The idea of an entire continent tearing in half sounds like a plot from the latest apocalyptic blockbuster – but scientists say that it could soon become a reality in Africa.
A massive crack is ripping through Earth’s second-largest continent, from the north east to the south.
Eventually, the entire continent could split apart – leaving eastern Africa with its own coastline, separated from the rest of Africa.
In a new study, researchers uncovered evidence of rhythmic surges of molten rock rising from deep within the Earth’s surface, beneath Ethiopia.
These pulses are gradually tearing the continent apart and forming a new ocean, according to researchers from Swansea University.
‘The split will eventually go all the way down Africa,’ lead author Dr Emma Watts told MailOnline.
‘It has already begun and is happening now but at a slow rate – 5-16 mm per year – in the north of the rift.
‘Regarding timescales, this process of Africa being torn apart will take several million years before it is completed.’
Scientists say a massive crack has started ripping through Africa, from the north east to the south, starting at the Afar region in Ethiopia. Pictured, active lava flows spilling out of the Erta Ale volcano in Afar, Ethiopia
Scientists at the University of Southampton uncovered evidence of rhythmic surges of molten mantle rock rising from deep within the Earth beneath Africa. These pulses are gradually tearing the continent apart and forming a new ocean
The split has already started at the northeast of Africa off the coast of Ethiopia, where the Red Sea flows into the Gulf of Aden. This image shows the hypothesized hot upwelling of mantle over the next few millions of years
Dr Watts and colleagues point to the Gulf of Aden, a relatively narrow body of water separating Africa in the south and Yemen in the north.
Like a small tear in a piece of clothing, the gradual separation event could start at the Gulf of Aden and gradually spread downwards.
As it does so, it would split through the middle of enormous bodies of water in East Africa, such as Lake Malawi and Lake Turkana.
By the time the split is complete, perhaps five to 10 million years from now, Africa will be made up of two landmasses.
There will be the larger landmass in the west featuring most of the 54 modern-day African countries, such as Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, Ghana and Nambia.
Meanwhile, the smaller landmass to the east will include Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and a large portion of Ethiopia.
‘The smaller part that breaks away towards the east will be approximately 1 million square miles in area and the remaining larger landmass will be just over 10 million square miles,’ Dr Watts told MailOnline.
For the study, the team collected more than 130 volcanic rock samples from across the Afar region.
The Gulf of Aden (pictured) is a relatively narrow body of water separating Africa in the south and Yemen in the north – and this is where the split has already begun
The Afar region is a rare place on Earth where three tectonic rifts meet – the Main Ethiopian Rift, the Red Sea Rift, and the Gulf of Aden Rift – together known as a triple junction. Pictured, fresh basaltic lava flows in the region of Afar, Ethiopia
This region is characterized by high volcanic activity. Pictured, a succession of volcanic deposits at Boset Volcano in the Main Ethiopian Rift
In this region, three tectonic plates meet, called the Main Ethiopian Rift, the Red Sea Rift and the Gulf of Aden Rift, which are ‘divergent’, meaning they’re moving away from each other.
The experts used these samples, plus existing data and advanced statistical modelling, to investigate the structure of the Earth’s crust and the mantle below it.
The mantle, the planet’s thickest layer, is predominantly a solid rock but behaves like a viscous fluid. The divergence (moving apart of the plates) aids the rising of the mantle.
‘We found that the mantle beneath Afar is not uniform or stationary – it pulses,’ said Dr Watts.
‘These ascending pulses of partially molten mantle are channelled by the rifting plates above.’
Over millions of years, as tectonic plates are pulled apart at rift zones like Afar, they stretch and thin almost like soft plasticine, until they rupture, marking the birth of a new ocean.
Geologists have long suspected a hot upwelling of mantle, but until now, little was known about the structure of this upwelling, or how it behaves beneath rifting plates.
The team say the pulses appear to behave differently depending on the thickness of the plate, and how fast it’s pulling apart.
Earth is made up of three layers – the crust, the mantle and the core, which was later separated into ‘inner’ and ‘outer’. A recent study suggested the existence of an ‘innermost core’ too
For the study, the team collected more than 130 volcanic rock samples from across the Afar region. Pictured, microscope image of a thin sliver of one of the volcanic rocks from Afar, Ethiopia
At the Afar region, the entire rift valley floor is covered with volcanic rocks, which suggests that, in this area, part of the Earth’s crust has thinned almost to the point of complete break up.
When this happens, a new ocean will begin forming by the solidification of magma in the space created by the broken-up plates.
Eventually, over a period of tens of millions of years, seafloor spreading will progress along the entire length of the rift.
The study, published in Nature Geoscience, shows that the mantle plume beneath the Afar region is not static, but dynamic and responsive to the tectonic plate above it.
‘We have found that the evolution of deep mantle upwellings is intimately tied to the motion of the plates above,’ said co-author Dr Derek Keir, associate professor in earth science at the University of Southampton and the University of Florence.
‘This has profound implications for how we interpret surface volcanism, earthquake activity, and the process of continental breakup.’
The Earth is moving under our feet: Tectonic plates move through the mantle and produce Earthquakes as they scrape against each other
Tectonic plates are composed of Earth’s crust and the uppermost portion of the mantle.
Below is the asthenosphere: the warm, viscous conveyor belt of rock on which tectonic plates ride.
The Earth has fifteen tectonic plates (pictured) that together have moulded the shape of the landscape we see around us today
Earthquakes typically occur at the boundaries of tectonic plates, where one plate dips below another, thrusts another upward, or where plate edges scrape alongside each other.
Earthquakes rarely occur in the middle of plates, but they can happen when ancient faults or rifts far below the surface reactivate.
These areas are relatively weak compared to the surrounding plate, and can easily slip and cause an earthquake.
