Africa is splitting apart at a rate rarely seen in geology

[^_^ 5,021]

The earth is in upheaval in northeastern Africa, and the region is changing quickly. The desert floor is quaking and splitting open, volcanoes are boiling over, and seawaters are encroaching upon the land. Africa, researchers are certain, is splitting apart at a rate rarely seen in geology.

The first fracture appeared millions of years ago, resulting in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The second fracture, stretching south from Ethiopia to Mozambique, is known as the Great Rift Valley, and it is lined with several volcanoes.

...

In the Danakil Depression, in the northern part of the valley ... low, 25 meter (82 foot) hills are the only thing holding back the waters of the Red Sea. The land behind them has already dropped dozens of meters from previous levels and white salt deposits on the desert floor testify to past encroachments of the sea.

...

For now, no one can really say when the sea will finally flood the desert. But when it does, it could go quickly. "The hills could sink in a matter of days," Tim Wright, a fellow at the University of Leeds' School of Earth and Environment, said at a recent conference hosted by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco.

...

Even the pattern of earthquakes supports the conclusion that the desert landscape is transforming into a deep seafloor, according to a recent article in the Journal of Geophysical Research published by Zhaohui Yang and Wang-Ping Chen, two geologists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The researchers have recorded several strong earthquakes at a shallow depth in northeastern Africa similar to ones that are otherwise only seen on mid-ocean ridges far out at sea.

...

Scientists have also noted that the kind of magma bubbling up in the region is the type otherwise only seen spewing forth from mid-ocean ridges deep below the water's surface. One of its signature characteristics is a low proportion of silicic acid. The magma coming out of Erta Ale has the same chemical composition as the kind that emerges from deep-sea volcanoes. The entire region increasingly resembles an ocean floor -- one without water.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,740641,00.html

[Ban Hammer 14,353]

a new mission for steven - save africa!

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Much like the climate, the planet's geology has always changed. Maybe we could tax dirt along with carbon to stop all this change.

[The_Dude 1,142]

Much like the climate, the planet's geology has always changed. Maybe we could tax dirt along with carbon to stop all this change.

Wow, this thread didn't last long til the usual suspects showed up and tried to turn it into some sort of partisan political discussion. Sorry, did you not notice that this is in OFF TOPIC, not the Politics & Religion sub-forum?

[^_^ 5,021]

Wow, this thread didn't last long til the usual suspects showed up and tried to turn it into some sort of partisan political discussion. Sorry, did you not notice that this is in OFF TOPIC, not the Politics & Religion sub-forum?

Thank you.

This post is of geological interest. Steven and global warming have nothing to do with it.

[The_Dude 1,142]

Thank you.

This post is of geological interest. Steven and global warming have nothing to do with it.

Shouldn't global warming threads be in Off-Topic anyways? Unless it is somehow tied into some sort of political funding issue.

[^_^ 5,021]

Shouldn't global warming threads be in Off-Topic anyways? Unless it is somehow tied into some sort of political funding issue.

True. The science is the science, after all. Politics doesn't change that.

[The_Dude 1,142]

True. The science is the science, after all. Politics doesn't change that.

I think dubya disproved that. Science is science, except when it runs counter to your theology, then it just gets burried and discredited.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Much like the climate, the planet's geology has always changed. Maybe we could tax dirt along with carbon to stop all this change.

Your unscientific posts explain why you're just a button pusher at a nuclear power plant and not a real scientist.

[^_^ 5,021]

Your unscientific posts explain why you're just a button pusher at a nuclear power plant and not a real scientist.

All personal attacks are being reported, this and the attack by Charles on you.

[The_Dude 1,142]

All personal attacks are being reported, this and the attack by Charles on you.

There is no point reporting Charles, or anyone who regularly participates in the RUB forum. It seems they are above the TOS.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

All personal attacks are being reported, this and the attack by Charles on you.

Mes affaires font mal au cul!

[Ban Hammer 14,353]

Shouldn't global warming threads be in Off-Topic anyways? Unless it is somehow tied into some sort of political funding issue.

global warming is a religion for some.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I blame all the SUV's in this country, for sucking up all that oil which was displacing seawater, and now, the water is dissolving the underlying strata, releasing the pressure along the strike and dip faults.

[The_Dude 1,142]

global warming is a religion for some.