@tilscience: In 2005, a 60 km crack ripped open in the Ethiopian desert in 10 days. Scientists said it was the equivalent of several hundred years of tectonic movement happening at once. That was a preview of what is coming. Africa is splitting in two along the East African Rift System, which is a 4,000-mile fracture zone where the Nubian and Somali plates are pulling apart. When the process completes, seawater from the Red Sea and Indian Ocean will flood in, and create a brand new sixth ocean. We don't know exactly when. Estimates range from a few million years to tens of millions, depending on the model. But new research suggests this rift is further along than previously thought and the Afar region is the only place on Earth where you can watch it happening in real time. #ocean #geology #Science #EduTok