Geologists from the Geological Society of London have studied the famous East African Rift, assessing the likelihood of Africa splitting apart.
The huge fault is a network of valleys that stretch for 3,500 km in length from the Red Sea to Mozambique. It is slowly dividing the African continent into parts.
According to NASA’s Earth Observatory, along a huge rift in east Africa, the Somali tectonic plate stretches eastward from a larger and older part of the continent, namely the Nubian and African tectonic plates. In addition, the Somali and Nubian plates separate from the Arabian plate in the north.
They intersect in the Afar region of Ethiopia, thus forming a Y-shaped rift system. Scientists believe that the East African Rift began to form about 35 million years ago between Arabia and the Horn of Africa in the east of the continent. 25 million years ago, it turned south, reaching northern Kenya.
Geologists from the Geological Society of London suggest that the East African Rift may have formed due to the asthenosphere – the hotter and weaker upper part of the Earth’s mantle, just between Kenya and Ethiopia. Due to this heat, the overlying crust expanded and uplifted, followed by stretching and cracking of the brittle continental rock.
If Africa does fall apart, then in one scenario Somalia, Eritrea, Djibouti and the eastern parts of Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique will form a sea. According to another scenario, only eastern Tanzania and Mozambique will be divided.
However, there is no certainty that the continent will be divided strictly into two parts.
“What we don’t know is if this rifting will continue at its current pace to eventually open up an ocean basin like the Red Sea and then something much bigger like a smaller version of the Atlantic Ocean.” the researchers said.
It is likely that such a process may accelerate or stall altogether. planettoday.
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