Drifting away
Scientists say the Red Sea is parting, due to earthquakes in the region. Images from European Space Agency's Envisat radar satellite have shown that the Arabian and African plates are drifting away from each other, causing the Red Sea to widen at its southern end.
Earthquakes in September 2005 saw splits occur along the East African Rift in Ethiopia and the rift widened by 26 feet. For 30 million years, Africa and Arabia have been moving apart, which was responsible for forming the Red Sea and the Ethiopian Rift.
The latest split could see Eritrea and northeastern Ethipia move away from the rest of Africa and also see a new sea created.
Though this may take millions of years, scientists now have an opportunity to study the process. "The ground is continually moving — much more rapidly now than before the rifting episode," Tim J. Wright, a Royal Society University Research Fellow was quoted as saying on LiveScience.com. "On average, the two sides move apart at about two cm per year (0.8 inches per year)." A report on this study was published in the journal Nature.
R. KRITHIKA
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