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Long-range forecast - fewer continents

It will come as a surprise to read that the face of the earth is predicted to change immeasurably - long after this blogger and any reader of Mahler's Prodigal Son has passed on.

The NY Times reports the rather startling assessment and forecast of geologists where our planet is headed far, far down the track:

"Kiss the Mediterranean goodbye. Ditto the Red Sea and its wonderland of coral reefs and exotic sea life. And prepare for the day when San Francisco has a gritty new suburb: Los Angeles. Indeed, much of Southern California, including the Baja Peninsula, will eventually migrate up the west coast to make Alaska even more gargantuan.

Geologists have long prided themselves on their ability to peer into the distant past and discern the slow movements of land and sea that have continuously revised the planet’s face over eons. Now, drawing on new insights, theories, measurements and technologies — and perhaps a bit of scientific bravado — they are forecasting the shape of terra firma in the distant future."

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