Scientists say a new ocean will form in Africa as the continent continues to split into two. … It is an active continental rift that began millions of years ago, splitting at 7mm annually.
Is it true a new ocean forming in Africa?
Scientists say a new ocean is being born. … It’s thought that Africa’s new ocean will take at least 5 million to 10 million years to form, but the Afar region’s fortuitous location at the boundaries of the Nubian, Somali and Arabian plates makes it a unique laboratory to study elaborate tectonic processes.
Is it true that Africa is splitting?
Summary: The African continent is slowly separating into several large and small tectonic blocks along the diverging East African Rift System, continuing to Madagascar – the long island just off the coast of Southeast Africa – that itself will also break apart into smaller islands.
Where is the new ocean forming?
Scientists believe Earth’s next ocean could form in the East African Rift Zone, where a rising plume of searing hot rocks is slowly forcing apart a swath of land along the continent’s eastern coast, explains Cynthia Ebinger, a geophysicist at Tulane University who has conducted extensive research in the region.
Is there a sixth ocean forming?
There are currently five oceans on our planet, but researchers have stated that a sixth ocean is forming. … This geological depression is where three tectonic plates meet and where the next ocean will form, though not for at least another 10 million years.
What ocean is next to Africa?
Continent boundaries Africa is the continent bordered to the north by the Mediterranean Sea, to the west by the Atlantic ocean basin, and to the east by the Red Sea and the Indian ocean basin.
Does Ethiopia have an ocean?
Again, the Ethiopian Ocean is west of Africa and south of the equator. The waters north of the equator are named “Mare Atlanticum”—the Atlantic Sea. A sea is generally understood to be smaller than an ocean. The Ethiopian Ocean starts to disappear in a map dated 1710.
What caused the world to split?
Wegener suggested that perhaps the rotation of the Earth caused the continents to shift towards and apart from each other. … Today, we know that the continents rest on massive slabs of rock called tectonic plates. The plates are always moving and interacting in a process called plate tectonics.
Which countries will split from Africa?
Eventually the rift should expand and break Africa into two continents: The smaller continent will include present-day Somalia and parts of Kenya, Ethiopia, and Tanzania, while the bigger one will include everything else.
Will the Red Sea become an ocean?
In Djibouti at the gateway of the Red Sea an oceanographic marvel is occurring – a new ocean is being formed. This ocean is being created by the tectonic plates of Africa and Arabia being torn apart. All oceans are formed in this way, but this is one of the rare places where this process can be witnessed first hand.
Where is the crack in Africa?
In northwestern Kenya, in the East African Rift Valley, there is a volcanic area south of Lake Turkana. The Earth’s crust is broken into a number of plates that sometimes glide to form dramatic cracks like the one that recently appeared. The valley also has volcanism and seismic activity.
How Africa is divided?
Africa is the world’s second largest continent in area. … The UN Statistics Division has subdivided the African continent into five regions, Northern Africa, Central or Middle Africa , Southern Africa, East Africa, and Western Africa.
Is Africa moving away from Europe?
According to the study, the tectonic plates attached to the Americas are moving apart from those attached to Europe and Africa by four centimetres each year. As the plates move, researchers say new plates form to replace them at the central point between the regions, known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
How much of the ocean is discovered 2021?
According to the National Ocean Service, it’s a shockingly small percentage. Just 5 percent of Earth’s oceans have been explored and charted – especially the ocean below the surface. The rest remains mostly undiscovered and unseen by humans.
What will the new ocean be called?
Starting on June 8, World Oceans Day, it will recognize the Southern Ocean as the world’s fifth ocean. “The Southern Ocean has long been recognized by scientists, but because there was never agreement internationally, we never officially recognized it,” says National Geographic Society Geographer Alex Tait.
What is the deepest ocean?
The deepest part of the ocean is called the Challenger Deep and is located beneath the western Pacific Ocean in the southern end of the Mariana Trench, which runs several hundred kilometers southwest of the U.S. territorial island of Guam. Challenger Deep is approximately 36,200 feet deep.