This video shows the four possible future supercontinent models: Pangea Proxima, Novopangea, Amasia, and Aurica, including one at the end of the video. These supercontinents are likely to be formed within the next 200–300 million years.
Explanation for this model:
The Earth has a cycle known as the supercontinent cycle. It is the cycle of forming supercontinents, breaking up supercontinents, and forming another supercontinent. The latest supercontinent, Pangea, formed 335 million years ago and existed for 160 million years until its breakup 175 million years ago. We are currently in the middle of a supercontinent cycle. In the future, another supercontinent may form, so there have been various models of possible configurations of future supercontinents. There are currently four possible scenarios of a future supercontinent: Pangea Proxima, Aurica, Amasia, and Novopangea, and possibly even more. These supercontinents are predicted to form within the next 200–250 million years. These predictions are mainly based on current plate tectonics motions and velocities.
This model shows a modified model of Amasia, where all continents will gather near the north pole, but with comparable differences from other models of the supercontinent conducted by different studies. This model includes the Pacific Superplume, a superglue that Is situated in the Pacific Ocean. When continents bump against a superglue, they get stuck to it, forcing it to move another way. The movement of Laurentia starting 500 million years ago is probably caused by an ancient superglue. In the future, the continents Asia, Australia, and the Americas will likely bump into the superglue, forcing them to move northwards. The northward movement of these continents makes them collide, which will close the Arctic Ocean. Another superplume, which is located opposite the Pacific Superplume and lies beneath Africa, is halting the movements of Africa and Eurasia, therefore it will shift to the southeast in the future.
This model also includes the East African Rift that will break up the continent of Africa into two: Nubia and Somalia. Most models say that the East African Rift is not going to develop, because they say it will eventually fail, with Scotese saying that there is no room for East Africa to expand to the east. But in this model, East Africa (Somalia) will break up from the rest of Africa 5 million years from now (Ma) and expand to the east by about 6 cm/year. The Red Sea is shown to further expand by the ongoing collision of the Arabian Peninsula, therefore expanding the room for East Africa to expand to the east. The Anatolian Plate is currently moving westward and is expected to collide with Eastern Greece 20 million years from now.
Some major events may happen in the future with this model:
• 5 million years from now, Somalia will break away from the rest of Africa.
• 20 million years from now, the Himalayas, Alps, and the Zagros Mountains will stop growing, and Anatolia (Turkey) will collide with Greece.
• 25 million years from now, Australia will stop its northward motion because it got stuck in the Pacific Superplume. It will then collide with Southeast and East Asia.
• 50 million years from now, Somalia is expected to move southward away from India.
• 75 million years from now, Africa has collided with Southern Europe, forming a mountain range, and Australia has collided with Southeast and East Asia to form a mountain range similar to the one mentioned above.
• 100 million years from now, Afro-Euraustraliasia and the Americas have bumped against the Pacific Superplume, and they are forced to move northwards as a result of that. Antarctica has also started moving northwards, away from the south pole. Somalia also passes south of India, which is destined to collide with the western margin of what is today Indonesia. An Island chain will possibly form in that region because of subduction from the Somali Plate. North America gets a new coastline as Baja California, Basin and Range, and Colorado Plateau regions move northwards. Baja California collided with southern Alaska at that time.
• 150 million years from now, South America will be also stuck in the Pacific Superplume, so it moves northward to collide with Central America.
• 200 million years from now, South America has collided with Central America, forming a mountain range.
• And finally, 250 million years from now, the supercontinent Amasia has formed as a result of the collision of the northern margins of North America and Eurasia. Antarctica is along the southeast coast of South America, and Somalia is near the western coast of Indonesia. It is predicted that these two continents will eventually collide with them.
Projection used: Mollweide, 60°E center meridian
0:00 Intro
0:10 Pangea Proxima
0:47 Novopangea
1:20 Amasia
1:50 Aurica
2:30 Amasia — by TerraSpace
Music: "All This" by Kevin MacLeod
