How the Earth has changed over 1.8 billion years and why we need to map the past. A video that makes you think

Scientists from the Ocean University in China have published a video that demonstrates how much the Earth has changed over 1.8 billion years. Using information from rocks on the planet's surface, scientists have reconstructed plate tectonics.

According to the researchers, this is the first time the geological record of the Earth has looked so far back in time. Experts have mapped the planet for the last 40% of its history and demonstrated it in an informative video, ScienceAlert writes.

The "dance" of the continents

Scientists led by Xianzhi Cao from the Ocean University in China emphasize that mapping the Earth through its long history creates a beautiful continental dance, like a work of natural art.

The video begins with a familiar world map. Suddenly, India is rapidly moving south, followed by parts of Southeast Asia, and the continent of Gondwana is forming in the Southern Hemisphere.

According to scientists, approximately 200 million years ago, when dinosaurs walked the earth, Gondwana merged with North America, Europe, and North Asia to form a large supercontinent called Pangaea.

The animated reconstruction then moves even further back in time. Pangaea and Gondwana themselves were formed as a result of the collision of old plates. Over time, an earlier supercontinent called Rodinia emerges.

Rhodinia, in turn, was formed as a result of the breakup of an even older supercontinent called Nuna about 1.35 billion years ago, as seen in the video.

Scientists emphasize that among all the planets in the solar system, the Earth is unique in that it has plate tectonics. Its rocky surface splits into fragments (plates) that rub together to form mountains, or split and form chasms that are then filled with oceans.

The importance of researching the past

Scientists emphasize that mapping the past tectonics of the planet's plates is the first step in creating a complete digital model of the Earth throughout its history. Such a model will allow us to test hypotheses about the past of our planet. For example, why did the Earth's climate experience extreme fluctuations or why did oxygen accumulate in the atmosphere?

Modeling the Earth's past is also essential if we want to understand how nutrients became available to fuel evolution, experts say. After all, the first evidence of complex cells with nuclei, like all animal and plant cells, dates back to 1.65 billion years ago.

This is close to the beginning of this reconstruction and close to the time of the formation of the supercontinent Noona. Scientists are looking to test whether the mountains that grew during the formation of Noona could have provided the elements for the evolution of complex cells.

Scientists emphasize that there are 4.6 billion years to explore. And the stones we walk on contain evidence of how the Earth has changed during this time, scientists believe.

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