Mammals are in the middle of their age on this planet. We’ve been around for about 250 million years since mammals evolved on Earth, and we only have another 250 million years before most of the world becomes uninhabitable.
study Recently published Nature Geoscience explained that the world is only a few hundred million years away from creating a new supercontinent. The researchers used data on continental movements to create a new future map. Scientists also used information about what chemical fluctuations in the atmosphere will look like in the future to create a range of different atmospheric and geological conditions on what they call Pangea Ultima. Remember what you learned about Pangea in middle school, the supercontinent that formed more than 300 million years ago? Pangea Ultima is version 2.0. Bringing all the continents together again would create a very harsh environment It would prevent mammals from thriving.
The study explained that in this future scenario, about 8% to 16% of the large continent would be habitable for mammals. Most of this will be found on the northern edges of Pangea Ultima and a small portion of the southern tip. Before the industrial era, emissions began to increase global temperatures, about 66% of The study showed that the land area on this planet was habitable for mammals.
“A newly emerging supercontinent would effectively create a triple whammy, including a continental effect, a hotter sun, more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and increased heat across much of the planet,” said Alexander Farnsworth, lead researcher at the University of Bristol. The author, described in Online statement. “The result is an often hostile environment devoid of food and water sources for mammals.”
Mammals have dominated the planet because of their ability to adapt to warm and cold environments, but most mammals were not created to live in extremely hot environments for long periods of time. Humans in particular sweat as a way to naturally cool their bodies, but there is such a thing as extreme heat A world where the natural mechanisms of our bodies will not work. This is because tectonic movements would create more volcanic eruptions in the future, releasing more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which would trap more heat on the planet.
“We believe that CO2 “It could rise from about 400 parts per million today to more than 600 parts per million millions of years in the future,” said Eunice Lu, a research fellow in climate change and health at the University of Bristol and an author of the study. “Of course, this assumes that humans will stop burning fossil fuels, otherwise we would see these numbers much sooner.”
The Sun is also expected to become hotter and more powerful a few hundred million years in the future. around 200 million years from now, pResearchers estimate that the Sun is likely to emit 2.5% more radiation. “Widespread temperatures of 40 to 50 degrees Celsius, and even daily extremes, combined with high humidity levels, will ultimately determine our fate,” Farnsworth said. Most mammals and future humans (if our species still exists) will expire in what could be a permanent 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
This means that the coasts of Pangea Ultima would likely be wetter than our coastal regions are today, and the vast interior would turn into a large desert. This will reduce the planet’s ability to provide sufficient vegetation for the planet A stable food supply for any existing human civilization in the distant future, and for other mammals.
despite this The scenario is in the future, where our planet is currently putting pressure on animal society and environments. Climate change caused by burning fossil fuels has caused ambient air temperatures to rise at abnormally rapid rates in the past few decades. Without the formation of a supercontinent, or radiation from a more powerful sun, the world witnessed its revolution The hottest summer in the Northern HemisphereAnd A worrying hot start to spring in Australia.
Want more climate and environment stories? Check out Earther’s guides to Decarbonize your home, -Getting rid of fossil fuels, Packing a go-bag for disastersAnd Overcoming climate dread. And don’t miss our coverage The latest climate report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changethe future of Carbon dioxide removalthe unwashed facts in green Bioplastic And Plastic recycling.
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