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The African continent is very slowly peeling apart. Scientists say a new ocean is being born.

In one of the hottest places on Earth, along an arid stretch of East Africa’s Afar region, it’s possible to stand on the exact spot where, deep underground, the continent is splitting apart.

This desolate expanse sits atop the juncture of three tectonic plates that are very slowly peeling away from each other, a complex geological process that scientists say will eventually cleave Africa in two and create a new ocean basin millions of years from now. For now, the most obvious evidence is a 35-mile-long crack in the Ethiopian desert.

The African continent’s tectonic fate has been studied for several decades, but new satellite measurements are helping scientists better understand the transition and are offering valuable tools to study the gradual birth of a new ocean in one of the most geologically unique spots on the planet.

“This is the only place on Earth where you can study how continental rift becomes an oceanic rift,” said Christopher Moore, a Ph.D. doctoral student at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, who has been using satellite radar to monitor volcanic activity in East Africa that is associated with the continent’s breakup.

It’s thought that Africa’s new ocean will take at least 5 million to 10 million years to form, but the Afar region’s fortuitous location at the boundaries of the Nubian, Somali and Arabian plates makes it a unique laboratory to study elaborate tectonic processes.

Earth’s crust is made up of a dozen large tectonic plates, which are irregularly shaped, rocky slabs that constantly mash against, climb over, slide under or stretch apart from one another.

For the past 30 million years, the Arabian plate has been moving away from Africa, a process that created the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden between the two connected landmasses. But the Somali plate in eastern Africa is also stretching away from the Nubian plate, peeling apart along the East African Rift Valley, which extends through Ethiopia and Kenya.

But there are still some big unknowns, including what is causing the continent to rift apart. Some think that a massive plume of superheated rocks rising from the mantle beneath East Africa could be driving the region’s continental rift.

In one of the hottest places on Earth, along an arid stretch of East Africa’s Afar region, it’s possible to stand on the exact spot where, deep underground, the continent is splitting apart.

This desolate expanse sits atop the juncture of three tectonic plates that are very slowly peeling away from each other, a complex geological process that scientists say will eventually cleave Africa in two and create a new ocean basin millions of years from now. For now, the most obvious evidence is a 35-mile-long crack in the Ethiopian desert.

The African continent’s tectonic fate has been studied for several decades, but new satellite measurements are helping scientists better understand the transition and are offering valuable tools to study the gradual birth of a new ocean in one of the most geologically unique spots on the planet.

“This is the only place on Earth where you can study how continental rift becomes an oceanic rift,” said Christopher Moore, a Ph.D. doctoral student at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, who has been using satellite radar to monitor volcanic activity in East Africa that is associated with the continent’s breakup.

It’s thought that Africa’s new ocean will take at least 5 million to 10 million years to form, but the Afar region’s fortuitous location at the boundaries of the Nubian, Somali and Arabian plates makes it a unique laboratory to study elaborate tectonic processes.

Earth’s crust is made up of a dozen large tectonic plates, which are irregularly shaped, rocky slabs that constantly mash against, climb over, slide under or stretch apart from one another.

For the past 30 million years, the Arabian plate has been moving away from Africa, a process that created the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden between the two connected landmasses. But the Somali plate in eastern Africa is also stretching away from the Nubian plate, peeling apart along the East African Rift Valley, which extends through Ethiopia and Kenya.

But there are still some big unknowns, including what is causing the continent to rift apart. Some think that a massive plume of superheated rocks rising from the mantle beneath East Africa could be driving the region’s continental rift.

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/african-continent-very-slowly-peeling-apart-scientists-say-new-ocean-n1234128

e for break from middle belt Nigeria

The ocean should do fast and come ... Let it drown all of our politicians and the people at the helm of affairs of this country so we can start afresh

The new ocean shall be called Buhari ocean.

Okay

Righteousness guy, the way you rush every thread ehn? Hmmmmm!


I hope you're not CAN-BMC lol

It should pass thru North and south Nigeria, people will be happy here for mother nature

Ok, if it likes, it can break and bend. I don't care.

I actually did not understand the write up

Okay

Wetin concern us with million years. Geography as a subject can be boring sometimes.. We talking next month u talking 1 million years mtcheeew

Millions of years is too fast jor, why need it now

Continental drift.

omonla10:
Wetin concern us with million years

are you selling fish?

starbuck:
The ocean should do fast and come ... Let it drown all of our politicians and the people at the helm of affairs of this country so we can start afresh

Digitally seconded

Do quick and apart BABA

starbuck:
The ocean should do fast and come ... Let it drown all of our politicians and the people at the helm of affairs of this country so we can start afresh

Remember politicians can survive a heavy wave .but you can't

175:
Righteousness guy, the way you rush every thread ehn? Hmmmmm!


I hope you're not CAN-BMC lol

lol

seunlayi:
are you selling fish?

no.. Why

The ocean should better join us with Europe so that we can all "japa"

Our country i salute.

Amazing! in as much as we are alive, we will not cease from seeing amazing things because the Almighty living Creator will continue to show us His signs of existence by evolving wonderful things from the created ones or inventing unthoughtful new things.

Dem no wan gree sha. North America is not peeling apart, na Africa wey no dey earthquake prone zone dey peel. I smell preemptive lies

In 5-10 Million years
I don't think this world can survive another 1 thousand years, talk less of 10 Million years. With the kind of madness going on in the world right now, nuclear weapons, crises, hunger, pandemic, natural disasters and of course, the much anticipated rapture, there isn't any guarantee that the earth would exist for that long... It's almost impossible.

blacks are scum. scrapping them out of earth is the only way to make the earth a better place. dont even bother scraping africa. just concentrate on nigeria. scrape the scumbagss out of earth and u will see how the world will be better. next people t scrape out are the chinese

make my part break from Abuja