New Ocean Could Emerge in Africa, Scientists Propose
millions of years from now a new ocean might split Africa. a report from India features discussions about this possibility in economic Times style coverage.
the idea rests on findings by researchers at the university of leeds. the team tied their thoughts to the 2005 discovery of the east african fault in the ethiopian deserts, a fracture that extends beyond 56 kilometers in length. this fault line, traceable in arid landscapes, offers a rare natural lab to observe how a continental fault can evolve into an oceanic boundary.
researcher commentary highlights a key point. it is possible to examine how tectonic plates shift from a continental framework to an ocean spreading ridge. this transition mirrors what happened when the red sea opened between africa and the arabian peninsula and what created the gulf of aden between eastern africa and western asia. such shifts illuminate the processes that set continents apart and shape vast ocean floors over geologic timescales.
the core takeaway is that the creation of a new ocean that could bifurcate the african landmass would occur far down the line, spanning millions of years. this hypothesis remains a long view, not an imminent event, but it helps explain the dynamic nature of the earth’s crust and the slow, powerful forces that sculpt our planet.
in related assessments, researchers note that other land bridges on the planet, like the isthmus of ber ing linking asia and the americas, may have formed long ago in human prehistory. recent findings from studies at prominent institutions provide context for these dramatic shifts and remind readers that continents are not fixed in place. these conclusions come with scholarly attribution to the teams that conducted the work and are shared to inform ongoing discussions about plate tectonics and coastal evolution—not as a forecast for today but as a window into long term earth science.