Birth of a New African Ocean 261
Khemisty writes "Formation of an ocean is a rare event, one no scientist has ever witnessed. Yet this geophysical nativity is unfolding today in one of the hottest and most inhospitable corners of the globe. Africa is splitting apart at the seams. From the southern tip of the Red Sea southward through Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Mozambique, the continent is coming unstitched along a zone called the East African Rift." This stretching of the earth's crust has been going on for 20 million years, and within another 10 million the Red Sea will have broken through to create a new sea.
doesn't seem that uncommon (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Someone will blame this on... (Score:5, Informative)
Before long, someone will blame this on GlobalWarming.
Mention of this split WILL show up in someone's eco-speech.
And ideally they will get publicly called out on their idiocy
Here's another article on the Afar region
http://www.nj.com/south/index.ssf/2008/10/post.html [nj.com]
(they cite this article http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4512244.stm [bbc.co.uk] )
An 8-meter wide, 60-kilometer long rift (...) developed in the Afar desert region of north-eastern Africa in just 3 weeks. An earthquake on the 14th of September is said to have sparked the growing tear in the African desert, followed up by moderate tremors and then, finally, a volcanic eruption.
Re:May it be a sign of the Flying Spaghetti Monste (Score:3, Informative)
Plate tectonics? (Score:3, Informative)
Haha, this is news to Slashdot?
The African Rift Valley has been taught to first year geology students since plate tectonics were discovered decades ago.
Some Google Maps highlights (Score:5, Informative)
It's in this part of eastern Africa [google.com], adjacent to the junction of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in Ethiopia and Eritrea, and is known as the Afar Depression [wikipedia.org]. All this black stuff is Erte Ale [google.com], a volcano [wikipedia.org] that is almost continuously erupting. You can see the fresh black lava flows that historically oozed down the sides, and if you zoom in, you can see the red glow of the lava lake [google.com]. The salt pan areas [google.com] mentioned in the article are to the north (Danakil Depression), and are well below sea level (the Wikipedia page on the former settlement of Dallol [wikipedia.org] notes that Dallol is 50m above sea level, but that's the settlement site, not the lake/salt pan, which is lower). There are vast areas of stretched and faulted crust [google.com] to the southeast (the cliffs are the fault scarps), and Lake Assal [google.com], another salt lake 153 metres below sea level [wikipedia.org].
This area is more impressive if you fly over it in Google Earth rather than Google Maps. Practically every cone-shaped peak you see in this area is a volcano that has been recently or not so recently active, and to the south you can clearly see the flanks of the East African Rift and the series of lakes [google.com] that occupy the rift valley as far south as Kenya [google.com], Tanzania and Mozambique, interspersed with volcanoes [google.com] all along the way. This is an awesome part of the world for geology.
afar rift home page (Score:5, Informative)
For more information, you can try the Afar Rift Home Page [leeds.ac.uk] for the Afar Rift Project.
Re:Red Sea tag suggestion: (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Red Sea tag suggestion: (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Red Sea tag suggestion: (Score:2, Informative)
You still have it wrong. According to Twitter, it is M$'s fault. *me ducks* ;)
Re:Red Sea tag suggestion: (Score:2, Informative)
Christians believing in 6000yr old earth by a landslide. Though they are also likely to believe in astrology. As for athiests that believe in astrology thats around 12% compared to the 28% average. On the other hand only slightly over half of people believe research into science is benefitial, slightly under half believe evolution should not be taught in schools 70% want creationism taught hell 46% of people don't know how long the earth takes to rotate the sun, 60% of people believe in psychics. Christians are definitely WORSE than atheists but both sides are whole-heartedly ignorant when it comes to science and reality. Also on a random side note republicans do 10~15% worse on almost every question studies by nsf asked. And girls did more poorly than guys on everything but medicine/biology.
Re:Red Sea tag suggestion: (Score:3, Informative)
Well, no. An Anglican Archbishop calculated that as the age of the Earth back in the 1600's. Back when calculating such things was considered scholarship.
First, most Christians are NOT Anglicans, and could give a rat's hind leg what a 400 year old Anglican Archbishop said about anything.
Second, these days, Anglicans don't believe him either. He's ancient history, and his ideas are considered, by most Christians, to be quaint.
Thirdly, of the few Christians who believe him, most don't know he's an Anglican Archbishop, so they don't know to pooh-pooh him for that reason.
And finally, there are some sects of Christianity who espouse the Young Earth opinion. I've never talked to a member of one of those sects who actually believed it, though no doubt some few did.
Re:Red Sea tag suggestion: (Score:4, Informative)
Info came from "Science & Engineering Indicators" sudy conducted yearly by the national science foundation AS SAID IN MY POST. Some came from Gallup & People for the AWF (American Way Foundation). Feel free to explore either study i encourage it. I rounded a couple figures by 2% i think the psychic figure was actually 58%.
Re:Red Sea tag suggestion: (Score:5, Informative)
From the article you just linked:
""U.S. Religious Landscape Survey" that was issued in June, 21% of self-proclaimed atheists believe in either a personal God or an impersonal force. Ten percent of atheists pray at least weekly and 12% believe in heaven."
This alone shows that the study is screwed up. From my dictionary "Atheist - One who disbelieves or denies the existence of God or gods." Yet the study says 21% of atheists believe in God. That study is total bullshit.
Furthermore, Baylor University is a Baptist liberal arts school showing its bias from the start. So speaking in tongues isn't occult neither are magical men in the sky. Really by definition ALL christians believe in ghosts. Ever heard of the holy spirit? Go to their site they had the actually questions they used for the study. It is such a dishonest study its gross. Demons, satan, talking to god, heaven and hell aren't considered to be faults in logic while believing in traditional medicine is. Come on now... Of course atheists are more likely to have ouija boards than staunch christians, it is 'a tool of the devil' they could not have one in their home. And i doubt most people take it seriously they are just toys not magic. They tagged 'having read a book about nostradamus' as belief in the occult. Of course atheists will have a higher number, we READ more.
Re:Red Sea tag suggestion: (Score:3, Informative)
James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh, published it in 1650, which is post-Medieval.
Re:Red Sea tag suggestion: (Score:4, Informative)
The Bible never gives an age for the Earth/Universe. Got to love the disconnected logic that allows a person to make things up at random and yet allows themselves to feel smugly superior to other people they claim are making things up.
Re:Red Sea tag suggestion: (Score:3, Informative)
Six days of creation. Then the generations from Adam to Moses, all spelled out. This spells it out [bibleprophecyrevealed.us]. I don't believe it. But it's literally in the bible.
Re:Red Sea tag suggestion: (Score:3, Informative)
Christians believing in 6000yr old earth by a landslide.
And how many Christians believe in a 6000 year old Earth? It's a far lower number than the number of Christians.