The earth’s tectonic plates are constantly shifting and changing, causing continents to move by a few centimetres every year.
The earth’s continents will merge and form a new super continent named Novopangea in approximately 200-250 million years, new research has predicted.
The earth’s last super-formation, known as Pangea, formed 310 million years ago and started breaking up 130 million years later.
The shifting resulted in the formation of the Atlantic Ocean, which continues to get bigger as tectonic plates towards each other.
Meanwhile, the Pacific ocean is getting smaller as continents close up towards the large body of water.
The world’s continents are currently in a “scattered” phase, according to researchers, and will continue to move and shift every year.
However, scientists have also predicted three other possible formations in the next 200 million years – Pangea Ultima, Aurica and Amasia.
Pange Ultima consists of all the earth’s continents merged together, surrounding a small part of the Atlantic ocean in the middle.
If the Atlantic ocean and Pacific oceans close, a new ocean basin would be formed, resulting in an Aurica formation.
This would result in a supercontinent known as Aurica – with North America, South America, and East Asia merging into one continent.
The European and African plates would then rejoin the Americas from across the Atlantic.
The final possible scenario Amasia, where several of the tectonic plates shift north upwards away from Antartica.
The drift is believes to be a result of anomalies left by Pangea in the Earth’s interior, known as the mantle.
This would result in the formation of a supercontinent known as Amasia, with the Pacific and Atlantic ocean remaining open.
According to the earth’s current shifting trends, scientists predict Novopangea as the most likely scenario.
Mattias Green is a Reader in Physical Oceanography at Bangor University, wrote in academic journal The Conversation: “Of these four scenarios we believe that Novopangea is the most likely.
“It is a logical progression of present day continental plate drift directions, while the other three assume that another process comes into play.
“There would need to be new Atlantic subduction zones for Aurica, the reversal of the Atlantic opening for Pangea Ultima, or anomalies in the Earth’s interior left by Pangea for Amasia.