Naked Science Forum

Non Life Sciences => Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology => Topic started by: neilep on 23/08/2005 21:01:48

Title: Why is most land north of the equator ?
Post by: neilep on 23/08/2005 21:01:48

Dearest Land knowing people !

Why is the majority of the land north of the equator ?...I just pondered whilst looking at my globe...which is nice !

Thanks



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Title: Re: Why is most land north of the equator ?
Post by: daveshorts on 23/08/2005 23:47:55

I don't think there really has to be a reason, the continents move around quite a lot over geological time at some points there must be more continets in one hemisphere than the other...

It is conceivable that there is some climatalogical reason why intelligent life is more likely to develop when there are significantly more continents in one hemisphere than the other... but i think it is more likely just fluke.

Title: Re: Why is most land north of the equator ?
Post by: neilep on 24/08/2005 15:56:16

Thanks Dave.....just happenstance it is then !!...I just figured looking at my globe that there may well be a more fundamental reason.......I know over the aeons that the plates have moved, but I thought that there may be an underlying condition that has made them move in that particular way.

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Title: Re: Why is most land north of the equator ?
Post by: sharkeyandgeorge on 28/08/2005 20:22:01

i wonder if the tilt of the earth has any thing to do with it perhaps some sort of centrifical bias that encourages the heavier solids of the land masses to migrate north possible?

Giggidy Giggidy Goo
The philosopher Q man

Title: Re: Why is most land north of the equator ?
Post by: Simmer on 28/08/2005 23:02:54

I think all the land end up on the equator in that case, the tilt doesn't affect the axis of rotation wrt the Earth.  

Or did you mean solar tidal effects? I hope not, you get all kinds of complicated stuff like precession, perihelions (sp?) and worse :-(

Title: Re: Why is most land north of the equator ?
Post by: Ray hinton on 02/02/2006 01:27:44

I think its just a case of all that land mass wanting to be close to our wonderful country,so it moved here.

every village has one !

Title: Re: Why is most land north of the equator ?
Post by: another_someone on 02/02/2006 01:41:54

quote:

---

Originally posted by daveshorts

It is conceivable that there is some climatalogical reason why intelligent life is more likely to develop when there are significantly more continents in one hemisphere than the other... but i think it is more likely just fluke.

---

Having an isolated land mass sitting atop Antarctica, surrounded by a lot of water, does help keep the Earth unusually cool.  For much of its history, the Earth has been much warmer than it is now.  Whether intelligent life could have developed in a warmer climate is something we can only speculate upon (certainly, all those doom mongers who claim that global warming will kill us all will probably suggest we cannot survive in anything warmer than we have today).

Since an isolated Antarctica requires that there be a lot of ocean surrounding it, it follows that one would expect less land overall in the southern hemisphere.

Title: Re: Why is most land north of the equator ?
Post by: rammar on 04/11/2012 19:29:13

Quote from: sharkeyandgeorge on 28/08/2005 20:22:01

i wonder if the tilt of the earth has any thing to do with it perhaps some sort of centrifical bias that encourages the heavier solids of the land masses to migrate north possible?

Giggidy Giggidy Goo
The philosopher Q man

I had an idea recently that would be related to this. When it is winter in the northern hemisphere the Earth is at it's closest to the Sun. 'Why is it not hotter then?' I hear you cry! Well, because the Earth's tilt means the large water mass of the southern hemisphere is reflecting most of the heat back into space. My idea was that the Sun may have a slightly greater gravitational effect on the water mass during this period of the year, pulling the waters into the southern hemisphere and forcing the land mass away into the northern hemisphere.

Title: Re: Why is most land north of the equator ?
Post by: Bill S on 07/11/2012 23:59:54

Hi, rammar, welcome.

Quote

My idea was that the Sun may have a slightly greater gravitational effect on the water mass during this period of the year, pulling the waters into the southern hemisphere and forcing the land mass away into the northern hemisphere.

I think there is no way that a bit of extra tidal bulge in the southern oceans would cause a northward migration of the continents.  You are probably aware that the continents move becaust the tectonic plates on which they sit are moving; so the causes are much more deep-seated than oceanic tidal variations.

Title: Re: Why is most land north of the equator ?
Post by: evan_au on 10/11/2012 10:13:12

Geologists think that nearly all the land mass was on one hemisphere on around 6 occasions in the past: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercontinent#History

However, it's not clear whether this was a north/south hemisphere or an East/West hemisphere...

The same article speculates that the spread of the Atlantic ocean will reverse, bringing Europe, Africa & the Americas together again... (but don't hold your breath!)