One day, the Pacific Ocean might vanish: this is what Earth could look like in 250 million years

The Earth’s surface is in constant flux, even if we don’t feel it. Continents slowly but steadily drift, collide, and fracture — this is how ancient supercontinents formed, and how the next one might take shape. Based on multiple scientific theories and simulations, a new supercontinent could emerge within the next 250 million years, drastically transforming our planet.

Return to the age of supercontinents

The movement of continents is driven by the slow dance of tectonic plates. Over the past two billion years, three major supercontinents — Columbia, Rodinia, and Pangaea — have formed and eventually broken apart, according to IFLScience. Now, scientists believe the continents are drifting back together, setting the stage for a massive landmass to emerge, referred to as either Pangea Proxima or Amasia.

American geologist Christopher Scotese first proposed the concept of “Pangaea Ultima” in the 1980s, later renaming it “Pangaea Proxima”. According to his theory, the subduction of the Atlantic Ocean floor will cause the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia to merge into one enormous landmass, with Australia and Antarctica attaching to its southern edge.

The Pacific could disappear

Another theory, however, suggests that it’s not the Atlantic but the Pacific Ocean that will vanish, according to an earlier article from ScienceAlert. Researchers from Curtin University in Australia used supercomputer simulations to suggest that subduction zones in the Pacific (such as the infamous “Ring of Fire”) act like drains, shrinking the ocean by several centimetres per year.