Scientists from Curtin University in Australia have shown what Earth’s next supercontinent, nicknamed “Amasia”, will look like. According to the researchers, this large landmass will form when the Pacific Ocean is completely closed. This happens slowly, with completion within 200 million or 300 million years. The study was published in the scientific journal National scientific review.
According to Chuan Huang, leader of the study, a phenomenon known as the “supercontinent cycle” occurs every 600 million years. This happens when the continents of the Earth collide and form a supercontinent. “The current continents should come together again in a few hundred million years,” the researcher explained.
Scientists used a supercomputer to simulate how these collisions occur. “The resulting new supercontinent was named Amasia because some believe the Pacific Ocean will close, as opposed to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, when America collides with Asia,” Huang said. “Australia should also play an important role in this terrestrial event: first, the collision with Asia; then connecting America and Asia when the Pacific Ocean closes.
By simulating how the Earth’s tectonic plates should evolve, says the scientist, “we were able to show that, in less than 300 million years, the Pacific Ocean is likely to close, allowing Amasia to form.”
According to Zheng-Xiang Li, co-author of the study, when the entire world is dominated by a single landmass, there will be a drastic change in the planet’s ecosystem and environment. “The Earth as we know it will be drastically different when Amasia is formed,” she explained. “Sea level should be lower and the vast interior of the supercontinent will be very arid, with high daily temperatures.”
