Amasia

Number of posts : 46 Registration date : 2012-02-03

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16934181

50 to 200 million years into the future may seem like a long time, but scientists are already predicting what the earth may look like over this time period. One prediction sceintists are making based on their studies of the shifting tectonic plates underneath the surface of the earth is that present day Eurasia and the America's will one day be one large continent, already given the name "Amasia". Africa and Australia are also predicted to join the super land mass, leaving only Antarctica to act as a continent that stands alone. The continent can be compared to that of Pangaea which was the last supercontinent that covered the earth's surface 300 million years ago. With changes as vast as these predicted to occur, it makes one wonder what the effects of the changes will be. Obviously the geography of the earth will change, but what kind of implications will this shift have on our climate, our species, and other species as well? Could natural disasters caused by the shifting of the plates alter the makeup of the earth? Or could some unpredictable effect of the shifting plates overcome the earth and destroy everything known to mankind? Scientists can predict a lot of what is to come, but I am interested to see if they will be able to accurately predict the effects of the formation of this supercontinent.

Number of posts : 2 Registration date : 2012-02-11

After reading this article, it is clear to me that the prediction of Amasia is only one of the countless possible arrangements that the Earth's continents could form. Like Cassidy, I am also interested in the effects of the formation of this supercontinent, in particular the possible weather changes that may occur. With one large continent at the North pole and Antarctica at the South pole there will need to be one very large ocean, unlike today, where the oceans are separated from each other. The separation of our oceans produces a moderate and predictable weather cycle, but with one large ocean the situation would be very different. What may occur is that due to more water being located near the equator the ocean temperature would rise resulting in more violent and unpredictable weather changes. Tropical cyclones could spend weeks at sea gaining in strength before making land fall and with more water evaporating into the atmosphere rain storms could last much longer. From this it is clear that the position of land mass on the Earth has large effects on the nature of the Earth itself. Whether Amasia forms in the future or not is impossible to be certain of, but it is true that the Earth will change. In all, it is articles like this that encourage people to see that the Earth is not static, but very active when looked at over long periods of time.

Number of posts : 31 Registration date : 2012-02-10

The predicted formation of the supercontinent 'Amasia' will have numerous effects on what we today know as the Earth. As Alex mentioned, it may have dramatic weather changes caused by one large ocean allowing sudden temperature changes and more violent storms. But what I am interested in is have scientists predicted the effects of the tectonic plates moving and rubbing together? Earthquakes are commonly caused by the release of tension created by friction when tectonic plates rub and press together. Could the moving of the tectonic plates, which will bring present day Eurasia and America together, create numerous earthquakes or even the most powerful earthquake yet? These earthquakes could have many effects on this supercontinent - destroying geographical areas and even taking many lives/creating great injuries. As well, if the shifting of the plates causes more and harsher earthquakes, it is possible that the force of tsunamis will also rise. This could cause parts of the world that we know now to be engulfed in water becoming underwater cities. As Cassidy questioned: Could the unpredictable effect of the shifting plates overcome the Earth and destroy everything known to mankind, or will the shifting of the plates alter the makeup of the Earth? Although this will not happen for 50 to 200 million more years, it would be interesting to see the outcome and effects of the supercontinent.

Number of posts : 6 Registration date : 2012-02-20

Drifting away from the science like view of what could happen, I would really like to know what would happen politically and economically if all of these continents really came together to form a huge "supercontinent". Science can definitely determine to a good degree of accuracy what might happen to our planet in the physical sense, but science is limited to just physical observations. The formation of such a landmass does have extensive implications regarding global weather patterns, natural disasters and geographical disturbances, but I wonder if this super continent would trigger even more large scale changes. From the economic standpoint what if this whole thing caused coastal nations and island countries to become landlocked causing them to lose fishing and export industries forcing painful ecomic reform, would Pangaea the second cause a drug and human trafficking boom because of the lack of physical borders, willl Hawaii get any waves?, or maybe the biggest change would arise from nuclear capable, international superpowers being clumped on one hunk of rock. Without the actual seperation of being on opposite sides of the Earth, how would treaties between the East and the West fare under the stress of being iin such close quarters, would World War 3 break out in the middle of some unforeseen international crisis or would this pave the way to international equality. Or maybe none of this will ever happen, because seriously, sometimes I think these scientists are just guessing.

Number of posts : 2 Registration date : 2012-02-08

From a purely scientific point of view this formation is normal as in the past the article states many supercontinents have formed including Nuna, Rodinia and Pangaea. The formation of this supercontinent can therefore be predicted and is expected. The environmental changes will be dramatic as for the first time humans are living on the earth as it happens, assuming we survive for the millions of years it will take. As Suzanne stated the force of these tectonic plates shifting could create earthquakes and tsunamis never before seen causing far-reaching damage. Weather would also change drastically, climates severely different from one another would join into one. Who knows what could happen because of this, we may not even survive the creation of Amasia. Stepping away from the scientific point of view, I believe, just as Isaac stated that the social and economic changes are truly intriguing. As all continents but Antarctica combine to form Amasia it brings all the major economic powers onto one piece of land. This would cause tension on a large scale. All of the nuclear-capable countries are now lumped together allowing any country to strike another with little hope of defence, being they are no longer spaced apart. With the elimination of waterways between countries borders are less defensible which could increase chances of a World War 3. Contrary to this the connection of continents could also force countries to work together with one another to achieve their goals creating a continent connected not only by land but also connected economically and socially. This interconnection could eliminate racial discrimination among countries as they are forced to work together. This could also equalize the gap between first and third world countries creating an equal society. Even if the continents do not shift in this exact order you can be sure that they will shift in some form and this has been proven. Only time will tell how this all turns out.

Number of posts : 5 Registration date : 2012-02-24

I find it interesting that scientist are predicting so far into the future already but not completely out of the ordinary. It makes sense to want to discover and find what will happen to the earth 50-200 million years in the future. Also I have complete faith in this theory of one country called Amasia; it makes logical sense that the plates of the earth are moving and that over such a long period of time that this will in fact make a significant difference in the structural components of continents on the earth. Actually this Christmas break my family went down to Joshua Tree National Park and from that park you can see the San Andrea’s Fault, which is supposedly going to break California up into two separate pieces far in 100 million years. This is similar situation to Amasia except on a smaller scale. When the formation of Amasia actually occurs, well one can only guess what the dramatic implications that will affect humans and animals on earth. But it would seem that eventually overtime these changes would most likely take effect on the earth and not all at once. The idea of one super country is pretty intimidating and a crazy thought, but with evidence from ideas like Nuna, Rodinia and Pangaea it’s hard to straight out deny this idea of Amasia. Anyone can see that Africa and Central America seem to connect almost like a puzzle, like they were almost connected a long time ago (Pangaea) . Also I find the theory previously mentioned above by my classmates, that all the different countries that have such a distinction to where they are in the world would change. All continents but Antarctica would all form together, this would combine major political and economic powers together, causing potential danger or perhaps something more positive? Would the countries fight or would the world become peaceful all of a sudden? Would there be multiple languages or one? A main currency? One President? This interesting idea of the formation of Amasia is strange yet thought-provoking in how it will affect everyone in the world 50-200 million years from now. It would be truly enthralling to see what would happen.