A new ocean is being formed in Africa—The Archaeologist

* A new study in the journal ‘Nature’ found that the two pieces of land are separating at a rate of 7 millimeters per year

* Countries like Zambia and Uganda will have their own coastlines

By Duncan Mlanjira

A reported published by thearchaeologist.org on February 10, 2023, reveals that geologists have confirmed that a new ocean is being created as the African continent is split in half.

The report said an international effort has revealed that a 35 miles long rift appeared in the Ethiopian deserts of the Far Region in 2005 and is probably the start of a brand-new sea.

Thearchaeologist.org said a recent study — published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters — combines seismic data from the rift formation to demonstrate that it is driven by processes similar to those at the ocean’s bottom.

“The tectonic plates of Africa and Arabia collide in the desert and have been gradually separating for about 30 million years,” said the report. “The same motion has also split the Red Sea, but this is only happening at a rate of a fraction of an inch per year.

“Soon humanity might have two motherlands. Africa’s 54 nations are being divided according to geologists researching the continent’s plate tectonics.

“The East African Rift, which separates eastern coastal countries like Kenya and Tanzania from most of the continent, passes across Mozambique from the Afar area of northern Ethiopia.”

It further said a new study in the journal ‘Nature’ found that the two pieces of land are separating at a rate of 7 millimeters per year and that countries like Zambia and Uganda will have their own coastlines.

“Scientists claim that several currently active volcanoes along the river, including the Aloo Dalapila in Ethiopia and the Old Wenyolangai in Tanzania, provide new insights into the process.

“In particular, the Erta Ale volcano in Ethiopia has been erupting nonstop for more than 50 years. The Victoria microplate — the biggest of its kind on Earth and tucked between each side of the rift — has been rotating against the clock for the past two years.”

In December, arunachalobserver.org reported that although the expected big split is not likely to happen in our lifetime, the impacts are showing in that ever since the volcanic eruption in 2005, Afar has transformed dramatically. The desert has fissures packed with molten rock that has cooled down.

The report said thanks to advanced satellite data, scientists can now see clear signs of this transition taking place, saying as the tectonic plates peel apart, material from deep inside the Earth starts to move up to the surface and form oceanic crusts in the ridges.

“This is a treat since most of these things happen in the sea, making researchers have a hard time observing it. But thanks to the fissure in the Afar desert, they can learn more about tectonic plate movements.”

The report quotes University of Bristol seismologist, Dr. James Hammond, who has been working in Afar desert, as saying “parts of the area are below sea level and the ocean is just blocked by a 20-meter block of land in Eritrea”.

“If the ocean manages to flood in the fissures, this will start to create a new ocean. The flooding will sink down and pull apart some parts of Ethiopia. It is estimated that Somalia and some parts of southern Ethiopia would drift off and become islands of the Indian Ocean.

The reported also singled out another phenomenon that showed a huge crack in Kenyan Rift Valley in April 2018, saying this confirmed that African continent is indeed splitting up into two pieces.

“The appearance of the cracks was coincidental with occurrence of frequent earthquakes happening at the time,” said the report by arunachalobserver.org. “Plus, the cracks were located where a new tectonic plate boundary was forming. So naturally, people assumed that this case was the same as that in Ethiopia.

“But upon investigation, researchers found that the cause of these huge cracks in the land was something else entirely. It turned out that the crack was not formed by movements of tectonic plates but by soil erosion beneath the surface.

“The erosion was caused by heavy rains that had taken place in the region. The rainwater had washed away the deep layers of loose volcanic ash that happened to be deposited by previous volcanic eruptions in Kenya rift valley.”