Ethiopia is slowly tearing toward a new ocean, and geologists have uncovered how the rift is pulling the continent apart from below

New research reveals a powerful geological process is actively tearing Africa apart from beneath. A rhythmic plume of molten rock beneath Ethiopia's Afar region is creating a new ocean, while the Turkana Rift Zone has thinned significantly, nearing a critical stage of breakup. This geological activity may have also preserved crucial early human fossils.