Predicting Earth’s Future With Its Shape 100 Million Years Ago

The study’s lead researcher, Tristan Salles from the University of Sydney School of Geosciences said to predict the future, it is necessary to understand the past first. But unfortunately at that time, there was no geological model that showed that.

“So this is a major advance. These findings are not only a tool to help investigate the past, but to help scientists understand and predict the future as well,” said Salles.

The find uses a framework that combines geodynamic, tectonic, and climatic forces with surface processes to shape the face of planet Earth.

Through this research, for the first time, comes a high-resolution understanding of how the current geophysical landscape was created and how millions of tonnes of sediment have flowed into the oceans.

Salles said that understanding the flow of terrestrial sediments into the marine environment is critical to understanding current ocean chemistry.

“This unprecedented high-resolution model will equip geologists with a more complete and dynamic understanding of the Earth’s surface,” said a second scientist, Laurent Husson of the Institut des Sciences de la Terre in Grenoble, France.

The model’s findings allow scientists to test different theories about how the Earth’s surface responds to changing climates and tectonic forces.

Intern reporter: Safira Tiur Margaretha

(mdk/phase)