It's unlikely that the huge breakup will happen in our lifetimes, but we can already see the effects. Afar has changed a lot since 2005, when a volcano blew its top. Melted rock that has hardened in cracks all over the desert.
Scientists can be sure of this change because satellite technology has gotten better and better. Oceanic crusts form where the ridges between the tectonic plates meet. This is because material from the center of the Earth moves toward the surface.
This is a rare chance, since most of these things happen at sea, where it's hard for scientists to watch. But now, because of the crack in the Afar desert, scientists know more about how tectonic plates move.
A seismologist from the University of Bristol named Dr. James Hammond has been doing research in the Afar desert, where a new ocean is starting to form. He says that the only thing between this part of Eritrea and the ocean is a 20-meter high piece of land.
If the water can get into the cracks, a new ocean will start to form. Because of the water, some parts of Ethiopia will sink and be torn apart. They think that parts of southern Ethiopia and Somalia will break off and become islands in the Indian Ocean.
In April 2018, when a big crack opened up in the Kenyan Rift Valley, the media once again started talking about what was happening in Ethiopia. Several articles have taken this as proof that Africa is really splitting in two.
In addition to the regular earthquakes, the cracks appeared during a time when there were more earthquakes than usual. More importantly, the cracks happened where a new boundary between two plates was forming. Because of this, many people made the wrong assumption that the situation was the same as in Ethiopia.
But more research showed that the huge cracks in the land were caused by something else entirely. It was found that erosion of the soil below the surface, not movement of the plates, caused the split. Erosion happened because there was a lot of rain in the area. The rain washed away the thick layers of ash that had been left in the Kenya rift valley by past volcanic eruptions.
Those who have been around for a long time will remember that this is not the first time that continents have moved apart. In reality, it took about 300 million years for the continents and seas we know today to form. A map from that time would not look at all like a map from today.
Back then, there was only Pangea, which was the largest continent, and Panthalassa, which was the largest ocean. After another 100 million years, Pangea started to break up into the continents we know today. The Panthalassa were also moved, but this time they went to their own seas.
It looks like land will be split up again this time. In a few million years, Africa will become a group of islands that circle a large part of the original continent.
Scientists have come to the conclusion that we are very lucky to be alive to see a new ocean form. Because of this event, scientists and researchers will know more about earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
It's a problem all over the world, but you might not know that Africa isn't the only place that's about to fall apart. There are cracks and rifts in every part of the world. The same thing could happen to the island country of Iceland, which is about 8,000 kilometers from Ethiopia.
In the middle of Greenland and Norway is a small island country called Iceland. The name "fire and ice" comes from how different the tropical and arctic parts of the country are. There are some of the most active volcanoes in the world.
Iceland is in the middle of the moving tectonic plates of North America and Eurasia. If these two plates keep moving away from each other, it could be bad for Iceland. Estimates suggest that the country could be split into three different areas.
There is a crack in the area of ingvellir, which is known for its volcanic and tectonic activity. The plain's surface is full of cracks, and more are appearing all the time. Earth is a place with a lot of surprising things to see. It's humbling to think about what people do to cause these kinds of changes in the earth's surface. If we take better care of Earth now, it will be around for future generations to enjoy.
People sometimes say that this event in Africa's Afar desert was the first time that the separation of continents had a direct effect on modern humans. Who could have thought that a new ocean would form in the middle of the hottest, driest desert on Earth?