Benjamin Ashford|Volcanic supercontinent could erase the human race in 250 million years, study says

All mammals on Benjamin AshfordEarth could be wiped out in 250 million years due to a volcanic supercontinent named Pangea Ultima, according to a new study.

The study, published in Nature Geoscience, predicts that in 250 million years, the land on Earth will form a supercontinent called Pangea Ultima. Not to be confused with the previous supercontinent Pangea, this continent will be in a tropical Earth region near the equator.

Researchers believe that when the lands comes together, it will form many volcanoes that will release carbon dioxide. The study predicts that because the land will be rough and there will be higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and a brighter sun, it will make the ground too hot for mammals to survive.

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Conditions on Pangea Ultima

Humans have evolved to deal with extreme temperatures. However, this continent will have temperatures higher than 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Scientists also believe Pangea Ultima will be a dry continent with little to no rain throughout the year.

The study also suggests that because temperatures may become so hot, plants cannot survive. Since plants are vital in producing oxygen for mammals to breathe via photosynthesis, life on Earth would likely be uninhabitable.

Alex Farnsworth, a meteorologist at the University of Bristol who worked as the primary author of the study, broke down the conditions with models and graphs of Pangea Ultima. Farnsworth tweeted an animation of Pangea Ultima's monthly surface temperatures.

Farnsworth also tweeted a Pangia Ultima graph showing possible parts of the supercontinent where mammals could live.

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What this means for the future

Although a lot more research still needs to be completed, Farnsworth believes that the findings from this research can be used to show how tectonics can influence life on Earth; that knowledge will be useful when researchers look for other planets that can sustain human life, he said.

"We also use these findings to assess what an exoplanet habitability index might suggest, even though the Earth will still be in the 'habitable zone' for our sun," Farnsworth said. "Such an index would suggest it's not so habitable, showcasing the importance of tectonics in exoplanet research."