In a geological transformation similar to science fiction films, scientists revealed that the continent of Africa is on its way to division into two parts, which will lead to the formation of a new environment and the disappearance of the current map of the continent as we know it today.
A huge rift tears the continent from north to south
According to a report published by the British newspaper “Daily Mail”, a giant rift extends from the northeast to the south continues to expand slowly, and may lead to the future of Africa into two separate land blocks.
Volcanic activity in Ethiopia reveals deep cracks
In a new study, researchers from the British University of Swansea have discovered indications of regular heights of molten rocks from the depths of the Earth under Ethiopia. According to Dr. Emma WhatsApp, the main researcher, these volcanic “pulses” gradually tear the continent.
The rupture has already started .. but at a slow pace
Scientists point out that the geological division has already started and is now happening, but its pace is very slow, as it ranges between 5 and 16 millimeters annually. This process is expected to be completed in the coming millions of years.
The Gulf of Aden may be the beginning of the great rupture
Dr. WhatsApp and her colleagues believe that the Gulf of Aden, which currently separates Africa from Yemen, may be the starting point for the gradual geographical separation, as the first rupture is similar to a slight rupture in a piece of clothing, gradually expanding towards the south of the continent.
Two new readings in the future
By the time when the geographical division is completed (perhaps after 5 to 10 million years), two ground blocks will be formed: the first is large and includes most of the modern African countries such as Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria and Ghana, and the second is smaller in the east that includes Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and parts of Ethiopia.
According to the study, the area of the separate part in the east is estimated at about one million square miles, while the area of the largest mass is slightly over 10 million square miles.
Afar area: triple rift center
The study relied on an analysis of more than 130 samples of volcanic rocks collected from the Afar region in East Africa, a region where three tectonic sheets meet: the main rift of Ethiopia, the Red Sea rift, and the rift of the Gulf of Aden, which gradually diverges.
The ground scarf beats under the surface of the earth
The researchers have revealed that the ground scarf layer under the area of heterogeneous impurities but rather “beating”, meaning that the molten rocks under it move up intermittently, which enhances geological rupture at the top.
Towards a new ocean in the heart of Africa
With the passage of time and tectonic platelets, the thickness of the Earth’s crust in these areas shrinks to fully torn, which leads to the birth of a new circumference that divides the continent into two.
