Africa is undergoing a slow but dramatic transformation. New research using digitised magnetic data from the late 1960s reveals that the continent has been gradually splitting apart for tens of millions of years. The separation began between Africa and Arabia and continues today, stretching from the northeast to the south like a giant geological zipper.

Scientists at Keele University uncovered ancient seafloor-spreading patterns beneath the Gulf of Aden and Afar region, confirming that Africa is in the early stages of breaking into two future landmasses. The process is extremely slow-just 5 to 16 mm per year-but over millions of years, the split will grow into a massive new ocean.

The Afar Region: Where Africa's Breakup Is Visible

The Afar Depression, located where the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and East African Rift meet, is one of the few places on Earth where continental breakup can be observed at the surface. Beneath it lies a plume of molten mantle rock that rises like a“beating heart,” pushing the land apart.

Magnetic“stripes” in the crust-formed whenever Earth's magnetic poles flipped-provided the key evidence. These stripes show that seafloor spreading once occurred between Africa and Arabia, marking the earliest stages of the continental split. Volcanic activity, earthquakes, and constant stretching of the crust continue to widen the rift.

A Future With Two Africas

If the trend continues for another 5–10 million years, Africa will divide into:

• A western landmass: Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, Ghana, Namibia, and most other African nations
• A smaller eastern landmass: Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and much of Ethiopia
• Large lakes like Lake Turkana and Lake Malawi may eventually become part of a brand-new ocean basin.

Published in the Journal of African Earth Sciences, the research shows how ancient magnetic data, when re-examined with modern tools, can reveal the hidden workings of our planet.

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