Continental Breakup in Real-Time: Tectonic Dynamics, Superplume Forcing, and Nascent Ocean Formation in the East African Rift System

The East African Rift System (EARS) represents the only actively developing continental rift observable on land, offering an unprecedented natural laboratory for understanding the processes governing continental breakup and ocean basin formation. This comprehensive review synthesizes geological, geophysical, and geochemical evidence documenting the incipient separation of the African continent into the Nubian and Somalian plates. We examine the dramatic 2005 Dabbahu rifting event, wherein a 60-kilometer fissure opened in the Ethiopian Afar region within days, demonstrating that seafloor-style spreading can occur subaerially. Seismic tomography, GPS geodesy, and noble gas isotope analyses reveal a deep-seated African Superplume originating at the core-mantle boundary (approximately 2,900 km depth) as the primary driver of lithospheric extension. The EARS extends over 6,000 kilometers from the Afar triple junction to Mozambique, with divergence rates of 6–7 mm per year along the eastern branch. Current models project complete continental separation and marine inundation within 5–10 million years, creating a new ocean comparable to the Red Sea, with eastern Africa (Somalia, coastal Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania) forming an independent microcontinent.