Africa’s landmass is regularly splitting resulting from tectonic shifts that scientists predict might result in the formation of a brand new ocean in about 50 million years. This phenomenon displays Earth’s historic geological transformations, such because the breakup of Pangea round 230 million years in the past.
Fossil proof, together with the prehistoric Cynognathus present in each Africa and South America, helps the concept these continents had been as soon as linked. On the core of this separation lies the East African Rift System (EARS), an enormous fault line working by means of Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia, the place the African continent is slowly dividing.
Over the past 25 million years, a rift has widened throughout the African tectonic plate, creating two distinct plates: the Nubian plate to the west and the Somalian plate to the east. As this division progresses, seawater might ultimately flood in, forming a brand new ocean between these separating landmasses.
Specialists weigh in on geological modifications in Africa
Geologist David Adede notes that the East African Rift has a wealthy historical past of tectonic and volcanic exercise. Although floor shifts are restricted, deep underground forces create weaknesses that would ultimately attain the floor. Researcher Stephen Hicks attributes a major crack in Kenya’s Rift Valley to soil erosion from current rainfall, suggesting it will not be straight linked to tectonic exercise. Lucía Pérez Díaz, nonetheless, acknowledges that the rift’s actions might relate to underlying fault strains, although the exact trigger stays beneath investigation.
The long-term impression on Africa’s panorama
In keeping with Nationwide Geographic, Africa’s future might embrace a brand new landmass because the Somali plate drifts away from the Nubian plate, probably making a landmass much like Madagascar. Although this transformation will unfold over hundreds of thousands of years, the East African Rift will proceed to intrigue geologists, providing a singular glimpse into Earth’s ever-evolving geography.
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