Earth's Sixth Ocean Slowly Emerging In Fascinating Geological Shift

By maks in News On 28th October 2024
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A new geological phenomenon is slowly unfolding on Earth, as scientists have identified the early formation of what will eventually become the planet's sixth ocean.

Researchers have been studying the Earth for generations, yet every day brings new discoveries about our ever-changing planet.

Recently, scientists observed that two massive land masses on Earth’s second-largest and second-most populous continent are beginning to drift apart.

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This geological activity is paving the way for a new ocean to eventually emerge right between these land masses.

If this process continues, we might one day see countries like Zambia and Uganda, which are currently landlocked, gaining their own coastlines.

While these massive shifts may not be obvious to the naked eye, Earth’s tectonic plates are always in motion, gradually reshaping the planet.

Landlocked Zambia could one day have its coastline Getty Stock Photo
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The Earth’s outer shell, known as the lithosphere, is made up of the crust and the upper mantle. It consists of numerous tectonic plates that shift over time.

In a specific region of the world, these moving plates are changing the Earth's landscape as we know it.

According to a peer-reviewed study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, the African continent is gradually splitting, leading to the formation of this new ocean.

The split is occurring along the boundaries where the African, Arabian, and Somali tectonic plates meet.

Over the past 30 million years, the Arabian plate has been drifting away from the African continent.

At the same time, the Somali plate is also pulling away from the African plate, moving through the East African Rift Valley.

Thanks to advanced technology like GPS systems, scientists can now track these land movements with remarkable accuracy and detail.

Ken Macdonald, a marine geophysicist and professor at the University of California, explained:

"With GPS measurements, you can measure rates of movement down to a few millimetres per year."

A crack is appearing through Africa University of Rochester

"As we get more and more measurements from GPS, we can get a much greater sense of what's going on."

Reflecting on the broader implications of this discovery, Macdonald added: "The Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea will flood in over the Afar region and into the East African Rift Valley and become a new ocean, and that part of East Africa will become its own separate small continent."

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Although the complete formation of this new ocean may still be millions of years away, experts say the early stages are already taking place.

It is a slow process, but one that is reshaping the landscape beneath our feet, according to scientific observations.