I’m sure we’ll see some emails from beachfront land speculators in Nigeria and Ethiopia soon.
On the serious side, University of Rochester researchers have found evidence that Earth, doing what it darn well pleases despite our protestations, is making a new ocean in the African desert.
African Desert Rift Confirmed as New Ocean in the Making
Geologists Show that Seafloor Dynamics Are at Work in Splitting African Continent
In 2005, a gigantic, 35-mile-long rift broke open the desert ground in Ethiopia. At the time, some geologists believed the rift was the beginning of a new ocean as two parts of the African continent pulled apart, but the claim was controversial.
Now, scientists from several countries have confirmed that the volcanic processes at work beneath the Ethiopian rift are nearly identical to those at the bottom of the world’s oceans, and the rift is indeed likely the beginning of a new sea.
The new study, published in the latest issue of Geophysical Research Letters, suggests that the highly active volcanic boundaries along the edges of tectonic ocean plates may suddenly break apart in large sections, instead of little by little as has been predominantly believed. In addition, such sudden large-scale events on land pose a much more serious hazard to populations living near the rift than would several smaller events, says Cindy Ebinger, professor of earth and environmental sciences at the University of Rochester and co-author of the study.
“This work is a breakthrough in our understanding of continental rifting leading to the creation of new ocean basins,” says Ken Macdonald, professor emeritus in the Department of Earth Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and who is not affiliated with the research. “For the first time they demonstrate that activity on one rift segment can trigger a major episode of magma injection and associated deformation on a neighboring segment. Careful study of the 2005 mega-dike intrusion and its aftermath will continue to provide extraordinary opportunities for learning about continental rifts and mid-ocean ridges.”
“The whole point of this study is to learn whether what is happening in Ethiopia is like what is happening at the bottom of the ocean where it’s almost impossible for us to go,” says Ebinger. “We knew that if we could establish that, then Ethiopia would essentially be a unique and superb ocean-ridge laboratory for us. Because of the unprecedented cross-border collaboration behind this research, we now know that the answer is yes, it is analogous.”
Atalay Ayele, professor at the Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia, led the investigation, painstakingly gathering seismic data surrounding the 2005 event that led to the giant rift opening more than 20 feet in width in just days. Along with the seismic information from Ethiopia, Ayele combined data from neighboring Eritrea with the help of Ghebrebrhan Ogubazghi, professor at the Eritrea Institute of Technology, and from Yemen with the help of Jamal Sholan of the National Yemen Seismological Observatory Center. The map he drew of when and where earthquakes happened in the region fit tremendously well with the more detailed analyses Ebinger has conducted in more recent years.
Ayele’s reconstruction of events showed that the rift did not open in a series of small earthquakes over an extended period of time, but tore open along its entire 35-mile length in just days. A volcano called Dabbahu at the northern end of the rift erupted first, then magma pushed up through the middle of the rift area and began “unzipping” the rift in both directions, says Ebinger.
Since the 2005 event, Ebinger and her colleagues have installed seismometers and measured 12 similar—though dramatically less intense—events.
“We know that seafloor ridges are created by a similar intrusion of magma into a rift, but we never knew that a huge length of the ridge could break open at once like this,” says Ebinger. She explains that since the areas where the seafloor is spreading are almost always situated under miles of ocean, it’s nearly impossible to monitor more than a small section of the ridge at once so there’s no way for geologists to know how much of the ridge may break open and spread at any one time. “Seafloor ridges are made up of sections, each of which can be hundreds of miles long. Because of this study, we now know that each one of those segments can tear open in a just a few days.”
Ebinger and her colleagues are continuing to monitor the area in Ethiopia to learn more about how the magma system beneath the rift evolves as the rift continues to grow.
Additional authors of the study include Derek Keir, Tim Wright, and Graham Stuart, professors of earth and environment at the University of Leeds, U.K.; Roger Buck, professor at the Earth Institute at Columbia University, N.Y.; and Eric Jacques, professor at the Institute de Physique du Globe de Paris, France.
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Al Gore (13:28:55) :
“The earth has become so hot and dry it is cracking.”
A simple topical application of a moisturizer will do the job.
Another proof the tipping point has been reached.
Perhaps they will name the new rift the Al Gorge?
what are the chances of a massive flood basalt eruption (think formation of the Deccan traps)? That would be like the 19th century eruption of Laki on steroids.
I wonder how much energy it took to push that wide crack for 35 miles?
Always good to see nature dwarfing mankind’s best endeavours – put things into perspective, I think.
Just wait until 2012, the Mayan calendar says so, and yes, it will be all our fault. People are no damn good. A tax on their heads!
Don’t underestimate the creativity of Greens in figuring out how to turn earth cracks into a global warming story. An excerpt from SuperEco web site:
“These cracks occur in more places than just dry deserts, and are known to occur in wet areas as well, also potentially expelling gases that contribute to overall warming. Scientists don’t know yet the extent of the problem nor how much the cracks actually contribute to global warming.
So what can we do about it?
Just our part. Cut back on what we can, like eating meat, buying things we don’t need, driving, and using energy in general—all the things that we know contribute to greenhouses gases and that we actually have some control over. Making our footprint smaller. And once we’ve done what we can to take care of the Earth, we’ll let the Earth take care of itself.”
http://www.supereco.com/news/2009/03/01/earths-cracks-adding-to-greenhouse-gas/
It was hard to type while laughing at the same time 😀
This is an important observation & measurement.
The science of geology is not nearly as settled as most people think.
Obviously, it’s hard to peer down into the bowels of the Earth and as the post notes, mid-ocean spreading ridges are also hard to directly observe & measure.
Interestingly enough, this rift is consistent with a controversial hypothesis that the Earth is expanding in diameter.
There are some 40,000 miles of mid-ocean spreading ridges, where the Earth spreads apart, such as is observed, here, in this study.
The basic idea is that unless there is an equal length of subducting plates, then the Earth must be expanding.
Geologists have had a hard time identifying equal lengths of subducting plates (there are assertions of such identification) and these subducting plates are asserted to be concentrated in the Pacific Ocean basin, while the mid-ocean spreading ridges are evenly distributed around the world’s oceans (and now in Ethiopia).
Interesting that Nature seems to challenge Man’s assumptions on such a regular basis.
Humulity before the power & secrets of Nature should be Man’s starting point.
You need a “Study” to find out if the ground has split apart. How about just sending one of those drones over tot ake a picture of it to see if it is really there.
I predict the results of the study will show a definite trend line towards a gash opening in the ground.
http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/Fissure.html
http://www3.hi.is/~oi/Pdf%20reprint%20library/Geology%20and%20geodynamics%20of%20Iceland.pdf
Yes that would certainly be interesting if you got a continuous fissure eruption in that area that lasted any significant period of time.
Larry
NY Post headline — Africa has crack problem.
“In 2005, a gigantic, 35-mile-long rift broke open the desert ground in Ethiopia. At the time, some geologists believed the rift was the beginning of a new ocean as two parts of the African continent pulled apart, but the claim was controversial.”
I really do not see in which circles this news would have been “controversial” as it has been known for 30 years that this depression separating the “Danakil Alps” to the East from the African plate to West is indeed the stage of active rifting. The Tazieff team in 1976 if my memory serves me well measured the spreading near the Lake Assal in the Afar Territory. So it was know it is an active plate boundary. In fact the active rift doesn’t go through the Ormuz Straight but goes infto the Triple Point of the Afars through the Tadgoura Gulf and North in the Danakil depression.
it is indeed exciting to watch and one can hope scientific work will be done in a peaceful area. And of course this has nothing to do with the global warming stuff.
Afar Triple Junction and the Afar Depression, too.
Interesting places.
From wiki:
“Temperatures reached up to an all-time high of 64.4°C (148.0°F) in the 1930’s ..”
Hmm. There goes the 1930s again.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afar_Depression
Hmm a flood basalt event really would be a Global tragedy. Though the meteorology would be interesting.
James F. Evans writes: “Interestingly enough, this rift is consistent with a controversial hypothesis that the Earth is expanding in diameter.
There are some 40,000 miles of mid-ocean spreading ridges, where the Earth spreads apart, such as is observed, here, in this study.
The basic idea is that unless there is an equal length of subducting plates, then the Earth must be expanding.
Geologists have had a hard time identifying equal lengths of subducting plates (there are assertions of such identification) and these subducting plates are asserted to be concentrated in the Pacific Ocean basin, while the mid-ocean spreading ridges are evenly distributed around the world’s oceans (and now in Ethiopia).”
An expanding Earth would have an effect on Earth rotation as geophysicians can calculate it. Subduction zones are indeed active around the Pacific but also exist under the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean and places in the Indian Ocean. One can wiki this very easily. As for indentifying the length of subducted lithosphere, indeed since it is melting in the upper mantle, one would have a difficulty measuring it… In fact the oldest oceanic crust left is Jurassic until all of it will be subducted.
As I wrote the triple junction of the Afar has been known and identified as such since the 1960s and there are only two places on Earth where one can WALK an active rift: Island and Afar/Ethiopian.
Aw come on folks – I expect better of this crowd
No one has gone to
“The Earth has reached a ripping point!” ???
I’m disappointed…
Mike
Obviously the heat from the increasing amounts of anthropogenic CO2 in the atmosphere is to blame. Must buy carbon credits from Al Gore now!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/6491195/Al-Gore-could-become-worlds-first-carbon-billionaire.html
James F. Evans (14:10:50) :
Don’t forget that the earth’s diameter actually shrank during the event that triggered the 2003 tsunami in Indonesia. Do we know if the earth is back to it’s previous 2003 diameter given all those expending cracks at the bottom of the world’s oceans?
Al Gore (13:28:55) : “The earth has become so hot and dry it is cracking.”
Ray (13:43:44) : “A simple topical application of a moisturizer will do the job.”
Ray, I think that should actually be:
A simple TROPICAL application of a moisturizer will do the job.
[:)]
How good is it to read about interesting scientific research that doesn’t somewhere somehow blame mankind for the outcome.
Regards
Michael
It’s just a planetary stretch mark!!!
I wonder if this big crack has split in two a single species population of say apes. If so each population will from now on evolve in isolation from the other and in a million years or so from now…
Not only can we do nothing about this sort of thing it has long been thought that the isolated enviroments created in this part of the world by volcanic activity, uplift and rifting has been instrumental in the isolation and evolution of all sorts of species including ourselves. In short had East Africa remained as quiet geologically as West Africa the chances are we would not be here.
[ Just going to post when I saw similar comments in a couple of previous posts so curiosity as to the possible outcomes [ very, very short term outcomes geologically speaking ] of this event have been triggered in other contributors as well. ]
The apparent speed and scale/ size of this geological earth ripping event is astonishing.
My immediate reaction is to ask just what are the possible consequences of this geological event if it continues on at it’s current development rate?
Perhaps a geologist or even a volcanologist would like to comment particularly if there is a likelihood of very large scale extrusions of cubic kilometres or even tens of cubic kilometres of magma were to eventuate from the new Afar Rift over the next few decades.
There is volcanic activity right along the few thousand kilometres of the African Rift Valley so a geological event of the magnitude of the Afar Rift must have some consequences on any volcanic activity in the region.
It was even suggested by a poster on this forum only a few days ago that Mount Nyiragong, a massive and highly active volcano near Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo [ different country to the Republic of the Congo or Brazzaville Congo ! ] and situated on the same Great African Rift Valley fault line may in fact be one of the planet’s still unidentified super volcanoes.
A geological event of the scale of the opening of the Afar Rift might just be the trigger to set in motion another great volcanic event that will drastically affect weather and climate on a global scale for decades or at the worst for mankind, for centuries ahead.
Just another possible out of all the many great unknowns and imponderables that drive our global weather and which is totally unforeseen by those who believe that we can both accurately calculate the global temperatures a century ahead and can control our global climate’s temperature to within a fraction of a degree.
Global Oceanacian IS clearly anthropogenic in origin!
The problem is that too many people with too many possessions (big houses, SUV’s, King size beds and so forth) are living on the coasts.
This puts undue pressure on the coastlines, and tilts the earth toward the softened earth under the oceans! Then the earth shifts and we get cracking!
We must give up our decadent lifestyles and live with less or this cracking is going to spread. Also, everyone must move out of New York and California and move to Oklahoma and Nebraska to balance the weight!
And, of course, EVERYONE needs to eat less or eventually the weight of people pushing down on the earth is going to make it break out in volcanos like zits and POW! It’s Krakatoa-time!
I seem to remember that this was common knowledge when I did A Level Geography in the UK in the 1960s.
Time and again I am seeing statements of the previously well known and obvious dressed up as new findings in every field of science.
Are the scientists conning the ignorant politicians to extract funding or have their educations been so lacking that they have no idea of that which has gone before, even in their own fields ?