Continental Drift Speeds Up

[Tony Jones]

An ASB decides that the world would be more interesting if continental drift was faster, much faster. So it speed it up by a factor of a million, so that in 50 years the world will be like this, in 100 like this and in 250 like this. Other geological processes may speed up to (like oil formation).

What happens?

[the_lyniezian]

Originally Posted by Tony Jones

An ASB decides that the world would be more interesting if continental drift was faster, much faster. So it speed it up by a factor of a million, so that in 50 years the world will be like this, in 100 like this and in 250 like this. Other geological processes may speed up to (like oil formation).

What happens?

Your link for 50 years is the same as your link for the 200 years.

Oil formation is generaly thought to be the transformed remainder of organic matter (dead life forms?) trapped under sucessive layers of sediment, so I doubt that wil speed up unless there are lots more laayers of sediment being formed (very liekly- or it could be volcanic rock?

I would very much imagine a lot more increased seismic activity if not volcanic- mega-earthquakes, tsunamis, &c. Lots of death and destruction if not mass extinction...

Or if that was handwaved...?

[Tony Jones]

Originally Posted by the_lyniezian

Your link for 50 years is the same as your link for the 200 years.

So it is! Fixed now... Doh!

Originally Posted by the_lyniezian

Oil formation is generaly thought to be the transformed remainder of organic matter (dead life forms?) trapped under sucessive layers of sediment, so I doubt that wil speed up unless there are lots more laayers of sediment being formed (very liekly- or it could be volcanic rock?

I was thinking you might get a burst of oil formation as all the organic matter on the sea floor is 'processed' and then no more as it gets no chance to accumulate. Which might be interesting...

Originally Posted by the_lyniezian

I would very much imagine a lot more increased seismic activity if not volcanic- mega-earthquakes, tsunamis, &c. Lots of death and destruction if not mass extinction...

Or if that was handwaved...?

I was thinking of handwaving it; I was more considering how politics and international relations would be affected by the Earths surface suddenly beginning to reshape itself at speed rather than anything end-of-the-world...

Supervolcanoes and so on every few months would probaby be a bit much for society to cope with!