Jean-Baptiste P. Koehl: The continents are moving. When will they collide?

The continents are moving. When will they collide?

In the early 20th century, Alfred Wegener's theory of Continental Drift laid the foundation for our modern theory of plate tectonics. And today we know something even more exciting: Pangea was only the latest in a long lineage of supercontinents, and it won't be the last. Jean-Baptiste P. Koehl explores when the next supercontinent will emerge — and what it might mean for Earth's environment. [Directed by Iuri Araujo, Província Studio, narrated by Addison Anderson, music by Salil Bhayani, cAMP Studio].

The continents are slowly drifting, driven by the movement of massive tectonic plates that reshape the planet over millions of years. Pangea was only one in a series of supercontinents, and scientists predict the next one could form within 50 to 250 million years. The repeated collision and breakup of these landmasses have triggered dramatic environmental changes, including global ice ages and mass extinctions. Recent research even points to new ways of mitigating some of the climatic risks posed by these colossal shifts.