Ron Poet
It is fascinating to watch a visualisation of continents drifting over the surface of the earth during millions of years. It is also difficult to see what is happening because of the shape of the globe.
This project will use a 2D flat square surface to model how continents drift. The left and right, and top and bottom edges will be joined so that there are no boundaries to impede the slow drift of the continents. It should then be easier to see these artificial continents as they drift over the flat earth.
The project will model the physical processes involved when continents collide. Energy is absorbed to slow down the relative movement, while momentum is conserved. This energy will create mountains which will then be eroded to form sedimentary rocks in the oceans. There will also be a process where continents randomly split and move apart to put energy back into the system.
Once the basic system has been built, interesting geological and environmental questions can be investigated. For example, mountain building puts carbon dioxide into the atmosphere while mountain erosion takes it out again. Additionally, large continents over the poles lead to the build up of ice layers which lower the sea level, provided the temperature is not too warm. The flat earth can have a hot spot and a cold spot to represent the poles and the equatorial region.