A groundbreaking digital simulation named Pandora has been created to model a planet's evolution from its deep mantle to its surface. This advancement, a result of international collaboration involving Université Côte d’Azur and Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, allows for the study of how Earth's internal movements influence plate tectonics, landscape formation, and climate change over geological time.
Coordinated by Nicolas Coltice, a professor at Université Côte d’Azur, this simulation is the first to link Earth's mantle dynamics, continental drift, climate, erosion, and sediment transport within a single calculation. Previously, models were too fragmented to grasp these phenomena comprehensively.
Pandora's simulations highlight the role of internal planetary movements in climate variations. For instance, the formation of a supercontinent can lead to global cooling through solar radiation reflection and atmospheric CO₂ consumption. Conversely, its breakup can cause sea-level rise and global warming due to increased volcanic outgassing.
These cycles of cold and warm phases emerge from the simulated system's dynamics, without external perturbations. The findings, published in the journal Geodynamica, open new avenues for understanding Earth's climatic history and the evolution of other rocky planets, thereby contributing to a better grasp of habitability conditions.
