Fact-check: Is a new ocean forming in East Africa? Yes, scientists say so

The formation of a new ocean in East Africa, expected to occur in a million years due to the movement of tectonic plates pushing in opposite directions and creating a chasm, is a gradual process, as indicated by scientists.

Writer: Jibi Moses 

Voice of Juba, a Facebook page posted on the 18th March 2023, pictures of some parts of the globe, mainly the African continent, with claims that Scientists have discovered a new ocean forming as Africa begins to split.

The post claimed this discovery could see East Africa forming its separate continent. South Sudan, Zambia and Uganda could one day have their coastlines if the land mass continues to separate. 

Investigation:

On carrying out Google and Bing searches, several results show that there is a possibility of an Ocean forming in East Africa, given the presence of the rift Valley backed by scientific evidence. The rift Valley spreads itself from the southern part of Africa to the East African countries of Tanzania, Kenya, and Ethiopia and connects to the Red Sea. 

However, these sources clearly state that this process would take millions of years to happen as it’s gradual. These explanations are seen here below as 1, 2, 3, 4. Besides, these youtube videos explain more 1, 2.

“This is the only place on Earth where you can study how a continental rift becomes an oceanic rift,” said Christopher Moore, a PhD doctoral student at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, who has been using satellite radar to monitor volcanic activity in East Africa that is associated with the continent’s breakup.

It’s thought that Africa’s new ocean will take at least between five million and ten million years to form.

The East African Valley:

The East African Rift (EAR) or East African Rift System (EARS) is an active continental rift zone in East Africa. The EAR began developing around the onset of the Miocene, 22–25 million years ago.^[1] In the past, it was considered part of a larger Great Rift Valley that extended north to Asia Minor.

A narrow zone, the rift is a developing divergent tectonic plate boundary where the African Plate is splitting into two tectonic plates, called the Somali Plate and the Nubian Plate, at a rate of 6-7 mm per year.^[2] The rift system consists of three microplates, the Victoria Microplate to the north and the Rovuma and Lwandle microplates to the south. The Victoria Microplate is rotating anti-clockwise for the African plate. Its rotation is caused by the configuration of mechanically weaker and stronger lithospheric regions in the East African Rift system.

In addition to this description, many geologists and geological houses have described it as here here here, here, and here, 

Tectonic plates and  forces:

A tectonic plate (a lithospheric plate) is a massive, irregularly shaped solid rock, generally composed of continental and oceanic lithosphere. Plate size can vary greatly, from a few hundred to thousands of kilometres across; the Pacific and Antarctic Plates are among the largest. There are seven significant plates; Pacific Plate, North American Plate, Eurasian Plate, African Plate, Antarctic Plate, Indo-Australian Plate, and South American Plate. 

Meanwhile, Tectonic forces refer to the forces or conditions within the earth that cause crust movements. designating the results of such movements: tectonic valleys. These forces are significant in forming the continents and subsequent features like rift valleys and lakes.

Conclusion:

Given the evidence from science that East Africa is within the East African Rift Valley System, which is active as evidenced by the active volcanic mountains and the changes (expansion) of the rift valley every year and in addition, the proof by science that tectonic plate (African Plate) on which the East African part of the continent lies are moving apart over time, it is true that a new ocean is forming in East Africa. The Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea will flood over the Afar region and into the East African Rift Valley and become a new ocean, and that part of East Africa will become its own separate small continent.

However, this is expected to happen in a million years to come, as these changes are happening in a very gradual process.

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