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THE NEXT OCEAN,
THE NEXT WORLD

Monday, July 10, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we track Earth’s movements toward a new ocean—and eventually, a mega-continent. Plus, explore a subterranean mummification workshop and marvel at a rare octopus nursery.

a diver swims in the Gulf of California

PHOTOGRAPH BY THOMAS P. PESCHAK, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Shifting tectonic plates led to new continents—and will lead to Earth’s next great ocean. Underground changes right now are keeping the Red Sea at bay, and preventing floods in low-lying parts of Ethiopia. A rising plume of searing hot rocks is slowly forcing apart a swath of land along the Africa’s eastern coast.

It’s happening in North America, too. A diver (pictured above) in the relatively young—and growing—Gulf of California.

WHAT WILL THIS MEAN?

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An illustration of the coming merger of the continents

ART: CHARLES PREPPERNAU. SOURCE: C.R. SCOTESE, PALEOMAP PROJECT

The next world: This is a map of earth, 250 million years in the future, when only a vestige of the Atlantic remains. The planet’s landmasses will be joined together into a new super-continent. New high mountains mark the sites of massive collisions. Read more.

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

brooding octopus moms near hydrothermal vents

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY SCHMIDT OCEAN INSTITUTE

Rare octopus nursery found, teeming with surprises (Above, brooding octopus moms near hydrothermal vents)

This scientific tool will help upend everything we assumed about ancient gender roles

What made the biggest-ever shark so terrifying?

Step inside an ancient mummification workshop

What is your 'food clock'? These 4 tips can improve how you eat

The 'Dial of Destiny' is real—and was found in an ancient shipwreck

Extreme heat affects us and our pets differently. Here’s how to help them.

Not all fat is created equal. This ‘good fat’ could keep us youthful.

Why humans feel better in forests and around lakes, streams, or oceans

David Byrne on ’Being Barbie’ (and neuroscience)

PHOTO OF THE DAY

kittens

PHOTOGRAPH BY MELISSA FARLOW, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Adorable, but ... On National Kitten Day, here’s a litter of feral kittens in the Florida Keys waiting to be spayed and neutered. Feral cats are responsible for killing millions of songbirds, reptiles, and mammals each year. Spay and neuter programs like this one can help keep the population under control, and a new birth control for cats won’t require surgery at all.

Related: A ‘kitten-otter-bear’? Untangling the identity of a very strange skeleton
Why do 16th-century manuscripts show cats with flaming backpacks?
National Geographic to stop publishing nude animal pictures
The forgotten history of cats in the navy

HEEEERE, KITTY KITTY

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

a skeleton

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY GABRIEL PRIETO

In a “complex little fishing village” ... Archeologists uncovered 54 human burials, most accompanied with extra human limbs (like the two additional left legs buried alongside the adult body above). Dating back 3,500 years ago, a variety of grave goods, including ceramic vessels decorated with human faces and whimsical animal details, were also discovered. What does it mean?

LAST GLIMPSE

plankton in seadrops

PHOTOGRAPH BY ANGEL FITOR

A microscopic universe: In one drop of seawater, life is flourishing. You can find free-swimming fish larvae, crawling copepods, peculiar protists. The zooplankton above were photographed on a starry night on the Mediterranean Sea—the tiny creatures were making their way to the water’s surface to feed.

Today’s soundtrack: We’re Good, Dua Lipa

Thanks for reading today’s newsletter! It was curated and edited by Jen Tse, Hannah Farrow, and David Beard. Want to let us know your thoughts? Send away: [email protected]. Happy trails!

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