Goodbye to the world as we know it – Scientists confirm that the Earth is creating a sixth ocean, and this phenomenon can already be observed in the Great Rift Valley
Scientists have confirmed that a sixth ocean is slowly forming in the Afar Depression, where three tectonic plates — the African, Somali, and Arabian — are pulling apart.
The rifting, first triggered by the eruption of Ethiopia’s Dabbahu volcano in 2005, has already created a 60-kilometer-long fissure.
“When two plates move apart, the gap left behind gets filled with magma that rises to the surface,” researchers explained, adding that this is the same tectonic process that formed the Atlantic Ocean millions of years ago.
The crack is growing at a rate of 2 to 3 centimeters per year, and scientists believe the Indian Ocean will eventually flood the region — separating parts of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania from the mainland to create a new ocean basin. However, this transformation is expected to take roughly 10 million years.
If completed, the new ocean will have major ecological and geopolitical consequences. Scientists say it could become a haven for extremophiles and previously undiscovered marine species. It may also redefine borders and shift trade routes, potentially challenging the Suez Canal’s dominance.
“The rupture opened with such force in 2005 that it shifted the land six meters in just ten days,” researchers noted.
While it won’t happen in our lifetime, scientists say the Afar rift is one of the clearest examples of ocean birth happening today — a rare, visible process in Earth’s ever-changing geology.