Columbia University study finds East African Rift widening unexpectedly fast
Technology
Africa's East African Rift System is pulling apart faster than anyone expected, according to new research from Columbia University.
The Nubian and Somali tectonic plates are drifting away from each other at a surprising pace in the Turkana Rift Zone.
Over millions of years, this could actually create a brand-new ocean, totally reshaping Africa as we know it.
Necking thins crust to 13km
Scientists found that the earth's crust here is getting super thin, down to just 13km, in a process called necking.
This thinning lets magma rise up and form new oceanic crust, speeding up the split.
Plus, all this tectonic action has helped preserve ancient fossils in the area by quickly covering them with sediment, a cool twist on what we thought about how fossils survived there.