a paper titled " Will Earth's next supercontinent assemble through the closing of the Pacific Ocean?"
To study how supercontinents form, the research team ran a series of 4-D modeling on a super computer. The simulations took into account plate tectonics and mantle convection over the course of a "supercontinent cycle" during which the continents will separate and come together again They found that the Earth's cooling over billions of years made it hard for the next supercontinent to form.
The continents formed a supercontinent every 600 million years over the past two billion years. Insights into what would happen to Earth in the next 200 million years were given by the new findings. In a press release, Dr.Huang said:
When America collides with Asia, some believe that the Pacific Ocean will close, leading to the creation of a new supercontinent called Amasia. After colliding with Asia, Australia is expected to connect America and Asia once the Pacific Ocean closes.
In less than 300 million years, the Pacific Ocean is likely to close and allow for the formation of Amasia, debunking some previous scientific theories.
The elimination of the Pacific Ocean is one of the consequences of the formation of Amasia. As Pangaea began to break apart 700 million years ago, the Pacific began to form, and it has been Shrinking ever since. It is currently 10,000 km from one end to the other and is Shrinking at a rate of about a few centimeters per year. The formation of the next supercontinent will change the environment in a big way. Prof. Li was correct.
“Earth as we know it will be drastically different when Amasia forms. The sea level is expected to be lower, and the vast interior of the supercontinent will be very arid with high daily temperature ranges. Currently, Earth consists of seven continents with widely different ecosystems and human cultures, so it would be fascinating to think what the world might look like in 200 to 300 million years’ time.”
The National Science Review contains further reading.
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