Africa slowly splitting- This Continent Is Splitting and Might Create a New Ocean

Scientists are nearly sure a new ocean is forming.

Key Points

Tectonic plates shifting in Africa could one day cause a new ocean to form.
The plates in northeast Africa are moving at a rate of .3 inches per year.
Once the continental drift reaches a certain point, it could create a sixth ocean in the region, but that could take millions of years to form.

The Earth might be getting a new ocean, though you will have to wait a long time to see it. Due to tectonic plate movement, part of eastern Africa is slowly splitting apart, which could lead to the creation of a sixth ocean in one million to 20 million years. Currently, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Eritrea are slowly moving away from the rest of the continent, potentially breaking off and allowing water from the Indian Ocean to rush in to fill the gap. This would lead to a separate land mass, new coastlines, and a change in climate patterns and geography for northeast Africa.

This area is part of the East African Rift System, home to an active continental rift zone where one plate is slowly pulling away from another one. According to research, parts of the rift are separating at a rate of 0.3 inches per year due to the movement of magma deep below the surface. Scientists were alerted to its relatively rapid movement due to a large fissure that appeared in Ethiopia in 2005. This isn't, of course, certain, but scientific experts believe it's likely since similar geological activities created the Saudi Arabian peninsula.

"In the future, as extension continues along the rift, the rift valley will sink lower and lower, eventually allowing ocean waters to flood into he basin. If rifting continues, new basaltic oceanic crust may form along the centre of the rift, producing a new narrow ocean basin with its mid-ocean ridge between the Nubian and Somalian plates," the London Geographical Society says.

The movement of tectonic plates can be responsible for volcanoes, geysers, and valleys when the plates move apart and extensive mountain ranges when they move together, as well as earthquakes. The new ocean to be identified was the Southern Ocean around Antarctica in 2021.

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Africa Slowly Splitting- This Continent Is Splitting And Might Create A New Ocean

News Source : Travel And Leisure