About 92% of the Earth may become unsuitable for the life of mammals in 250 million years – scientists
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| The projected appearance of the Earth’s continents in 250 million years. Photo: Alex Farnsworth, Chirs Scotese/Nature |
The Earth is currently in the middle of supercontinent cycles – the time interval between the unification of all landmasses. The last supercontinent of Pangea broke up about 200 million years ago.
Scientists believe that the next one, Pangea Ultima, will form at the equator in 250 million years. This will happen when the Atlantic Ocean shrinks and the united Afro-Eurasian continent collides with North and South America.
Scientists led by Alexander Farnsworth from the University of Bristol (Great Britain) modeled the climate of the future supercontinent.
It is assumed that volcanic activity will “warm” the planet. In most parts of the supercontinent, the temperature will reach over 40°C.
The regions in the center of Pangea Ultima will turn into a desert. In such conditions, the vast majority of mammals will not survive.
In the worst case scenario, only 8% of the land would be suitable for their life. Now this part is 66%.
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| Predicted temperature on the continent of Pangea Ultima in August. Photo: Nature |
“It’s not just for mammals. It can be for plant life as well as for other types of life. What will come of it is anyone’s guess. In other cases of mass extinction, there is a tendency for a new species to dominate.” – says Alexander Farnsworth.
Instead, Hannah Davis, a Pangea Ultima researcher, believes that mammals have a chance to survive these changes. According to her, it is not known for sure where the supercontinent will form. If this happens at the top of the North Pole, then the conditions for life will be better.
“There have been extinction events in the past and there will be extinction events in the future. I think life will survive it. It’s just kind of a dark period.” – she notes.
Fanrsworth suggests that if humans are still alive in 250 million years, they will be able to adapt to new conditions.
“I suspect if we can leave this planet and find somewhere more livable, that would be a better option.” – he said.
We will remind you that earlier we wrote that in 2060 the currents of the Atlantic Ocean may collapse.
Read also: Asteroids and “diamond rain”. What do you know about the solar system? TEST
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