Buzz
The Southern Ocean, which encircles Antarctica, was the last to be officially recognized as an ocean, though technically, there is just one continuous global ocean. Photo by Ray Hems / Getty Images.The Earth's oceans cover 71 percent of the planet's surface, divided into five major regions: Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Southern. These names are familiar to schoolchildren, navigated by sailors, and home to some of the planet's most biodiverse species [source: NOAA].
But could our planet ever see the rise of a new ocean? It seems improbable, given that existing oceans have monopolized Earth's liquid surface for over 4 million years. Yet, astonishingly, the process of forming a new ocean has already begun, though it will take millions of years to unfold.
East African Rift Valley
Researchers predict that a massive rift forming in Ethiopia's Afar desert could eventually become the newest ocean on Earth. This 40-mile (64-kilometer) crack, which is sometimes over 20 feet (6 meters) wide, lies along the shifting boundaries of the planet's tectonic plates.
At the rift's northern end, you'll find Dabbahu, a volcano whose eruption in 2005 triggered the creation of the first 35 miles (56 kilometers) of the rift in just 10 days. The eruption was followed by a series of earthquakes that forced magma — molten rock from the Earth's core — to rise up through the crack, splitting it rapidly in both directions.
This is the only known place on Earth where you can observe how a continental rift transforms into an oceanic rift,” said Christopher Moore, a visiting research fellow at the University of Leeds, in an interview with NBC News.
Since then, magma has flowed continuously, like molten toffee, volcanoes have erupted persistently, and the deep fissure has expanded — albeit at a slower pace — with the gap growing by several additional miles.
The Pace of Monumental Change
Researchers are investigating this phenomenon due to its incredibly rapid progression and because it reflects tectonic processes that typically occur deep beneath the ocean, where access is nearly impossible.
Before 2005, the African and Arabian plates, which meet in the remote Afar Desert, were slowly drifting apart at a rate of less than one inch (2.5 centimeters) each year.
Over the past 30 million years, the two plates had only managed to create a 186-mile (299-kilometer) rift alongside the Red Sea. However, no significant shift occurred until 2005 [source: LiveScience].
The Transforming African Continent
In time, scientists predict that the Afar Rift will link the Red Sea to the north and the Arabian Sea to the south. Once this occurs, the Afar Rift will evolve into a new ocean that will divide Africa, isolating the Horn of Africa and altering the future of several landlocked nations. [source: PhysOrg].
Ken Macdonald, a marine geophysicist, explained to NBC News: “The Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea will pour into the Afar region and flow into the East African Rift Valley, creating a new ocean. As a result, that section of East Africa will become a separate, small continent.”
While we may not live to see the formation of the new ocean—since it is growing at the pace of a fingernail—scientists are closely observing the changes with great excitement. The chance to witness such a normally inaccessible process is a rare, once-in-a-lifetime event for many.
However, given its current pace, this new ocean may take another 10 million years to fully develop [source: Wright].
As a child, you may have been taught there were only four oceans, but scientists have long acknowledged the Southern Ocean as the fifth. The National Ocean Service explains that it is recognized by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names as the water body extending from Antarctica’s coast to the 60-degree South latitude. The boundaries of this ocean were proposed to the International Hydrographic Organization in 2000.
