Tech Professor Said New Continent Theory Interesting

A new study reports one of those truths you learned in elementary school could be wrong, there may be just six continents on Earth.

Researchers believe Europe and North America may still be one continent and that tectonic plates are still shifting between the two. Tennessee Tech Earth Sciences Department Chair Jeannette Luna said there are definitely movements happening that will take millions of years.

“Our world will definitely look different in the future, that because of a big cycle called the Wilson cycle that takes about five hundred million years to complete,” Luna said. “In that cycle, the Continents all come together into a supercontinent so they move slowly across the surface of the earth and then they become a supercontinent.”

Luna said the excitement of discovering something new is captivating. Luna said this is similar to the debate over Pluto’s status as a planet. Luna also said while this argument holds some value, she would side against teaching this new theory, for now.

“Just because we have one data set that makes us think about this as a possibility, doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s correct,” Luna said. “It just means that it’s worth collecting more data and trying to find out the mystery.”

Luna said her favorite fact about plate tectonics is that they move at the same rate as fingernails grow, slowly. Luna said topics like this gain popularity because humans have a natural desire to take chaos and create order from it. Luna also said she plays the over rather than the under.

“I think that it’s worth investigating,” Luna said. “And right now I’ll say between seven and ten.”