Scientists of the UK-Ethiopian Project Eagle (Ethiopian Afar Geophysical Lithospheric Experiment) claim they
have witnessed the possible birth of a future ocean basin in north-eastern Ethiopia. The group watched an 8 m rift develop in the ground in just three weeks in the Afar desert region last September. It is one small step in a longterm split that is tearing the east of the country from the rest of Africa and should eventually create a huge sea.