Only a small part of Earth will remain habitable during what researchers believe will be the largest mass extinction since the disappearance of the dinosaurs. Extreme temperatures, intense radiation, and a total collapse of the food supply.
This is certainly not the text of a tourist brochure. However, this could be the harsh reality when Earth’s continents, in the distant future, merge and form the next supercontinent. That’s one of the conclusions of a study where researchers at the University of Bristol carried out computer simulations of how the melting of continents could affect land mammals.
And the results seem, to put it mildly, bleak. Continent melting has occurred several times over the past two billion years, at intervals of about 600 million years, in what geologists have called the supercontinent cycle. The future supercontinent is predicted to form in about 250 million years around the equator and has been named “Pangea Ultima”, in reference to the supercontinent Pangea, which existed during the age of the dinosaurs.
The cause of these earth movements is in the central part of the Earth’s mantle, where a hot ocean of magma pushes the outer plates together. In the study, researchers used supercomputers and advanced climate models to simulate the impacts of these geological upheavals on the new supercontinent’s temperatures, winds, precipitation, and humidity.
And it appears that it will be very hot for all living beings there. The huge land mass will lack the cooling effect of the surrounding oceans. Additionally, researchers expect our aging sun to emit about 2.5% more radiation than it does today.
As if that wasn’t enough, the planet will also be hit by numerous volcanic eruptions, releasing huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This will heat our unfortunate planet even more, creating a hostile environment without sources of water and food. In sum, researchers estimate that only 8 to 16% of the landscape will be habitable for mammals, with temperatures constant between 40 and 70°C across much of the planet.
According to them, this could be fatal for most mammals. Their ability to release excess heat could be seriously compromised when temperatures exceed 40°C with low humidity and 35°C with high humidity for long periods, they explain. “Humans – and many other species – will perish because of their inability to lose heat through sweating and cool their bodies,” says the study’s lead author, Alexander Farnsworth.