Scientists track a 35\u2011mile fissure and a vast underground water cache that could forever change our view of the planet. East Africa\u2019s slowly stretching crust could one day give the planet a brand\u2011new body of water\u2014an idea that reshapes how we view oceans, earthquakes, and even the deep water hidden beneath our feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A 35\u2011mile fissure that tore open Ethiopia\u2019s desert back in 2005 marked the first visible sign that the Somali and Nubian tectonic plates are drifting apart. Researchers calculate that in roughly five to ten million years sea water from the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden will pour in, separating eastern Africa from the mainland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rift already threads through Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania, triggering frequent earthquakes and occasional volcanic eruptions. That restless ground reminds residents\u2014and the wider scientific community\u2014that plate tectonics is far from a finished act. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, the valley will widen; then, as it drops below sea level, saltwater will creep in much as it did when South America split from Africa. Could coastal communities need to plan ahead? Possibly, say experts, because infrastructure and migration corridors will have millions of years to adapt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the surface splits, scientists have uncovered evidence of a gargantuan water cache some 430\u202fmiles beneath it. Trapped in a blue\u2011tinged mineral called ringwoodite, this hidden reservoir may hold more water than all surface oceans combined. If that much moisture can cycle between mantle and crust, it challenges long\u2011held theories that comets delivered most of Earth\u2019s water. After all, what else might be percolating upward, unseen? Here you have a resume:<\/p>\n\n\n\nMilestone<\/th> What happens<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> 2005<\/td> 35\u2011mile\u2011long crack opens in Ethiopia<\/td><\/tr> 2025\u2011Present<\/td> Rift widens a few millimeters each year; quakes and eruptions continue<\/td><\/tr> 5\u201310\u202fmillion\u202fyears<\/td> Red Sea floods the rift, forming Earth\u2019s sixth ocean<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Mantle\u2011locked water reservoir could rewrite our planet\u2019s entire hydrologic cycle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n