One side of the planet is cooling much faster than the other, say researchers

Image credit: livescience.com

The problem is, the ‘wrong’ side is warmer than the other one. Enter Rodinia.
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We’ve known for a long time that Earth’s fiery interior is destined to burn out in the distant future, although new research indicates that this process may be occurring faster on one side of the planet than the other, says IFL Science..

By analyzing the movement of continents and oceanic plates over the past 400 million years, researchers have determined that parts of the planet have remained more insulated than others, leading to an asymmetrical pattern of heat loss.

Deep within Earth’s interior, heat is continually being generated as radioactive elements degrade. At the same time, however, heat is being lost as it dissipates upwards through the crust.

The fact that this surface heat loss outweighs internal heat production means that the planet is cooling overall, and will one day become cold and lifeless.

Interestingly, though, this heat loss does not occur uniformly across the planet, as bulky landmasses provide more insulation than the thinner oceanic crust.

In other words, less heat is being lost in areas that are covered by continents, while regions that are covered by oceans cool much faster.

Continued here.