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Africa Is Breaking Apart Faster Than We Thought, Forming a New Ocean
Science Alert ^ | 17 Sep 2026 | Michael Irving

Posted on 09/18/2026 7:21:16 PM PDT by Rummyfan

Geologists have discovered that the African continent will split apart sooner than we thought. An active rift has reached a "critical threshold" and will soon break apart, forming a new ocean.

That said, 'soon' is a relative term – it'll still take a few million years more, but that's a blink of an eye on a geological scale.

"We found that rifting in this zone is more advanced, and the crust is thinner, than anyone had recognized," says Christian Rowan, a geoscientist at Columbia University.

"Eastern Africa has progressed further in the rifting process than previously thought."

The most intriguing thing about the find is its implications for our own history. The Turkana Rift Zone in Kenya is rich in early hominin fossils, which implies it was a key location for human evolution.

But the new find suggests the region may not necessarily have been more important to our ancestors than anywhere else in Africa – instead, it may just be that these geologic processes created very favorable conditions for fossilization.

(Excerpt) Read more at sciencealert.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; Politics; Science; Society
KEYWORDS: africa; goodnews; greatrift; newocean; ocean

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Well..... it doesn't affect my NFL picks for this weekend.....
1 posted on 09/18/2026 7:21:16 PM PDT by Rummyfan
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To: Rummyfan

2 posted on 09/18/2026 7:22:02 PM PDT by dfwgator ("I am Charlie Kirk!")
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To: Rummyfan

“”””it’ll still take a few million years more””””

I don’t need this kind of stress right now.


3 posted on 09/18/2026 7:24:22 PM PDT by ansel12
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To: Rummyfan
Africa crumbling? That's not news.

4 posted on 09/18/2026 7:30:21 PM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie ( O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is gracious, and his mercy endures forever. — Psalm 106)
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To: Rummyfan

God is fixing the planet.


5 posted on 09/18/2026 7:35:40 PM PDT by for-q-clinton
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To: Rummyfan
But the new find suggests the region may not necessarily have been more important to our ancestors than anywhere else in Africa – instead, it may just be that these geologic processes created very favorable conditions for fossilization.

That's actually pretty big. We've made a lot of assumption based on where fossils were found, assuming that "where the fossils are" is no different than saying "where the people were". And of course, the negative was assumed to be equally true. No fossils = no people.

But if that isn't true, then the basis for the "out of Africa" thesis, or at least the specifics of it, get a bit weaker.

6 posted on 09/18/2026 7:37:58 PM PDT by Bruce Campbells Chin
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To: dfwgator
They will come for Florida soon.

7 posted on 09/18/2026 7:42:30 PM PDT by Waverunner (Torah! Torah! Torah! my favorite IDF radio code.)
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To: Rummyfan

Trump’s fault!


8 posted on 09/18/2026 7:46:55 PM PDT by yuleeyahoo (“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!” - the deep-state)
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To: Rummyfan
Well, of course there's Africa.

But there's also this:

Cash in Transit Heist Leo Prinsloo and Lloyd Mthombeni Front Inside cab, Rear View

Leo's book is good to go.

9 posted on 09/18/2026 7:48:25 PM PDT by real saxophonist (Phil Weiser claps on 1 and 3. So does Jena Griswold.)
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To: Rummyfan

I’m already calling it the American Ocean.


10 posted on 09/18/2026 7:56:12 PM PDT by HYPOCRACY (There is no gravity. The earth just sucks. )
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To: Rummyfan

“it’ll still take a few million years”

Oh no, I was sure hoping I had more time to prepare!


11 posted on 09/18/2026 8:03:46 PM PDT by ScottfromNJ
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To: Rummyfan
That said, 'soon' is a relative term – it'll still take a few million years more, but that's a blink of an eye on a geological scale.

Beat the rush: By future beachfront property now and make a fortune.

12 posted on 09/18/2026 8:07:42 PM PDT by fidelis (Ecce Crucem Domini! Fugite partes adversae! Vicit Leo de tribu Juda, Radix David! Alleluia!)
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To: ansel12

Just something else to worry about.


13 posted on 09/18/2026 8:29:17 PM PDT by Sequoyah101 (Opinions and belly buttons, everybody has one and they get to show them if they want to.)
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To: ansel12

The only real question is, “When will Judge Boasberg issue a stay?”


14 posted on 09/18/2026 8:30:28 PM PDT by blackdog (The philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.)
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To: fidelis

I can see the Farside cartoon now of a couple sitting in beech chairs dried to a crisp somewhere in the depression under a glaring sun labeled, “Waiting for the Ocean”


15 posted on 09/18/2026 8:32:34 PM PDT by Sequoyah101 (Opinions and belly buttons, everybody has one and they get to show them if they want to.)
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To: Governor Dinwiddie
Africa crumbling? That's not [bad] news.
16 posted on 09/18/2026 8:38:19 PM PDT by Chani (Drive By poster)
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To: Sequoyah101

beach chairs...


17 posted on 09/18/2026 8:55:40 PM PDT by Sequoyah101 (Opinions and belly buttons, everybody has one and they get to show them if they want to.)
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To: Bruce Campbells Chin
We've made a lot of assumption based on where fossils were found, assuming that "where the fossils are" is no different than saying "where the people were". And of course, the negative was assumed to be equally true. No fossils = no people.

Like finding more lost pennies under a street light! It's not because pennies "like" light - it's because they're easier to find there, where they can be seen.

But: No, anthropologists have long known about "selection bias."

Regards,

18 posted on 09/19/2026 12:46:05 AM PDT by alexander_busek (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.)
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To: dfwgator

That will take a
Tectonic Shift!

In the Continental Drift

Brakes Good
Tires Fair...

We could have a Lost Planet

Commander


19 posted on 09/19/2026 2:05:05 AM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the Days of Lot; They Did Eat, They Drank, They Bought, They Sold ......)
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To: yuleeyahoo

He should give this new ocean a name: The American African Ocean.


20 posted on 09/19/2026 3:13:18 AM PDT by equaviator (Nobody's perfect. That's why they put pencils on erasers!)
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