East African Rift Shows Signs of Imminent Continental Breakup, New Ocean Predicted

A study published April 23 in Nature Communications reveals that the Turkana Rift in eastern Africa is further along in the continental breakup process than previously thought. Researchers from Columbia University, including geologists Folarin Kolawole and Christian Rowan, found that the crust in the center of the rift is only about 8 miles thick, compared to over 22 miles elsewhere, indicating a phase called 'necking' that precedes ocean formation. The rift, part of the larger East African Rift System stretching 4,000 miles from Jordan to Mozambique, is widening at about one-fifth of an inch per year. Necking likely began around four million years ago after widespread volcanic eruptions. The team used acoustic waves and imaging data to map the subsurface structure. They predict that in a few million years, magma will rise between the plates, forming a new seafloor, and water from the Indian Ocean will create a new ocean dividing the continent. The volcanism also created fine-grained sediments that preserved over 1,200 hominin fossils, including the 1.6-million-year-old Turkana Boy skeleton. The study ties the rifting process to the region's world-famous fossil record.