The birth of an ocean

[GrimJack]

I remember vaguely hearing about this when it happened but now that more data is in I am just amazed. I can't wait - I plan on watching this develop over the next few centuries.

Here is a good image of where it is forming in the Rift Valley:

[vegaseat]

We will all be watching with you!

[eggmatters]

Lol, I loved the comment about the guy who thinks it's a precursor to the world ending. In the grand scheme of things, It's a somewhat common event, although, still spectacular. If the earth is 6 billion years old and has been covered by oceans for 2.5 billion years. Typical lifespan of an ocean is 100 million years, that's 25 oceans we've had on this planet. It's kind of like one of those baseball statistics "This is the seventh player in major league history to fly out while having his pants fall off"
Don't get me wrong, it's a massively cool article.

[eggmatters]

i'm a junior poster in training! I'm a junior poster in training!

[GrimJack]

We will all be watching with you!

Don't forget the speciation that will occur as the flora and fauna are separated and the biosystems change (this is what to do while waiting for the geomorphology to works its magic).