Arabia broke away from Africa. Tectonic forces will soon split the continent again

Scientists have discovered that Africa is splitting in two. In fact, this geological process has been going on for tens of millions of years, and this is what has separated Africa from Arabia, which were once connected. Researchers from Keele University studied magnetic data, which revealed a rift in Africa, one that will divide Africa into two parts over five to 10 million years. This rip is occurring from northeast to the south, and volcanoes and earthquakes are playing a part. The two landmasses that will be created in the future would have a bigger chunk with Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, Ghana and Namibia, with the smaller piece consisting of Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and a large portion of Ethiopia. Plate tectonics has shaped the current world over millions or billions of years. Everything was joined at one time, but with seafloor spreading, tectonic plates fragmented and drifted apart, with a new oceanic crust and oceans being born. The study was published in the Journal of African Earth Sciences.

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A fracture in the East African Rift will break apart massive water bodies

The new research is based on the East African Rift, a known tectonic feature of Africa that has been fracturing the Earth's crust. This rift system stretches from Jordan in southwestern Asia southward through eastern Africa to Mozambique, is 64 kilometres wide and 6,437 kilometres long. This gap will form throughout the length of the rift and split enormous water bodies as well. Lake Malawi and Lake Turkana are two such structures that will be torn apart. The data used were from 1968 and 1969, which were gathered using airborne instruments. This helped them study the magnetic field of the crust in a new light.

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The study focused on the top portion of the rift called the Afar region. This is where the Red Sea meets the Gulf of Aden, and is the point where three tectonic rifts meet. This is a rarity on Earth, with the Main Ethiopian Rift, the Red Sea Rift, and the Gulf of Aden Rift coming together to form a triple junction. This tearing apart of Africa has been proposed in the past as well. This process is still in its early stages. The team found that the ancient seafloor has magnetic marks left behind the flipping of Earth’s magnetic poles. These stripes run between Africa and Arabia, suggesting the separation likely started tens of millions of years ago.

The strong magnetic signature is proof that continuous continental rifting is occurring in the region. The crust is being stretched and will one day rupture, creating a new ocean.