The four future supercontinent models

This video shows the four possible future supercontinent models: Pangea Proxima, Novopangea, Amasia, and Aurica, including one at the end of the video. These supercontinents are likely to be formed within the next 200–300 million years.

Explanation for this model:
The Earth has a cycle known as the supercontinent cycle.  It is the cycle of forming supercontinents, breaking up supercontinents, and forming another supercontinent.  The latest supercontinent, Pangea, formed 335 million years ago and existed for 160 million years until its breakup 175 million years ago.  We are currently in the middle of a supercontinent cycle.  In the future, another supercontinent may form, so there have been various models of possible configurations of future supercontinents.  There are currently four possible scenarios of a future supercontinent: Pangea Proxima, Aurica, Amasia, and Novopangea, and possibly even more.  These supercontinents are predicted to form within the next 200–250 million years.  These predictions are mainly based on current plate tectonics motions and velocities. 

This model shows a modified model of Amasia, where all continents will gather near the north pole, but with comparable differences from other models of the supercontinent conducted by different studies.  This model includes the Pacific Superplume, a superglue that Is situated in the Pacific Ocean.  When continents bump against a superglue, they get stuck to it, forcing it to move another way.  The movement of Laurentia starting 500 million years ago is probably caused by an ancient superglue.  In the future, the continents Asia, Australia, and the Americas will likely bump into the superglue, forcing them to move northwards.  The northward movement of these continents makes them collide, which will close the Arctic Ocean.  Another superplume, which is located opposite the Pacific Superplume and lies beneath Africa, is halting the movements of Africa and Eurasia, therefore it will shift to the southeast in the future.

This model also includes the East African Rift that will break up the continent of Africa into two: Nubia and Somalia.  Most models say that the East African Rift is not going to develop, because they say it will eventually fail, with Scotese saying that there is no room for East Africa to expand to the east.  But in this model, East Africa (Somalia) will break up from the rest of Africa 5 million years from now (Ma) and expand to the east by about 6 cm/year.  The Red Sea is shown to further expand by the ongoing collision of the Arabian Peninsula, therefore expanding the room for East Africa to expand to the east.  The Anatolian Plate is currently moving westward and is expected to collide with Eastern Greece 20 million years from now.

Some major events may happen in the future with this model:

• 5 million years from now, Somalia will break away from the rest of Africa.
• 20 million years from now, the Himalayas, Alps, and the Zagros Mountains will stop growing, and Anatolia (Turkey) will collide with Greece.
• 25 million years from now, Australia will stop its northward motion because it got stuck in the Pacific Superplume.  It will then collide with Southeast and East Asia.
• 50 million years from now, Somalia is expected to move southward away from India.
• 75 million years from now, Africa has collided with Southern Europe, forming a mountain range, and Australia has collided with Southeast and East Asia to form a mountain range similar to the one mentioned above.
• 100 million years from now, Afro-Euraustraliasia and the Americas have bumped against the Pacific Superplume, and they are forced to move northwards as a result of that.  Antarctica has also started moving northwards, away from the south pole.  Somalia also passes south of India, which is destined to collide with the western margin of what is today Indonesia.  An Island chain will possibly form in that region because of subduction from the Somali Plate. North America gets a new coastline as Baja California, Basin and Range, and Colorado Plateau regions move northwards. Baja California collided with southern Alaska at that time.
• 150 million years from now, South America will be also stuck in the Pacific Superplume, so it moves northward to collide with Central America.
• 200 million years from now, South America has collided with Central America, forming a mountain range.
• And finally, 250 million years from now, the supercontinent Amasia has formed as a result of the collision of the northern margins of North America and Eurasia. Antarctica is along the southeast coast of South America, and Somalia is near the western coast of Indonesia. It is predicted that these two continents will eventually collide with them.

Projection used: Mollweide, 60°E center meridian

0:00 Intro
0:10 Pangea Proxima
0:47 Novopangea
1:20 Amasia
1:50 Aurica
2:30 Amasia — by TerraSpace

Music: "All This" by Kevin MacLeod

[idle_speculation]

I believe that Amasia is probably the most likely future supercontinent mode. It follows the current trend of the subduction of the Pacific, which has been going on since Pangaea broke up, as well as recognizing it is unlikely for Africa to split in two, given that the East African Rift is the slowest-growing arm of the Afar Triple Junction, and is likely to die down and become an aulacogen. It also recognizes the African and Pacific Large Low-Shear Velocity Provinces as a barrier to both Antarctica and South America crossing the Pacific. It is also based on studies of the latitude of ancient supercontinents which conclude that they form roughly 90 degrees away from their predecessors. Novopangaea may not be possible, both because of the previous issues I pointed out with the presence of LLSVPs blocking convergent plate tectonics in the Pacific and the EAR's slow growth, but also because the Earth's mantle may be too cool for an extroversion cycle to begin. While Aurica and Pangaea Proxima both continue the Atlantic's Wilson Cycle, Aurica is an unlikely outcome as it is not likely the Baikal Rift will form a new ocean, and Scotese's Pangaea Proxima model relies on a faulty understanding of how subduction zones form; it assumes that they occur when oceanic crust becomes old and dense enough, while current evidence suggests they form around pre-existing zones of weakness like strike-slip faults or deactivated divergent plate boundaries.

[zfloyd]

Nobody:
Antarctica in the Amasia model: I'm just chillin here.

[ouroborosytp]

Nice ! My favorite thesis is Novopangea, why obeys the east Africa rifting, obeys the Mediterranean Sea closure and obeys the Atlântic ocean expansion.

[Secret-tsvn]

The third one is probably the most suitable continent for life in the future. Considering the sun’s luminosity is going to have increased by then, the equator would become way too hot, so most of the land being on the poles is the best

[AlfallMap]

Syntomapangaea is a supercontinent model I propose, it means "Soon all Earth".
It is based off of Pangaea Proxima but with differences.
The Eastern Atlantic becomes a separate plate and begins subducting under Europe and Africa
East Africa becomes severed but eventually stalls and becomes a pseudo Madagascar in the Afroeurasian Plate
Both sides of the Atlantic will develop subduction zones and island chains
Antarctica is severed, West Antarctica becomes part of the South American Plate, East Antarctica eventually latches on to Afroeurasia's Indian Ocean subduction zone
Syntomapangaea's forms around 0N/S 0E/W but eventually migrates to be a northern polar landmass

[TheSpaceEnthusiast-vlwx]

Thanks! This is lovely! You even show some continental crust being uplifted or created!

[TheEarth]

1:50 Antarctica: why everyone leave me here😢😢😢

[erikhernandez-robledo]

I'm more a fan of novopangea, because extroversion is more likely than introversion. The 5th model (amasia but better) is even likelier due to othroversion, and it's better than the original because Antarctica must move SOMEWHERE.

[Skiskiski]

Great attention to detail. You show Africa breaking up and coming back together. Kudos!

[malaysia]

My favourite future supercontinents:
1. Novopangaea and your Amasia
2. Amasia and Pangaea Proxima
3. Aurica

[maxvashakidze]

I mostly follow the Aurica hypothesis but with a few modifications.
Based on the idea of the African Rift growing, both North and South. This would split Eurasia and Antarctica as well, forming a new Siberian Ocean.
In addition, Nubia will merge with Eurasia enclosing the Black Sea and forming a Mediterranean Mountain range. Australia will dock with Eurasia around 100 million years from now when the Siberian Ocean first opens up. The new Australasia continent would begin moving farther south accelerating the closure of the Pacific while Chukotka attaches to Alaska,
Similar to Scotese’s prediction, about 100-125 million years from now, the Atlantic will start to shrink with South and North America both approaching Nubia. Contrasting with Scotese the Australasian and Somalian continents will continue East to merge with the Americas on the West, South and North America will wrap around Western Nubia. Antarctica will be located on the southern edge of the landmass possibly scooped up by South America. This will likely be the last of the major landmasses to merge with the rest. Somalia will attach shortly after by about 300 million years from now, forming a modified version of Aurica.
Now I just need to name it.

[Leonardoth]

This is great! Although sometime islands seem to go into each other, if you happen to do this again, could you fix that?

[Bubblezz]

I like how north America took that piece of Asia like 'yeah imma just take that'.

[eliottlibert-doff]

Brunelleschi Dome:im so beautiful
Hôtel des Invalides:Uhh
Brunelleschi Dome:Eww…
Hôtel des Invalides:Then Check my inside
Brunelleschi Dome:My inside is cool too…
Hôtel des Invalides:Yeah but worse

[hurricanemegan]

I think a combination of 1 and 2 is what I think is going to happen. I think east Africa is going to rift and the Atlantic is going to expand and then subduct.

[Memeened]

Model 6 : my prediction
After 1 million year : water

[KingJAB_]

Great rift valley in the Pangea Proxima model:
“Actually I changed my mind about becoming an ocean”

[hieppham]

the first amasia be like: all the continents go up except Antarctica

[stephacevedo]

1:12 soth america: uh nothing happened

[LadyViscera]

0:58 Model 2 looks very reminiscent of the world map from After Man by Dougal Dixon.
The date matches up too.