Just when you thought you had seen or heard it all, and then bam! Africa is splitting into two continents. The splitting of Africa will create a new ocean, the sixth one. Unfortunately, we will not witness the actual split in this lifetime; however, it is gradually transpiring. This is not a fictional ideology or phenomenon; it has been confirmed by reports from ZME Science and The Week. As the world is constantly changing, so is its nature, shape and structure, hence the split that is happening gradually. It is nothing to be worried about; the only issue is the natural disasters that are like the “birth pains” of this split.
The continually widening divide: How and why Africa is splitting
The African split is driven by the East African Rift System (EARS), tectonic boundaries that stretch from the Gulf of Aden to Mozambique, about 3,000 kilometres. A region called Afar is home to EARS, and this one stretches through Ethiopia and Kenya. Every year the tectonic plates move, causing the rift to happen, and it has been happening for millions of years; however, today we can now see the results and implications.
Cynthia Ebinger, a geophysicist at Tulane University who has spent years studying the region of Afar, explained, according to a report by ZME Science, that the rifting process is never smooth. We always see it through earthquakes and other intense natural disasters. Underneath the earth’s crust is where all the drama happens; this is when the complex interplay of tectonic forces transpires.
What will become of East Africa as a sixth ocean forms?
Currently, we have five oceans: the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Southern Ocean. With Africa in the process of splitting, we will have the sixth one, forming between the diverging Nubian and Somali plates. Although it sounds like a far-fetched theory, scientists have assured us that it is something real and will most likely happen.
The rising pressure of magma causes the crust to crack over time, and as the cracks continue to grow, the Red Sea will start to flood the crack and then a new ocean is formed. This is what will happen in the next million years from now. We might not witness it, but it is something that will happen and future generations will talk about Africa as a historic landmark, the way we talk about Pangaea. The eastern part of Africa will become a new island continent, very similar to Madagascar.
Implications for humanity and science
One of the things worth noting is that the advancement of modern technology, for example, GPS instruments, has been a privilege because now scientists and geologists are able to accurately detect and measure the movement of tectonic plates. Therefore, on the scientific part, it has more advantages because their instruments can predict movement and timelines.
Implications for humanity come with more disadvantages than advantages. This split is a big deal and the transformation will change almost everything the eastern parts of Africa have ever known. Although, geologically, we might not comprehend everything fully, we do know that the landscapes, climates, oceans and seas, and ecosystems will be affected. Fortunately, landlocked regions will have coastlines.
Observing the creation of a new world
According to Metro,
“Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and some parts of Ethiopia would form a new continent separated by the world’s sixth ocean.”
Agricultural activities, climate change, ecosystems, humanity and animals—the list goes on—will be highly affected because of this new world. Yes, it will form new communication systems and a unique economy, but the adjustment will be immense as landscapes, coastlines and ecosystems are reshaped across the region over geological timescales.
The Week explains that Africa splitting into half is actually not a big deal compared to the split between all continents, which was a massive split. You can imagine the adjustments that needed to happen during that time. Recently again, according to The Week, scientists discovered the hidden continent of Zealandia located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The earth is not stopping; it is changing in as many ways as possible. We are observing and anticipating a future in which Africa is divided by a new ocean and is no longer a single continent.