Continued tectonic activity has transformed the surface of Sagan 4 again. These changes came as the Flisch-Rhino rift further branched and expanded. To the east, it severed the landbridge between Glicker and Barlowe, while to the east it extended between Hydro and Darwin, separating their plates and triggering new subduction southwest of Krakow Island. New subduction has also begun southwest of Fermi, leading to rifting northeast of it, and pulling Fermi alongside Wright, creating a new bridge that connects it to the continent.
Meanwhile, Hydro and Darwin have continued their drive southward, bringing Hydro into more equatorial regions, while Darwin now extends over the south pole. Subduction pulls Glicker and Barlowe ever eastward, as the mountains and islands along their eastern front continually grow.
The shift in Wright has been more subtle, as by now it is largely fused into a single plate, drifting slowly northwestward. Orpington remains independent, however, and its northern end has fused into Drake, cutting off the Dorite Sea from the rest of the world's oceans. With much of this sea in areas of low precipitation, it has receded below sea level, exposing a ring of low-lying land and Dorite Island.
Two more islands have emerged in the Vailnoff Ocean: Nergali and Beans Islands, born from a volcanic hot spot.
Sea levels have risen as well, partly from rising temperatures, but mostly due to the large amount of new rifting. Large areas of young ocean floor are the result, which tend to be less deep, with smaller areas of abyss; as Sagan 4's total amount of water is unchanged, it must spill over onto low-lying land. This is most noticeable in the jutting shallow seas in the west of Hydro, Darwin, and Barlowe.
Topographic Map
Topographic Key
Sagan 4 remains divided into much the same regions as before, separated by ocean, mountains, and deserts. However, Drake and Orpington now form a unified region due to their new connection. Similarly, Fermi has joined Dixon, with an easily crossed landbridge, and they have furthermore become part of a unified region with Talon, as erosion has reduced the rocky barrier between Talon and Dixon, making migration easy between the two.
As before, the four western continents together make up "Hybarder." They've spread out enough that this is no longer a clear association in pure geography, but the grouping remains prominent in biogeography, as they share many related groups of organisms. The large eastern continent remains known as "Wright."
Regions Map
Sagan 4 has seen substantial change to its habitats too. The increased rifting and subduction have greatly increased atmospheric carbon dioxide, exacerbated by conditions related to the nitrogen crash. Tropical regions grew, most rainforests expanding greatly (and joined by a new one in Hydro); tundra has disappeared entirely, with taiga stretching all the way to the south pole.
Much of Sagan 4 has become wetter, as warm air carries moisture better and because the western continents have become more separated, resulting in larger expanses of ocean to draw rain from. The west of Wright, however, has dried up due to the shrinking of Dorite Sea; the rainforest in Ovi is reduced to a much smaller patch.
Oceanic shallows are now divided based on what sort of habitat they can support. Reefs represent reef zones: areas conducive to developing reefs and which will host multiple reef communities (as long as reef-builders evolve). Undersea forests represent areas with upwelling, which provides substantial nutrients, allowing large amounts of flora and plankton to flourish and supporting populous communities of fauna. Undersea meadows are less well stocked with nutrients but are well-sheltered and provide a stable home for meadow-type vegetation to flourish. Areas simply labeled "coast" have none of these advantages.
Labeled Biome Map
Sagan 4's major rivers have shifted. A few of the old rivers have run dry, replaced by several new ones, and all have different courses now. These maps depict the largest and most stable rivers.
Labeled Rivers Map
Unlabeled Biomes and Rivers Map
In addition to its major rivers, Sagan 4 is full of many small, transient streams and lakes that are too small or short-lived to represent individually. These are grouped together into watersheds, representing areas in which water drains into the same body of water. Continental divides, depicted as dark red lines, separate the watersheds from each other. Watersheds are further subdivided as tropical (red-orange), subtropical (yellow), temperate (green), polar (purple), and montane (gray). The continental divides also split the regions into distinct water table biomes, which are subterranean and are not distinguished by climate type. In some areas, water does not drain to the sea. These are basins, shown in dark red.
The watershed map also depicts cold seep zones. Cold seeps are areas where the sea floor emits hydrocarbons, forming a pool of brine, thereby providing a rich variety of chemicals for chemosynthesis. The areas illustrated on the map are not individual cold seeps but rather represent regions in which cold seeps are particularly common.
Labeled Watersheds and Cold Seeps Map
Unlabeled Watersheds and Cold Seeps Map
The following map depicts Sagan 4's ocean currents. At the beginning of the Week, some random species spread along these currents between shallow seas, and a couple of terrestrial species even used currents to raft from one continent to another.
Red arrows represent warm current; blue represents cold currents; black are neutral.
Credit for the currents map goes to Salty.
Currents Map
Sagan 4's most prominent caves remain the same as before. Note that Rabid, Allen, Blood, Yannick, and Martyk are montane. Ferret is partly filled with freshwater and partly with saltwater, making it possible for freshwater, saltwater, and terrestrial species to inhabit it. Somarinoa is completely submerged.
Caves over Watersheds Map
Caves over Biomes Map
Species that fly, have windborne reproduction, or are otherwise able to disperse through the atmosphere may spread across indicated flyways. Species may have ranges that span either end of a flyway if they or their seeds are capable of such travel. At the beginning of the Week, a random assortment of species dispersed across these passages as well, resulting in unique groups of organisms on islands and some other interchanges.
Flyways exist wherever the distance across the ocean is 1500 kilometers or less.
Meanwhile, Hydro and Darwin have continued their drive southward, bringing Hydro into more equatorial regions, while Darwin now extends over the south pole. Subduction pulls Glicker and Barlowe ever eastward, as the mountains and islands along their eastern front continually grow.
The shift in Wright has been more subtle, as by now it is largely fused into a single plate, drifting slowly northwestward. Orpington remains independent, however, and its northern end has fused into Drake, cutting off the Dorite Sea from the rest of the world's oceans. With much of this sea in areas of low precipitation, it has receded below sea level, exposing a ring of low-lying land and Dorite Island.
Two more islands have emerged in the Vailnoff Ocean: Nergali and Beans Islands, born from a volcanic hot spot.
Sea levels have risen as well, partly from rising temperatures, but mostly due to the large amount of new rifting. Large areas of young ocean floor are the result, which tend to be less deep, with smaller areas of abyss; as Sagan 4's total amount of water is unchanged, it must spill over onto low-lying land. This is most noticeable in the jutting shallow seas in the west of Hydro, Darwin, and Barlowe.
Topographic Map
Topographic Key
Sagan 4 remains divided into much the same regions as before, separated by ocean, mountains, and deserts. However, Drake and Orpington now form a unified region due to their new connection. Similarly, Fermi has joined Dixon, with an easily crossed landbridge, and they have furthermore become part of a unified region with Talon, as erosion has reduced the rocky barrier between Talon and Dixon, making migration easy between the two.
As before, the four western continents together make up "Hybarder." They've spread out enough that this is no longer a clear association in pure geography, but the grouping remains prominent in biogeography, as they share many related groups of organisms. The large eastern continent remains known as "Wright."
Regions Map
Sagan 4 has seen substantial change to its habitats too. The increased rifting and subduction have greatly increased atmospheric carbon dioxide, exacerbated by conditions related to the nitrogen crash. Tropical regions grew, most rainforests expanding greatly (and joined by a new one in Hydro); tundra has disappeared entirely, with taiga stretching all the way to the south pole.
Much of Sagan 4 has become wetter, as warm air carries moisture better and because the western continents have become more separated, resulting in larger expanses of ocean to draw rain from. The west of Wright, however, has dried up due to the shrinking of Dorite Sea; the rainforest in Ovi is reduced to a much smaller patch.
Oceanic shallows are now divided based on what sort of habitat they can support. Reefs represent reef zones: areas conducive to developing reefs and which will host multiple reef communities (as long as reef-builders evolve). Undersea forests represent areas with upwelling, which provides substantial nutrients, allowing large amounts of flora and plankton to flourish and supporting populous communities of fauna. Undersea meadows are less well stocked with nutrients but are well-sheltered and provide a stable home for meadow-type vegetation to flourish. Areas simply labeled "coast" have none of these advantages.
Labeled Biome Map
Sagan 4's major rivers have shifted. A few of the old rivers have run dry, replaced by several new ones, and all have different courses now. These maps depict the largest and most stable rivers.
Labeled Rivers Map
Unlabeled Biomes and Rivers Map
In addition to its major rivers, Sagan 4 is full of many small, transient streams and lakes that are too small or short-lived to represent individually. These are grouped together into watersheds, representing areas in which water drains into the same body of water. Continental divides, depicted as dark red lines, separate the watersheds from each other. Watersheds are further subdivided as tropical (red-orange), subtropical (yellow), temperate (green), polar (purple), and montane (gray). The continental divides also split the regions into distinct water table biomes, which are subterranean and are not distinguished by climate type. In some areas, water does not drain to the sea. These are basins, shown in dark red.
The watershed map also depicts cold seep zones. Cold seeps are areas where the sea floor emits hydrocarbons, forming a pool of brine, thereby providing a rich variety of chemicals for chemosynthesis. The areas illustrated on the map are not individual cold seeps but rather represent regions in which cold seeps are particularly common.
Labeled Watersheds and Cold Seeps Map
Unlabeled Watersheds and Cold Seeps Map
The following map depicts Sagan 4's ocean currents. At the beginning of the Week, some random species spread along these currents between shallow seas, and a couple of terrestrial species even used currents to raft from one continent to another.
Red arrows represent warm current; blue represents cold currents; black are neutral.
Credit for the currents map goes to Salty.
Currents Map
Sagan 4's most prominent caves remain the same as before. Note that Rabid, Allen, Blood, Yannick, and Martyk are montane. Ferret is partly filled with freshwater and partly with saltwater, making it possible for freshwater, saltwater, and terrestrial species to inhabit it. Somarinoa is completely submerged.
Caves over Watersheds Map
Caves over Biomes Map
Species that fly, have windborne reproduction, or are otherwise able to disperse through the atmosphere may spread across indicated flyways. Species may have ranges that span either end of a flyway if they or their seeds are capable of such travel. At the beginning of the Week, a random assortment of species dispersed across these passages as well, resulting in unique groups of organisms on islands and some other interchanges.
Flyways exist wherever the distance across the ocean is 1500 kilometers or less.
Excellent! It's so detailed!
I like the undersea meadows and forests habitats. It will definitely explain the immense diversity of some coastal habitats. (e.g., East Glicker Subtropical Beach, which was probably among the top 7 most biodiverse habitats in named species, to the point I was going to make a joke of it through a flora's name)
I'm tempted to make some somewhat cold-adapted organisms in the temperate alpine regions, while there's any cold at all.
I found a typo:
"To the east, it severed the landbridge between Glicker and Barlowe, while to the east". The second east should be a "west".
I like the undersea meadows and forests habitats. It will definitely explain the immense diversity of some coastal habitats. (e.g., East Glicker Subtropical Beach, which was probably among the top 7 most biodiverse habitats in named species, to the point I was going to make a joke of it through a flora's name)
I'm tempted to make some somewhat cold-adapted organisms in the temperate alpine regions, while there's any cold at all.
I found a typo:
"To the east, it severed the landbridge between Glicker and Barlowe, while to the east". The second east should be a "west".
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