00:00Now, history teaches us that the supercontinent existed a long time ago, around 300-273 million
00:08years back.
00:10At that time, all the continents on Earth were buddies and hanging out together.
00:15They formed an amazing crew called Pangea, or Pangea if you're feeling fancy.
00:20The name comes from a Greek word which means all the Earth.
00:24Pangea also had a massive water neighbor called Panthalassa, so our entire world was
00:30a huge piece of land surrounded by a huge piece of ocean.
00:35The megacontinent looked like a giant sea stretching between the tippy-top and bottom
00:39of our planet.
00:41But as stories go, things changed.
00:44About 200 million years ago, in the early Jurassic era, like dinosaur times, Pangea
00:50decided to throw a breakaway party.
00:53Forget about the old ideas of continents just drifting around like big icebergs.
00:57It split up into smaller chunks, forming the continents we know today.
01:01Oh, and it created the Atlantic and Indian Oceans as a bonus.
01:07Pangea's tale was first told by a German weather expert named Alfred Wegener in 1912.
01:15But how did he learn about something that happened so long ago?
01:20Imagine the Earth's core as a big cozy fireplace, giving off heat.
01:24This heat creates special swirling currents in the Earth's outer shell.
01:29We can think of it as the Earth's crust, which looks like a big puzzle with many puzzle
01:33pieces.
01:35The hot currents make these puzzle pieces, called crustal plates, move around.
01:40Sometimes they push apart, sometimes they crash into each other, and sometimes they
01:45slide past one another.
01:47It's like a fantastic dance party that goes on beneath our feet.
01:51One day, Wegener looked at the shapes of the continents and thought that, hey, those coastlines
01:56of South America and Africa kind of fit together.
02:00And they really did.
02:02So he imagined that way back, all of the continents hung out together as one big landmass.
02:11But he couldn't just go and say that without any proof.
02:14So how do we know Pangaea really was a thing?
02:17Well, there are some clues that brought us to this amazing discovery.
02:22One clue is like when you put a puzzle together, and the pieces fit just right.
02:27Take a look at the shapes of today's continents.
02:29You'll notice that they could fit together almost like a perfect match.
02:34Obviously their shapes changed over time.
02:36It happened millions of years ago, and since then, the shores of continents have been washed
02:41by waters for years.
02:43But even so, we can still see how well they fit together.
02:48Another clue comes from checking out fossils.
02:50We know that ancient animals left a lot of fossils behind.
02:54That's how we learned their history and what species there were.
02:57But when scientists compared fossils found on different continents, they found something
03:02interesting.
03:03These fossils look similar.
03:05Surprisingly, they belong to the same groups of animals, even though they were far apart.
03:11It's not like these animals could swim across the ocean on their four paws.
03:15And it's unlikely that this particular type of animal originated in two places at the
03:20same time.
03:23And finally, the mountains.
03:25Imagine exploring underwater and finding huge mountains in the oceans.
03:30These underwater ranges and deep trenches are like scars from when Earth's tectonic
03:35plates moved around.
03:36They serve as another proof that the continents are part of something bigger.
03:41When you look at these things together, you get a pretty clear picture.
03:45The Earth's continents were once huddled together in the supercontinent.
03:48They've since gone their separate ways.
03:51But the memories of their grand adventure are still written in the shapes of coastlines,
03:56the rocks they left behind, and many more.
03:59But it's obvious to us now.
04:01At the time of Wegener's discovery, there were different ideas flying around.
04:06Some folks thought that the continents sank down to make the oceans.
04:09But Wegener had a different take.
04:11He thought that the continents are always on the move.
04:14He even came up with a fancy phrase, continental drift, to explain it.
04:22Later he was joined by another scientist named Alexander de Toit.
04:26He added a little twist to the story, suggesting there were two original continents, Laurasia
04:31in the north and Gondwanda in the south.
04:35But the real party didn't start until the 1960s, when scientists figured out the secret
04:39ingredient in this recipe – plate tectonics.
04:43And finally, this theory explained everything Wegener and de Toit talked about.
04:48Wegener's theory was proven correct after 50 years.
04:53As time passed, we learned more and more about our planet.
04:56We found out that the Earth used to have multiple supercontinents.
05:01Before Pangaea, there was a megacontinent called Rodinia around a billion years ago.
05:06And later on, Pannotia joined the scene about 600 million years ago.
05:13What's interesting is that the continental drift story is far from over.
05:19Our continents are always on the move.
05:21Africa is giving Europe a friendly bump.
05:24And Australia is playing a game of bumper cars with Southeast Asia.
05:28You know what's on the horizon?
05:30Another supercontinent.
05:32So how will this next supercontinent come together?
05:35There are four major possibilities – Novopangaea, Pangaea Ultima, Aurica, and Amasia.
05:43These might sound like superhero names, but they're actually ways the puzzle pieces
05:47could fit.
05:48Let's look at them all.
05:50First, Novopangaea.
05:52You know how there's the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other?
05:57If these oceans keep doing what they're doing now, the Atlantic will keep opening
06:01up while the Pacific squeezes in.
06:04If that happens, the Americas – North and South America – will give each other a big
06:09high-five.
06:11And Antarctica – that icy land way down south – will join the fun too.
06:15It'll be drifting northward.
06:19Next, Pangaea Ultima.
06:23In the future, the Atlantic Ocean might get tired of being so wide.
06:27It might decide to slow down and shrink a bit.
06:31The Americas and the northward-drifting Antarctica will probably crash into Africa and Europe.
06:37And just like that, a brand new supercontinent forms.
06:41There are these spots where the ocean floor is sliding underneath the land.
06:45It's like a secret underwater passage.
06:48These spots are called subduction zones.
06:50So if these secret tunnels will be spreading and spreading all along the east coast of
06:55the Americas, the Americas, Europe, and Africa might come together again.
07:01And they'd form a supercontinent.
07:03This supercontinent would be surrounded by the Pacific Ocean.
07:07The next possible supercontinent is Orica.
07:10In this scenario, the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans might decide to take a nap and close
07:14up.
07:16But don't worry, because when one door closes, another opens.
07:20In this case, a whole new ocean would pop up to replace them.
07:26Imagine a big crack in the ground cutting through Asia, like a zipper opening up.
07:31This crack is called the Pan-Asian Rift, and it would become a brand new ocean.
07:37With this new ocean comes a new supercontinent, Orica.
07:41Australia is currently drifting northwards, like it's trying to find a nice spot at
07:45the center of our planet.
07:47East Asia and the Americas might join in from both sides.
07:51After that, Europe and Africa might link up with the Americas, and boom, Orica.
07:57And finally, Amasia.
07:59It might form if some of the tectonic plates go north.
08:02They can take continents like Africa and Australia along for the ride.
08:06They'll be hanging out around the North Pole.
08:09All the continents except Antarctica might come together.
08:15And even though they might gather around the North Pole, they won't close off the oceans.
08:20The Atlantic and Pacific Oceans would still be open for business.
08:24How this grand reunion happens depends on the Earth's tectonic movements.
08:29So far, we believe that Novo Pangea is the most likely scenario.
08:34It also depends on what exactly happened to Pangea after it broke apart.
08:39And when the new supercontinent appears, what's going to happen with the weather?
08:43How will the ocean behave?
08:45And what about the animals and plants?
08:47These questions all light up our minds.
08:50Who knows?
08:51Maybe someday, our descendants will look at the world map and see this incredible journey
08:56come full circle.
08:57So keep asking curious questions, and stay tuned for the next 100 million years!
09:04That's it for today!
09:05So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your
09:10friends!
09:11And if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!
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