According to a study by Yale University scientists, the Earth will look very different in 200 million years, with the latest prediction that a supercontinent called Amasia will form right over the North Pole, and not over the centre of Africa, as previously thought.
North and South America will crunch together, with the Caribbean Sea and Arctic Ocean disappearing, while Asia will join the Americas, the scientists say.
“After those water bodies close, we’re on our way to the next supercontinent,” said lead researcher Ross Mitchell.
“You’d have the Americas meeting Eurasia practically at the North Pole.”
The results of the study were published this week in Nature, with the paper explaining that the formation of Amasia is between 50 and 200 million years away.
The Yale researchers used a process called orthoversion to arrive at their conclusions.
North and South America will crunch together, with the Caribbean Sea and Arctic Ocean disappearing, while Asia will join the Americas
According to this, each succeeding supercontinent forms 90 degrees from the geographic centre of its ancient predecessor.
The new theory contrasts with the standard theories about supercontinent formation, introversion and extroversion, which hold that supercontinents form either 0 or 180 degrees away from the geographic centre of the previous supercontinent.
Under these earlier theories, the Atlantic Ocean will disappear and the next supercontinent will form with a centre more or less in the same spot as the last supercontinent’s centre, present-day Africa.
Alternately, the Pacific Ocean will disappear and the next supercontinent will form with a centre on the opposite side of the globe.
Ross Mitchell and colleagues arrived at the new theory after an extensive analysis of the magnetism of ancient rocks.
After each historical supercontinent assembled, it underwent a series of back-and-forth rotations around a stable axis along the equator.
From one supercontinent to the next, the axes were offset from each other by about 90 degrees, the Yale team showed – consistent with orthoversion, but not with either introversion or extroversion.
“This kind of analysis gives us a way to arrange continents in both latitude and longitude, providing a better understanding in patterns of biological dispersal and the dynamics of Earth’s deep interior,” said Yale doctoral student Taylor M. Kilian, the study’s second author.
The most recent supercontinent, Pangea (which is Greek for “All Lands”), formed about 300 million years ago with Africa at its centre.
Pangea began breaking apart into the seven continents of today with the birth of the Atlantic Ocean about 100 million years later.
Researchers believe Pangea is the third or fourth supercontinent in Earth’s history. Its immediate predecessors were Rodinia – which formed about 1 billion years ago – and Nuna, which formed about 1.8 billion years ago.
The idea of continental drift was introduced by German scientist Alfred Wegener in 1912, to explain how the shape of Earth’s countries looked suspiciously like jigsaw pieces that would fit together.
The Earth’s surface is formed from seven major and several minor tectonic plates that wander around at speeds varying from a few millimetres to two centimetres a year, the same pace that a human nail grows.
It’s the friction caused by plates grinding against each other that causes earthquakes.
Hugh Grant met Tinglan Hong, the mother of his first child at a Chinese restaurant,the Bayee Village in Wimbledon, where she worked.
Hugh Grant, 51, met Tinglan Hong at the Bayee Village,where he dined regularly and she entertained guests by singing karaoke.
Tinglan Hong, 32, worked in the restaurant for seven years and dated its owner Marco Yu before her short relationship with Hugh Grant.
Hugh Grant met Tinglan Hong, the mother of his first child at a Chinese restaurant,the Bayee Village in Wimbledon, where she worked
Speaking about Tinglan Hong, who was known as Tin Tin, Marco Yu told the Sunday Mirror that he was shocked at hearing his former girlfriend was pregnant with Hugh Grant’s baby.
Bayee Village restaurant owner, Marco Yu said: “She’s a nice girl and a good worker. Everybody liked her. She comes from a good family and has a masters degree in travel and tourism so is very bright.
“I haven’t seen her since she went on maternity leave but I wish her the best of luck.”
Bayee Village restaurant in Wimbledon is regularly frequented by famous people with Hugh Grant being a regular and members of the Fulham football squad.
Restaurant specials include sweet and sour sea bass and a number of dishes based on lobster.
Bayee Village restaurant in Wimbledon is regularly frequented by famous people with Hugh Grant being a regular and members of the Fulham football squad
Tinglan Hong was born in China before moving to the England where she engaged in what was named a “fleeting” affair with Hugh Grant.
The news Tinglan Hong gave birth to Hugh Grant’s first baby, a girl who is now six weeks old, caused surprise around the globe and was not planned.
Hugh Grant is not believed to have been present at the birth but he is said to have spent around half an hour with her the following day before heading to Scotland to play in a golf tournament.
According to U.S. reports, Tinglan Hong gave birth at the beginning of October, but the British media has been told that she had the child on the afternoon of September 26.
Hugh Grant’s baby girl was delivered at the private Portland Hospital in central London by Caesarean section. It is believed Tinglan Hong used the name “Sophie” for the baby during her stay at the hospital.
Hugh Grant has become a father for the first time and welcomes a baby girl after his ex-girlfriend, Tinglan Hong gave birth following a “fleeting affair”.
The pregnancy was not planned and the child, who has not been named, is now five weeks old.
Hugh Grant, 51, is not believed to have been present at the birth but he is said to have spent around half an hour with her the following day before heading to Scotland to play in a golf tournament.
According to some reports, Tinglan Hong, 32, gave birth on the afternoon of September 26.
The baby was delivered at the private Portland Hospital in central London by caesarean section. It is believed the mother used the name “Sophie” Hong during her stay at the hospital.
Hugh Grant has become a father for the first time and welcomes a baby girl after his ex-girlfriend, Tinglan Hong gave birth following a "fleeting affair"
Hugh Grant – who previously dated Liz Hurley and Jemima Khan and has a reputation as a commitment-phobe – had a short-lived relationship with Tinglan Hong, who is Chinese and said to be an actress.
Hugh Grant and Tinglan Hong are no longer together and last night actor’ spokesman said:
“I can confirm that Hugh Grant is the delighted father of a baby girl. He and the mother had a fleeting affair and while this was not planned, Hugh could not be happier or more supportive.
“He and the mother have discussed everything and are on very friendly terms.”
However, the identity of the mother was not disclosed in the statement, nor were details of the couple’s relationship.
A heavily pregnant Tinglan Hong was photographed strolling in London in September
Tinglan Hong – who had been living in Merton, south London – is said to have moved close to Grant’s £3 million home in Fulham, south-west London. According to Westminster Register Office, the birth had still not been registered yesterday. Legally, it has to be registered by next Monday.
Hugh Grant and Tinglan Hong met last year and began dating in January. Their relationship is said to have petered out soon after she fell pregnant.
In September, a heavily pregnant Tinglan Hong was photographed strolling in London in a baggy pink and white top and a cream cardigan.
On the day that Tinglan Hong gave birth, Hugh Grant – who rose to fame in Four Weddings And A Funeral and is estimated to be worth £40 million – was at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.
Hugh Grant and Tinglan Hong met last year and began dating in January
Hugh Grant even posed for a photograph with deputy leader Harriet Harman after she congratulated him for “bravely speaking out” about the phone-hacking scandal which led to the closure of the News Of The World.
Following his trip to see the child, Hugh Grant headed to Scotland. On September 28, the actor teed off alongside professional David Howell at annual celebrity golf tournament The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
It was the same event at which Liz Hurley announced her engagement to cricketer Shane Warne, who proposed over dinner.
Hugh Grant spent four days at the event, although his involvement in the tournament ended after three rounds.
Some questioned actor’s decision to go to the tournament so soon after the birth.
One source close to Hugh Grant was reported to have told a U.S. website last night:
“He’s going to be a great dad! He’s beaming about his daughter. He’s not with the mum any more but he’s absolutely thrilled.”
On September 23, three days before the birth, Hugh Grant seemingly hinted at his impending fatherhood when he tweeted:
“Recently, in my life, everything is beautiful! I’m happy.”
Four years ago Hugh Grant told glossy magazine Vogue he was ready to be a father, saying: “As much as I adore myself, I’m quite keen to find someone else to care about more. I remember reading a Warren Beatty quote when he finally had children and said “what a relief it was not to be all me, me, me.”
In 2010, Hugh Grant told a Spanish TV show: “I have some resolutions like losing some pounds. I also need to get married and have children. I need a new house.”
And in September 2010, the actor said he “should settle down” and that he wished he had children.
Hugh Grant also revealed he was attracted to Chinese women after a visit to the country in 2010, where he had “fallen in love four times” in 24 hours.
Hugh Grant – who has never married – has starred in films including About A Boy and Notting Hill.
In 1995, Hugh Grant starred alongside Julianne Moore in the film Nine Months, which told the story of a commitment-phobe who finds out his long-term girlfriend is pregnant.
Hugh Grant dated Elizabeth Hurley, now 46, for 13 years before they split in 2000, five years after he was caught cheating with Hollywood prostitute Divine Brown.
Hugh Grant and socialite Jemima Khan, now 37, then dated for three years from 2004.
