Did you know the next supercontinent is already in the works? Scientists believe that over millions of years, Earth’s tectonic plates will shift again to create a massive landmass. They’re calling it Pangaea Proxima, or "Future Pangaea," and it’s set to form as the Atlantic Ocean shrinks while continents like Africa and Europe crash together. This isn’t happening tomorrow, though—it’s a process that could take 200-300 million years! When it does happen, it’ll totally change climates, ecosystems, and even the way we navigate the planet. It’s wild to think that Earth’s surface is constantly moving, slowly shaping the future world! Credits:
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Rodinia: by Fama Clamosa, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rodinia_900Ma.jpg
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FunTranscript
00:00Now, history teaches us that the supercontinent existed a long time ago, around 300-273 million
00:08years back.
00:10At that time, all the continents on Earth were buddies and hanging out together.
00:15They formed an amazing crew called Pangea, or Pangea if you're feeling fancy.
00:20The name comes from a Greek word which means all the Earth.
00:24Pangea also had a massive water neighbor called Panthalassa, so our entire world was
00:30a huge piece of land surrounded by a huge piece of ocean.
00:35The megacontinent looked like a giant sea stretching between the tippy-top and bottom
00:39of our planet.
00:41But as stories go, things changed.
00:44About 200 million years ago, in the early Jurassic era, like dinosaur times, Pangea
00:50decided to throw a breakaway party.
00:53Forget about the old ideas of continents just drifting around like big icebergs.
00:57It split up into smaller chunks, forming the continents we know today.
01:01Oh, and it created the Atlantic and Indian Oceans as a bonus.
01:07Pangea's tale was first told by a German weather expert named Alfred Wegener in 1912.
01:15But how did he learn about something that happened so long ago?
01:20Imagine the Earth's core as a big cozy fireplace, giving off heat.
01:24This heat creates special swirling currents in the Earth's outer shell.
01:29We can think of it as the Earth's crust, which looks like a big puzzle with many puzzle
01:33pieces.
01:35The hot currents make these puzzle pieces, called crustal plates, move around.
01:40Sometimes they push apart, sometimes they crash into each other, and sometimes they
01:45slide past one another.
01:47It's like a fantastic dance party that goes on beneath our feet.
01:51One day, Wegener looked at the shapes of the continents and thought that, hey, those coastlines
01:56of South America and Africa kind of fit together.
02:00And they really did.
02:02So he imagined that way back, all of the continents hung out together as one big landmass.
02:11But he couldn't just go and say that without any proof.
02:14So how do we know Pangaea really was a thing?
02:17Well, there are some clues that brought us to this amazing discovery.
02:22One clue is like when you put a puzzle together, and the pieces fit just right.
02:27Take a look at the shapes of today's continents.
02:29You'll notice that they could fit together almost like a perfect match.
02:34Obviously their shapes changed over time.
02:36It happened millions of years ago, and since then, the shores of continents have been washed
02:41by waters for years.
02:43But even so, we can still see how well they fit together.
02:48Another clue comes from checking out fossils.
02:50We know that ancient animals left a lot of fossils behind.
02:54That's how we learned their history and what species there were.
02:57But when scientists compared fossils found on different continents, they found something
03:02interesting.
03:03These fossils look similar.
03:05Surprisingly, they belong to the same groups of animals, even though they were far apart.
03:11It's not like these animals could swim across the ocean on their four paws.
03:15And it's unlikely that this particular type of animal originated in two places at the
03:20same time.
03:23And finally, the mountains.
03:25Imagine exploring underwater and finding huge mountains in the oceans.
03:30These underwater ranges and deep trenches are like scars from when Earth's tectonic
03:35plates moved around.
03:36They serve as another proof that the continents are part of something bigger.
03:41When you look at these things together, you get a pretty clear picture.
03:45The Earth's continents were once huddled together in the supercontinent.
03:48They've since gone their separate ways.
03:51But the memories of their grand adventure are still written in the shapes of coastlines,
03:56the rocks they left behind, and many more.
03:59But it's obvious to us now.
04:01At the time of Wegener's discovery, there were different ideas flying around.
04:06Some folks thought that the continents sank down to make the oceans.
04:09But Wegener had a different take.
04:11He thought that the continents are always on the move.
04:14He even came up with a fancy phrase, continental drift, to explain it.
04:22Later he was joined by another scientist named Alexander de Toit.
04:26He added a little twist to the story, suggesting there were two original continents, Laurasia
04:31in the north and Gondwanda in the south.
04:35But the real party didn't start until the 1960s, when scientists figured out the secret
04:39ingredient in this recipe – plate tectonics.
04:43And finally, this theory explained everything Wegener and de Toit talked about.
04:48Wegener's theory was proven correct after 50 years.
04:53As time passed, we learned more and more about our planet.
04:56We found out that the Earth used to have multiple supercontinents.
05:01Before Pangaea, there was a megacontinent called Rodinia around a billion years ago.
05:06And later on, Pannotia joined the scene about 600 million years ago.
05:13What's interesting is that the continental drift story is far from over.
05:19Our continents are always on the move.
05:21Africa is giving Europe a friendly bump.
05:24And Australia is playing a game of bumper cars with Southeast Asia.
05:28You know what's on the horizon?
05:30Another supercontinent.
05:32So how will this next supercontinent come together?
05:35There are four major possibilities – Novopangaea, Pangaea Ultima, Aurica, and Amasia.
05:43These might sound like superhero names, but they're actually ways the puzzle pieces
05:47could fit.
05:48Let's look at them all.
05:50First, Novopangaea.
05:52You know how there's the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other?
05:57If these oceans keep doing what they're doing now, the Atlantic will keep opening
06:01up while the Pacific squeezes in.
06:04If that happens, the Americas – North and South America – will give each other a big
06:09high-five.
06:11And Antarctica – that icy land way down south – will join the fun too.
06:15It'll be drifting northward.
06:19Next, Pangaea Ultima.
06:23In the future, the Atlantic Ocean might get tired of being so wide.
06:27It might decide to slow down and shrink a bit.
06:31The Americas and the northward-drifting Antarctica will probably crash into Africa and Europe.
06:37And just like that, a brand new supercontinent forms.
06:41There are these spots where the ocean floor is sliding underneath the land.
06:45It's like a secret underwater passage.
06:48These spots are called subduction zones.
06:50So if these secret tunnels will be spreading and spreading all along the east coast of
06:55the Americas, the Americas, Europe, and Africa might come together again.
07:01And they'd form a supercontinent.
07:03This supercontinent would be surrounded by the Pacific Ocean.
07:07The next possible supercontinent is Orica.
07:10In this scenario, the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans might decide to take a nap and close
07:14up.
07:16But don't worry, because when one door closes, another opens.
07:20In this case, a whole new ocean would pop up to replace them.
07:26Imagine a big crack in the ground cutting through Asia, like a zipper opening up.
07:31This crack is called the Pan-Asian Rift, and it would become a brand new ocean.
07:37With this new ocean comes a new supercontinent, Orica.
07:41Australia is currently drifting northwards, like it's trying to find a nice spot at
07:45the center of our planet.
07:47East Asia and the Americas might join in from both sides.
07:51After that, Europe and Africa might link up with the Americas, and boom, Orica.
07:57And finally, Amasia.
07:59It might form if some of the tectonic plates go north.
08:02They can take continents like Africa and Australia along for the ride.
08:06They'll be hanging out around the North Pole.
08:09All the continents except Antarctica might come together.
08:15And even though they might gather around the North Pole, they won't close off the oceans.
08:20The Atlantic and Pacific Oceans would still be open for business.
08:24How this grand reunion happens depends on the Earth's tectonic movements.
08:29So far, we believe that Novo Pangea is the most likely scenario.
08:34It also depends on what exactly happened to Pangea after it broke apart.
08:39And when the new supercontinent appears, what's going to happen with the weather?
08:43How will the ocean behave?
08:45And what about the animals and plants?
08:47These questions all light up our minds.
08:50Who knows?
08:51Maybe someday, our descendants will look at the world map and see this incredible journey
08:56come full circle.
08:57So keep asking curious questions, and stay tuned for the next 100 million years!
09:04That's it for today!
09:05So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your
09:10friends!
09:11And if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!