In the Afar region of northeastern Ethiopia, the Arab, Nubian and Somali tectonic plates are slowly receding from each other, gradually creating a vast fault and gently forming a new ocean .

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"We can see how the oceanic crust is beginning to form, because it is significantly different from the continental crust in its composition and density," said Christopher Moore of the University of Leeds.

An unprecedented opportunity for scientists

Scientists have long suspected that tectonic plates are moving away, but new improvements in GPS technology have helped them find out what is happening beneath the Earth's surface, according to Futurism .

The new ocean will give geologists an unprecedented opportunity to learn how such a tectonic rupture occurs. While the Earth's tectonic plates are in constant motion, scientists still do not know what sets them apart from each other.

How could such a tectonic rupture be explained

The most popular theory is that massive, hot rocks "boil" in the Earth's mantle right where the three tectonic plates meet , but such ideas are extremely difficult to prove.

"With the help of GPS measurements, we can measure the rate at which tectonic plates move up to a few millimeters per year. As we have more measurements, we can better understand what is happening, ”said Ken Macdonald, a geophysicist at the University of California.