2023-10-05 07:10:00
Only 8% of the planet’s surface would be habitable for most mammals, compared to 66% today. Christian Garavaglia Meteored Argentina 05/10/2023 04:10 6 min
The researchers predict that Up to 92% of Earth might be uninhabitable for mammals within 250 million years. The planet’s continental masses are expected to form a single supercontinent called Last Pangeawhich will cause volcanism and increases in the level of carbon dioxide that will leave most of the territory sterile.
Why will the Earth become practically uninhabitable during Pangea Ultima?
The team of scientists, led by Alexander Farnsworth, has used climate models to predict conditions during Pangea Ultima. The projections suggest that Much of the supercontinent will experience temperatures above 40°C, making it uninhabitable for most mammalian life..
Africa is breaking apart and would allow the formation of a new ocean
Besides, Volcanic activity resulting from the melting and separation of continents will release large amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere exacerbating global warming, as reported Nature Geoscience.
“It seems like life is going to be a little more difficult in the future”says Hannah Davies, a geologist at the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) in Potsdam.
Mass extinction for mammals, plants, and other types of life
The Earth is currently believed to be in the middle of a supercontinent cycle as its current continents shift. The last supercontinent, Pangea, broke apart regarding 200 million years ago. The next one, Pangea Ultima, is expected to form at the equator in regarding 250 million yearswhen the Atlantic Ocean contracts and a merged Afro-Eurasian continent docks with the American continent.
It is not known with certainty where Pangea Ultima will form. Credit: Alex Farnsworth and Chris Scotese.
The regions located in the center of the supercontinent, far from the oceans, would become uninhabitable deserts “except for very specific mammals”says Farnsworth. The lack of humidity would also decrease the amount of silica carried by the oceans, which usually removes CO2 from the atmosphere.
Besides, Increased solar radiation will cause greater warming. It is expected that the Sun is 2.5% brighter at the time of the formation of Pangea Ultimabecause the star will have burned more hydrogen and will have shrunk its core, increasing its rate of nuclear fusion.
In the worst-case scenario, in which CO2 levels reach 1,120 parts per million, more than double current levels, Only 8% of the planet’s surface – coastal and polar regions – would be habitable for most mammals, compared to the current 66%..
This would cause a mass extinctionsays Farnsworth. “Not just for mammals. It might also affect plants and other types of life. What comes out of that is anyone’s guess.” “In other mass extinctions, a new species usually dominates.”
Notably The researchers did not take into account carbon emissions caused by human activity and focused on long-term climate modeling.
Towards a dark period in Earth’s history
It is not known with certainty where Pangea Ultima will form. Farnsworth’s models assume that he will merge in the warm tropics, but Other hypotheses suggest that it might form at the top of the North Polein colder conditions where life might develop better.
According to Davies, there are indications that Pangea and other earlier supercontinents had large interior deserts, which reduced the area of habitable land and caused extinctions. “Something similar happened in the late Triassic extinction event”regarding 200 million years ago.
Much of the supercontinent will experience temperatures above 40°C, making it uninhabitable for most mammalian life. Credit: Alex Farnsworth and Chris Scotese.
If humans are still around 250 million years from now, Farnsworth speculates that they may have found ways to adapt and that the Earth looks like science fiction novel Dunefrom 1965. “Do humans specialize more in desert environments, become more nocturnal, or stay in caves?” he asks. “I would suspect that if we can get off this planet and find somewhere more habitable, that would be more preferable.”.
However, it may not all be doom and gloom. “There have been extinctions in the past and there will be in the future”says Davies. “I think life will survive this one. It will just be a dark period“.
1696490667
#Earths #supercontinent #uninhabitable
