What will the Earth look like in 50 million years?

Answer

The present is the key to the past, and to the future. The appearance of the earth is slowly changing under the influence of plate tectonics (internal dynamics of the earth) and under the influence of climate, biological evolution and human behavior (external dynamics)

In the short term, the external dynamics are most important. The phenomena that are happening now will continue for decades to come, such as desertification, construction of large reservoirs and subsidence of river deltas, but it is impossible to predict how these highly dynamic factors will affect the earth in 50 million years. In that time frame, the change brought about by plate tectonics is more important, and also somewhat more reliable to predict.

What will happen, by continuing current trends:

• widening of the Atlantic Ocean (at the speed at which fingernails grow) that will surpass the Pacific Ocean as the largest ocean.

• Western Europe will shift further north, a shift that has been going on for hundreds of millions of years.

• the Mediterranean is closed off and disappears, as Africa moves north.

• South America will shift north, as will Australia.

These changes can be viewed on the following website: www.scotese.com/future.htm

What this does not show, but could also happen:

• widening Red Sea.

• tear away from East Africa, as has already happened with Madagascar.