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Worldbuilding

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  • $\begingroup$ Very good point. The conclusion to this statement is that once the channel opens, it will experience a torrential flood driven by different water levels and will cut a deep passage and eventually even out the water levels (as in Bosporus). Also, as in the Bosporus, there will be strong current from the side that gets more precipitation (the Black Sea, due to river drainage from Russia) to the side that has less over time. $\endgroup$
    – kingledion
    Commented Oct 4, 2016 at 14:32
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    $\begingroup$ Interesting. A rough timetable would be nice, though: would that take a few years or a few eons? On another note, would that also be the case if the continent, instead of being a ring along the equator, was a ring along a meridian? Would polar caps be able to function as a channel, thus balancing the ocean levels? $\endgroup$
    – Luís Henrique
    Commented Oct 4, 2016 at 15:05
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    $\begingroup$ @LuísHenrique: I think a typical timescale are a few 10 thousand years. It will happen for any ring shaped continent, no matter where it is located. Polar caps themselves will not balance the ocean levels, but maybe the glaciers are carving fjords to accelerate the process. $\endgroup$
    – Sir Cornflakes
    Commented Oct 4, 2016 at 15:17
  • $\begingroup$ An interesting point. Also the salinity of the upper ocean will decrease and the lower ocean increase as salt is washed into the lower ocean. The upper ocean may, therefore, have a more extensively frozen ice cap. Also the rate of flow in the channel will vary (or even reverse) with seasons as the massive polar ice caps alternatively freeze and thaw. $\endgroup$
    – smatterer
    Commented Sep 7, 2017 at 1:41