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Geologists have ringside seats for an ocean's birth ~~ A new sea forming in Africa
The Register ^ | Thursday 20th July 2006 08:36 GMT | Lucy Sherriff

Posted on 07/20/2006 9:08:26 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach

A rift that opened in Africa after a massive earthquake last September could be the beginning of a new Ocean, scientists say. The crack in the ground appeared along a fault line in the Afar desert in Ethiopia.

The crack is heading for the Red Sea. If it makes it that far, it would carve a new ocean that would separate Eritrea and part of Ethiopia (both of which lie on the Arabian plate) from the rest of the continent, creating a new island.

Satellite data collected since the quake shows that the rift is widening at an unprecedented rate, according to reports. It is sixty kilometres long and by October it was already eight metres wide in some places. These observations are reported in Nature.

The Rift Valley is a very geologically active region, thanks to the separation of the Arabian and Nubian tectonic plates. As the plates slide away from each other, the crust of the Earth is stretched and thinned to the point where cracks appear.

In this case, as the crust fractured, approximately 2.5 cubic kilometres of magma from nearby volcanoes flooded into the rift, forming fresh continental crust. That is enough to cover the area inside the M25 to a depth of about a yard, the BBC reports.

The research team, a collaboration between scientists in the UK and in Ethiopia, used both field measurements and satellite images from the European Space Agency's Envisat spacecraft to build a precise map of the changes. It is the first event of this kind to have occurred since the satellite technology became available.

If the crack does represent the birth of a new ocean (and it may not - it could all just settle down again), it will be about a million years before it is wet enough.

Which should give any local Noahs plenty of time to build their Arks. ®



TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: africa; arabia; earth; oceanography; redsea; tectonicplates; theearth; timwright
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To: ArrogantBustard
Neither ... it's Western Imperialist Colonialism oppressing the poor downtrodden masses.

Oh No!! Only Robert Mugabe can save Djibouti now.

21 posted on 07/20/2006 9:22:07 AM PDT by LexBaird ("Politically Correct" is the politically correct term for "F*cking Retarded". - Psycho Bunny)
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To: Terabitten

Good point. See post #18 for a pretty dramatic picture.


22 posted on 07/20/2006 9:23:49 AM PDT by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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What I want to know... is how much Bush knew about this and when he knew it!


23 posted on 07/20/2006 9:27:42 AM PDT by csivils
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To: LexBaird
Is this due to Global Warming, or a Zionist conspiracy against Mecca?

I though Global Warming *was* a Zionist conspiracy.

24 posted on 07/20/2006 9:28:07 AM PDT by nosofar
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To: Slicksadick
Image and video hosting by TinyPic
25 posted on 07/20/2006 9:29:34 AM PDT by Sax
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To: trisham

Yup... and note the caption, that says the Rift Valley is already below sea level.

As any New Orleans native can tell you, the world can get wet pretty quick when you're already below sea level.


26 posted on 07/20/2006 9:30:43 AM PDT by Terabitten (The only time you can have too much ammunition is when you're swimming.)
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To: Andy from Beaverton

ROFL!


27 posted on 07/20/2006 9:33:17 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: trisham

Geologists have a ring side seat? For a million years? These are going to be pretty hardy geologists.


28 posted on 07/20/2006 9:33:18 AM PDT by Goreknowshowtocheat
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To: Terabitten

True. On another note, I can't believe how close to the edge those people are standing. It makes me dizzy. Run! Run for your lives! :)


29 posted on 07/20/2006 9:33:36 AM PDT by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Why couldn't it be on the US Mexican border from coast to coast?


30 posted on 07/20/2006 9:34:25 AM PDT by dalereed
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To: trisham

" it will be about a million years before it is wet enough."

Maybe. Maybe not.


31 posted on 07/20/2006 9:34:59 AM PDT by UCANSEE2 (I will go down with this ship, and I won't put my hands up in surrender.)
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To: Slicksadick; SunkenCiv; NormsRevenge; Marine_Uncle; blam

Well damn,....this is serious stuff....thanks!


32 posted on 07/20/2006 9:36:05 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach


Amazing.


33 posted on 07/20/2006 9:41:12 AM PDT by Tzimisce (How Would Mohammed Vote? Hillary for President! www.dndorks.com)
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To: Sax

Been there, done that..


34 posted on 07/20/2006 9:44:00 AM PDT by sheik yerbouty ( Make America and the world a jihad free zone!)
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To: rawhide; All

A crevice in the Afar Triangle signals the birth of an ocean. In ten million years this ocean will split the African continent.

Dereje Ayalew/Universität Addis Abbaba ~~~~~ Scientists examine crevices in the Afar Triangle.

An aerial view of north-eastern Africa. The Afar Triangle is the sandy-colored triangle bordering on the sea.

NASA This photograph -- a direct view of the Afar Triangle -- was taken from the US space shuttle Columbia in January 1990.

35 posted on 07/20/2006 9:45:04 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: Sax

One would expect a crack near Djibouti.


36 posted on 07/20/2006 9:47:38 AM PDT by ItsForTheChildren
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To: Slicksadick

Great! That'll give all the water from the melting icecaps somewhere to go and help irrigate their vast desert to boot.


37 posted on 07/20/2006 9:56:09 AM PDT by prairie dog
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Interesting article, and neat pictures too!


38 posted on 07/20/2006 9:58:05 AM PDT by hedgetrimmer ("I'm a millionaire thanks to the WTO and "free trade" system--Hu Jintao top 10 worst dictators)
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To: dalereed
Why couldn't it be on the US Mexican border from coast to coast?

Excellent idea!!!!

39 posted on 07/20/2006 9:58:43 AM PDT by TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig (Life is tough. It's even tougher when you're stupid.)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach; zot

It is time to get hold of a real estate agent and buy property on both sides of the riff & get ahead of the beach front property rush.

I wonder how far the closest end of the sink area is from the coast? The article doesn't say that.


40 posted on 07/20/2006 10:04:32 AM PDT by GreyFriar ( (3rd Armored Division - Spearhead))
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