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Continental drift; How continental drift will carry out
Topic Started: Dec 12 2015, 11:10 AM (2,093 Views)
CaledonianWarrior96 Dec 12 2015, 11:10 AM Post #1
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Hey guys. I'm having a bit of trouble trying to make maps for future continents and I was wandering if anyone here knew any ways or websites that can help you make your own maps. I'm just trying to get a visual idea of what the continents would like in the future at differen times (eg 50 million ACE, 100 million ACE, 250 million ACE etc...).

I have my own theories on what the continents would look like given our current knowledge of plate tectonics, where the continents are moving now and how fast they are and subduction/plate growth zones.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks :)
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LittleLazyLass Dec 14 2015, 08:23 PM Post #16
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whachamacallit2
Dec 14 2015, 06:49 PM
revin
Dec 13 2015, 12:13 PM
Interestingly, if we have a hothouse world in the future, Antarctica would became an archipelago, not a continent in its own right,
Wait, are you taking that statement from this image? Because if so, that one doesn't take into account the isostatic rebound that occurs after a landmass has been relieved of the mass that was on top of it. If you do take it into account, Antarctica turns much more into your average continent. Added the idea that the continent may be moving from the South pole, and you would have a pretty significant orogeny that would further reshape the continent.
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El Dorito Dec 14 2015, 08:54 PM Post #17
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Not to spoil anyone's argument, but if you simulate plate tectonics for 200 million years based on what is happening right now, there is absolutely no evidence at all that the Atlantic would end up collapsing in on itself. With the exception of part of the western coast of North America, there is an almost uninterrupted single subduction zone from Antarctica to the Philippines, then another zone north of New Zealand. And this well established boundary has existed since at least the Permian, and probably predates the formation of Pangaea in some areas. Meanwhile in the Atlantic, the only subduction zones are related to two minor plates overriding the Atlantic seafloor. According to at least one geologist who has studied the drake passage for most of his career, there is no evidence at all that the scotia trench would extend north along South America at any point in the fear geological future.

In fact it is not impossible that the only reason people go with the Pangaea Ultima idea is because it was the only projection to show its formation at all. The future is wild map projections didn't exactly show what was happening clearly.
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LittleLazyLass Dec 14 2015, 08:58 PM Post #18
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El Dorito Dec 14 2015, 09:54 PM Post #19
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Is he the 'resident expert' on plate tectonics or something? If he resigns or something like that, I will take his place.
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LittleLazyLass Dec 15 2015, 09:01 AM Post #20
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 I don't know about expert, but he certainly seemed knowledgeable about it. However, he hasn't been on in over a year, I doubt we'll ever see him again.
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revin Dec 15 2015, 07:22 PM Post #21
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El Dorito
Dec 14 2015, 08:54 PM
Not to spoil anyone's argument, but if you simulate plate tectonics for 200 million years based on what is happening right now, there is absolutely no evidence at all that the Atlantic would end up collapsing in on itself. With the exception of part of the western coast of North America, there is an almost uninterrupted single subduction zone from Antarctica to the Philippines, then another zone north of New Zealand. And this well established boundary has existed since at least the Permian, and probably predates the formation of Pangaea in some areas. Meanwhile in the Atlantic, the only subduction zones are related to two minor plates overriding the Atlantic seafloor. According to at least one geologist who has studied the drake passage for most of his career, there is no evidence at all that the scotia trench would extend north along South America at any point in the fear geological future.

In fact it is not impossible that the only reason people go with the Pangaea Ultima idea is because it was the only projection to show its formation at all. The future is wild map projections didn't exactly show what was happening clearly.
Precisely. Thank you for clarifying that, I wasn't sure of the exact details.

Also, The Future Is Wild continent is probably Novopangaea, judging from how the supercontinent is shaped.
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CaledonianWarrior96 Jan 3 2016, 07:59 AM Post #22
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Something I've just read recently that I don't think I've seen here is the Baikal rift in Russia, which is pulling apart the land there. That's actually pretty interesting. Is there a chance this could continue to grow in future (like give it between 100 - 300 million years or so) and eventually allow apart of Asia to break off?
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whachamacallit2 Jan 3 2016, 09:50 AM Post #23
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There are just as many failed rifts as successful ones, but in all due honesty, the decision is up to you. The Baikal rift could fail, but it could also succeed. It would probably take well over 100 million years for the rifting to complete, although you could say that it speeds up as the magma pushes more from below.
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CaledonianWarrior96 Jan 3 2016, 11:02 AM Post #24
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whachamacallit2
Jan 3 2016, 09:50 AM
There are just as many failed rifts as successful ones, but in all due honesty, the decision is up to you. The Baikal rift could fail, but it could also succeed. It would probably take well over 100 million years for the rifting to complete, although you could say that it speeds up as the magma pushes more from below.
How does a rift fail?
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CaledonianWarrior96 Feb 21 2016, 06:35 PM Post #25
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If the land bridge that connects North and South America broke or just vanished and reconnected the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, allowing a current to travel east into the Atlantic, what effect would this have on the climate over the long term? I know it will disrupt the gulf stream that carries warm water to Europe but I'm not sure how it would affect the climate over a longer period, like 5, 10, 20, 50 million years after the opening occured. Like would it become drier and hot again like it was before the land bridge formed or would it become different like wetter and humid?
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Scrublord Feb 21 2016, 07:07 PM Post #26
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El Dorito
Dec 14 2015, 09:54 PM
Is he the 'resident expert' on plate tectonics or something? If he resigns or something like that, I will take his place.
He was, and he had a really interesting project going too. It looked good and had a lot of potential, but he just quit about a year ago. That said, some of his ideas (a new radiation of mammals evolving from the carnivorans, ant-plant symbioses outcompeting other plants) were a bit far-fetched for my tastes.
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El Dorito Feb 23 2016, 04:08 AM Post #27
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I probably just sound arrogant and self centered saying this, but I'm actually really understanding of plate tectonics compared to most people my age (17). I also take plate tectonics and realistic continental drift very seriously. I guess there isn't really a formal 'expert' but meh.
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El Dorito Feb 23 2016, 04:14 AM Post #28
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CaledonianWarrior96
Jan 3 2016, 11:02 AM
whachamacallit2
Jan 3 2016, 09:50 AM
There are just as many failed rifts as successful ones, but in all due honesty, the decision is up to you. The Baikal rift could fail, but it could also succeed. It would probably take well over 100 million years for the rifting to complete, although you could say that it speeds up as the magma pushes more from below.
How does a rift fail?
Rifting actually has a pretty high chance of stopping before an ocean forms. The East African rift is considered by some to be the failed segment of a triple junction separating The Arabian peninsula from Africa, I think it will become a sea because of its length, but that's just me. The sea of Mozambique separating Africa and Madagascar is also a failed rift, although one that stopped at a more developed stage.
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CaledonianWarrior96 Apr 4 2016, 09:04 AM Post #29
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I'm aware that mountains can only go so high up from tectonic plates pushing up the land, but how high up can the Himalayas reach if India continues to push north, or even what would happen to India when the mountains stop rising?

Also does it count as necroposting if the creator of the discussion brings it up? I don't think it is but I'm not really sure what the consensus is here about that particular subject
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El Dorito Apr 4 2016, 11:12 PM Post #30
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I couldn't find much on exact numbers, but if two already high mountain ranges merge and buckle together, you could probably get mountains up to 10-11 km tall at very most, but not any higher. In the tropics that would put the summits of the mountains at just above the stratosphere/troposphere boundary, or about where commercial airlines fly. In the future you might get that sort of setting when the pacific ocean closes, assuming you follow that model. In my project (no intentional self advertising), where North and South america merge together, and also with New Zealand and Australia (basically its two already tall mountain ranges that collide head on while simultaneously being crushed into the center of a supercontinent), there will be mountains of such grandeur.
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