Gulf of Suez
A new study has revealed that the Gulf of Suez, which partially divides Africa and Asia, may still be widening. Scientists thought it stopped five million years ago.
Around 28 million years ago, the Arabian tectonic plate began to move away from the African plate, opening the current Gulf of Suez. This is how new oceans are born. However, about 5 million years ago, the rift stopped, and Suez remained a gulf, not an ocean.
However, a new study earlier this month in Geophysical Research Letterssuggests that, after all, the Suez rift never stopped “rifting”. Instead, it just slowed down.
The investigation revealed that the Suez rift continues to move away from about 0.5 millimeters per year.
“We believe this changes the way we think about the evolution of rifts. In the conceptual model, rifts either succeed (forming new ocean basins like the Red Sea) or fail (becoming completely inactive), the study leader explained to , David Fernandez-Blancogeoscientist at the Institute of Deepwater Science and Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
“Now, we are showing that there is a middle way whereby rifts can slow down without actually failing,” he added.
The Gulf of Suez is often seen as the classic example of a failed rift.
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“What caught our attention was the disconnect between the conventional narrative of total tectonic stillness and the signs of ongoing activity”, stated Fernández-Blanco.
The evidence from the new study points to a continuous rift that slowed 5 million years agowhen plate movements changed and tectonic activity shifted to the Dead Sea, where a new plate boundary was forming between the African and Arabian plates.
However, the rift hasn’t stopped. It continues to push away the shores of the Gulf of Suez.
The results could mean that areas like the Gulf of Suez are more prone to damaging earthquakes than previously believed, he added. It also suggests that other supposedly failed rifts may deserve a second look with modern tools to see if they have actually stopped “rifting.”
