In the heart of theEastern Africaprecisely in the Far regionan unprecedented geological process is taking place: the birth of a new ocean. Here, three big busty plaques – the Nubian, the Somala and the Arab – are slowly moving away, giving rise to one terrestrial crack that, between A few million yearswill be submerged by the waters.
The phenomenon is known how continental rift and consists in opening the earth’s crust as a result of the movements of the plates. This “fracture” is already visible today in Rift Valley Ethiopian, where a one has opened since 2005 crack over 50 kilometers longwitnessing the pressing rhythm of the transformation. To push this separation is the terrestrial cloakwhose hot material dates back to the surface, helping to form new crust oceanic type.
When and how the new ocean will be born
Although the process is extremely slow – we talk about 5-10 million years – It is now certain that theAfrica will divide into two: on the one hand it will be born A new micro-contract Which will include Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and part of Tanzania, on the other the rest of Africa. The current Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea they will end up flooding this depression, creating a real oceanic basin.
What makes this region even more fascinating for geologists is the possibility of observe live A usually invisible process on a human scale. Tools like the Satellite gps They allow today to monitor the movement of plaques with millimeter precision. In addition, the area is an open -air laboratory to also study seismic and volcanic activities, since the breakdown of the crust can be sudden and violent, driven by pressure of the Magma below.
For now, Afar remains one of the most regions inhospitable of the earthwith temperatures that touch the 54 degrees. But behind this hellish scenario there is one of the most important transformations of geological history: the birth of the sixth ocean. An event that reminds us how much our planet is alive and constantly evolving.
Sources: Nature / Research Gate
