FUTURE +100

The Atlantic Ocean begins to Close

New subduction zones along the eastern coasts of North America and South America will begin to consume the ocean floor separating North America from Africa. About 100 million years from now the present-day Mid-Atlantic Ridge will be subducted and the continents will come closer together.

The World 150 Million Years in the Future

The Atlantic Ocean, 150 million years in the future, has narrowed as a result of subduction beneath the Americas. The Indian Ocean is also smaller due to northward subduction of oceanic crust into the Central Indian trench. Antarctica has collided along the southern margin of Australia, and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the last vestige of sea floor spreading in the Atlantic Ocean, has nearly been subducted beneath eastern North America. The rock layers that contain the remains of ancient New York City, Boston and Washington lie atop high mountain ranges.

When the last bit of the Mid-Atlantic spreading ridge is subducted beneath the Americas, the Atlantic Ocean will rapidly close and a new Pangea will form.