Mountains of the Future: applying experimental plate tectonics to understand our geological past

You could call it experimental plate tectonics. Predicting the Mountains of the Future requires developing ‘rules’ and ‘recipes’ of geological behaviour. Geologists at Utrecht University's Faculty of Geosciences drew up a series of such rules – the first in the world – to describe how mountain ranges will look in the future. Developing these rules allows using paleogeographic reconstruction to predict modern geological phenomena, such as ore deposits. Failure to predict correctly means the reconstructions and/or the rules and recipes contain errors, and drives targeted research and innovation.

For more info visit the Faculty of Geosciences website:
https://www.uu.nl/en/news/mountains-of-the-future-the-collision-of-india-somalia-and-madagascar (English)
https://www.uu.nl/nieuws/bergen-van-de-toekomst-de-botsing-van-india-somalie-en-madagaskar (Dutch)

Produced by: Dan Brinkhuis sciencemedia.nl
Motion design: Sander Zwartepoorte pixelsinmotion.nl
Sound design: Sander Houtman studioxander.nl
Narrated by: Kirsten Lennox