Scientists reported that in the Afar region of Ethiopia, a new ocean was formed as a result of the continent being divided into two. While the new ocean is expected to complete its formation in 5 to 10 million years, it is thought that what caused this event is the increasing pressure of the rising magma.
According to those reported by NBC News, scientists think that a new ocean may emerge as a result of the division of Africa into two. According to the calculations, it is estimated that there will be a tectonic division in the eastern part of the continent after approximately five to ten million years and as a result of this division, the continent will be divided into two parts.
According to the details, this part, located in the Afar region of Ethiopia in East Africa, has a location where three tectonic plates are separated from each other very slowly. Scientists who conducted the study say that the length of the slit formed in the region as a result of the volcanic movements in 2005 reached 56 kilometers.
5 to 10 million years later, a new ocean will emerge in Africa:
Speaking about the subject, Professor Christopher Moore at the University of Leeds in the UK said that the region is the only place in the world to study how the continental crack has become an ocean. Scientists who follow the movement of the plates via GPS think that the rising pressure of the rising magma may trigger this event in the Afar region.
It is thought that the formation of a new ocean on the African continent will take at least 5 to 10 million years. Ken Macdonald, of the University of California, says that when this process is complete, Aden Bay and the Red Sea will flow into the Afar Region and the Great Rift Valley, a new ocean will emerge, and this part of East Africa will be a distinct and small continent on its own. .
The researchers state that the three plates are separated from each other at different speeds. According to Macdonald, the Arabian plate moves away from Africa at about 1 inch per year, while the other two African plates leave much slower at speeds ranging from about half an inch to 0.2 inch per year.
