Investigation of the Africa splitting into two as new ocean forms

Scientists believe that Ethiopian tectonic plate changes indicate that Africa is breaking apart, opening the path for the emergence of the planet’s sixth ocean. Ever since the East African Rift, a 35-mile-long fissure in Ethiopia’s desert, appeared in 2005, there has been a continuous movement betw...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Atınç Pırtı
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Vilnius Gediminas Technical University 2025-07-01
Series:Geodesy and Cartography
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.vilniustech.lt/index.php/GAC/article/view/21177
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849714586051149824
author Atınç Pırtı
author_facet Atınç Pırtı
author_sort Atınç Pırtı
collection DOAJ
description Scientists believe that Ethiopian tectonic plate changes indicate that Africa is breaking apart, opening the path for the emergence of the planet’s sixth ocean. Ever since the East African Rift, a 35-mile-long fissure in Ethiopia’s desert, appeared in 2005, there has been a continuous movement between the tectonic plates. The second-largest continent in the world will virtually split in two due to the separation of the Somalian tectonic plate from the larger Nubian tectonic plate. This event has not been seen in hundreds of millions of years, when South America and Africa were separated into separate continents. The Somali and the Nubian tectonic plates are slowly disintegrating from each other, while the Arabian plate continues to pull away. The continental rift will happen along the east African Rift Valley, a geologically active region whose formation millions of years ago is similar to that of the tectonic movements that happen at the bottom of oceans. This means landlocked countries such as Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, and Zambia would inadvertently find themselves with a coastline, and thus, build harbours that connect them to the rest of the world directly. Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia would have two territories each. Though that will take between five to 10 million years, the continent will eventually split into two sub-continents, creating a new ocean basin between them.
format Article
id doaj-art-b36693018b35487db43fd1681e8f09bf
institution DOAJ
issn 2029-6991
2029-7009
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Vilnius Gediminas Technical University
record_format Article
series Geodesy and Cartography
spelling doaj-art-b36693018b35487db43fd1681e8f09bf2025-08-20T03:13:39ZengVilnius Gediminas Technical UniversityGeodesy and Cartography2029-69912029-70092025-07-0151210.3846/gac.2025.21177Investigation of the Africa splitting into two as new ocean formsAtınç Pırtı0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9197-3411Department of Surveying Engineering, Yildiz Technical University, Davutpasa, 34220 Esenler, Istanbul, Turkey Scientists believe that Ethiopian tectonic plate changes indicate that Africa is breaking apart, opening the path for the emergence of the planet’s sixth ocean. Ever since the East African Rift, a 35-mile-long fissure in Ethiopia’s desert, appeared in 2005, there has been a continuous movement between the tectonic plates. The second-largest continent in the world will virtually split in two due to the separation of the Somalian tectonic plate from the larger Nubian tectonic plate. This event has not been seen in hundreds of millions of years, when South America and Africa were separated into separate continents. The Somali and the Nubian tectonic plates are slowly disintegrating from each other, while the Arabian plate continues to pull away. The continental rift will happen along the east African Rift Valley, a geologically active region whose formation millions of years ago is similar to that of the tectonic movements that happen at the bottom of oceans. This means landlocked countries such as Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, and Zambia would inadvertently find themselves with a coastline, and thus, build harbours that connect them to the rest of the world directly. Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia would have two territories each. Though that will take between five to 10 million years, the continent will eventually split into two sub-continents, creating a new ocean basin between them. https://journals.vilniustech.lt/index.php/GAC/article/view/21177Africa continentssplittinga new oceanGNSSdisplacementmotion
spellingShingle Atınç Pırtı
Investigation of the Africa splitting into two as new ocean forms
Geodesy and Cartography
Africa continents
splitting
a new ocean
GNSS
displacement
motion
title Investigation of the Africa splitting into two as new ocean forms
title_full Investigation of the Africa splitting into two as new ocean forms
title_fullStr Investigation of the Africa splitting into two as new ocean forms
title_full_unstemmed Investigation of the Africa splitting into two as new ocean forms
title_short Investigation of the Africa splitting into two as new ocean forms
title_sort investigation of the africa splitting into two as new ocean forms
topic Africa continents
splitting
a new ocean
GNSS
displacement
motion
url https://journals.vilniustech.lt/index.php/GAC/article/view/21177
work_keys_str_mv AT atıncpırtı investigationoftheafricasplittingintotwoasnewoceanforms