Aurica (supercontinent)

Aurica is a possible future supercontinent configuration. It is one of the four proposed supercontinents that is expected to form within 200 million years, the others being Pangea Proxima, Amasia and Novopangaea. The Aurica hypothesis was created by scholars at the Geological Magazine[1] following an American Geophysical Union study linking the strength of ocean tides to the supercontinent cycle.[2] The study noted that "When tectonic plates slide, sink and shift the Earth’s continents to form large landmasses, or supercontinents, ocean basins open and close in tandem. As these basins change shape, they can strike forms that amplify and intensify their tides."

Formation

According to the Aurica hypothesis, both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans will close, and a new ocean will replace them both. Duarte and colleagues hypothesize that a new rift will develop in central Eurasia, cutting from India to the Arctic, which will split Eurasia in two and create a new ocean.[1]

The current northward motion of Australia and Antarctica will see them collide with eastern Eurasia and the Americas to close the Pacific, while western Eurasia and Africa collide with the Americas on the other side to close the Atlantic.

A possible configuration for Aurica.

Alternative scenarios

Paleogeologist Ronald Blakey has described the next 15 to 85 million years of tectonic development as fairly settled and predictable, without supercontinent formation.[3] Beyond that, he cautions that the geologic record is full of unexpected shifts in tectonic activity that make further projections "very, very speculative"[3] Three hypothetical supercontinents—"Amasia", Christopher Scotese's "Pangaea Proxima", and Roy Livermore's "Novopangaea"—were illustrated in an October 2007 New Scientist article.[4]

References
  1. Duarte, João; Schellart, Wouter; Rosas, Filipe (3 October 2016). "The future of Earth's oceans: consequences of subduction initiation in the Atlantic and implications for supercontinent formation". Geological Magazine. 155: 45–58 – via Cambridge University Press.
  2. "Study proposed link between formation of supercontinents, strength of ocean tides". AGU.org. 11 April 2018.
  3. Manaugh, Geoff; Twiley, Nicola (23 September 2013). "What Did the Continents Look Like Millions of Years Ago?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2014-07-22.
  4. Williams, Caroline; Nield, Ted (20 October 2007). "Pangaea, the comeback". New Scientist. Archived from the original on 13 April 2008. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
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