The formation of a new ocean is happening in Africa as the pulling away of tectonic plates is causing a split in the huge continent.
According to scientists, a huge chunk of East Africa will slowly separate from the remaining land as a new body of water will appear along the 35-mile-long crack that was discovered in Ethiopia in 2005.
The crack runs along a section of the East African Rift (EAR) in Afar, Ethiopia. It is one of the few places on Earth that is actively being separated by continuous forces of tectonic plates, with the process said to be similar to what formed the Atlantic Ocean.
The rift is a developing divergent tectonic plate boundary where the African plate is splitting into two tectonic plates – the Somali plate and the Nubian plate.
Although the rift began developing around 22-25 million years ago, it was the discovery of the crack that brought attention in recent decades to the moving plates.
The Geological Society of London suggests that the phenomenon could be a result of the heat flow from the asthenosphere (the weak and ductile layer of the Earth’s upper mantle) between Kenya and Ethiopia.
Once the complete split happens, Somalia, parts of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania will form a new continent, according to research carried out by experts.
While it is not completely known when this new ocean will appear, there have been some other cracks appearing along the continent due to the movements occurring from the EARS, with more to be expected.
A huge crack appeared in Kenya six years ago following heavy rainfall which has contributed further to the idea that Africa will one day be split in two.
Professor Ken Macdonald at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said: “What we do not know is if this rifting will continue on its present pace to eventually open up an ocean basin, like the Red Sea, and then later to something much larger, like a small version of the Atlantic Ocean.”
While the huge continent is going through significant changes, it would be millions of years before it sees the split. He added: “At the present rate, a sea about the size of the current Red Sea might form in about 20-30 million years.”
