According to information obtained by a group of researchers from the University of Kiel and published in the journal “Journal of African Earth Sciences,” the African landmass is undergoing tectonic transformations manifested as stretching and subsequent fragmentation. This phenomenon has been named rift genesis. The specialists analyzed and processed aeromagnetic data for the Afar region, which covers territories in Ethiopia and Eritrea, collected back in 1968. This data was integrated with materials from surveys conducted in the adjacent Red Sea and the western waters of the Gulf of Aden. Based on this, a map was generated visualizing the total magnetic intensity and its vertical component. The conclusions drawn confirm the theory of the early stages of continental rift formation and ocean floor spreading observed within the Afar Depression, the Red Sea, and the territory of South Africa. The scientists discovered markers of the beginning of the separation between the African continent and the Arabian Peninsula. According to their predictions, the complete separation of these massifs will occur within an interval of 5 to 10 million years in the future.
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