Afar Press Release

Not for publication or broadcast until 00:01 (BST) on 25 June 2010

Witness the birth of Africa’s new ocean in 3D

New eruptions show African continent continues to split apart

An international team of scientists are predicting that within 10 million years Africa’s Horn will fall away and a new ocean will form.  The team, who aim to show that geology can be fast and furious, will present their research at this year’s Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition which opens today (25 June). Visitors to the exhibit will be able to take a 3D tour of the Afar rift in Ethiopia - above and below ground – where the African continent is cracking open.
In the remote Afar desert a 60 kilometre – around 40 miles – long segment of plate boundary cracked open by as much as eight metres over ten days in 2005. The gap filled with 2.5 cubic kilometres of molten rock – enough to bury the 42 square kilometres of London’s congestion charging zone under 60 m of lava. Since then the crack has been growing wider and longer with the latest eruptions taking place as recently as May 2010. The scientists studying the region believe that a new ocean is slowly forming and will eventually split the African continent in two.
Visitors to the “Fast and furious: witnessing the birth of Africa’s new ocean” exhibit will be able to see a 3D interactive movie of the Afar region, examining how the surface geology changes when the land splits apart. At the seismometer stand visitors will have the opportunity to jump up and down to create their own earthquakes as well as learn how scientists use earthquakes to figure out the earth’s processes.
Dr Tim Wright of the University of Leeds School of Earth and Environment says:
“The process of ocean formation is normally hidden deep beneath the seas, but in Afar we have are able to walk across the region as the Earth's surface splits apart – it really is amazing.  We now have the opportunity to conduct all sorts of experiments in this unique natural laboratory, to further understand the processes involved in shaping the surface of the Earth. It helping us to understand and mitigate natural hazards like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
The activity in the last 5 years in Afar has been truly incredible – we have been witnessing the plates split apart in real time in front of our eyes. Our research has shown the importance of molten magma in the whole process – we have been able to track the magma from below the Earth’s crust until it is intruded into cracks and solidifies into new crust, or is erupted at the surface.”
The Royal Society’s Summer Science Exhibition is at the heart of See Further: The Festival of Science + Arts at Southbank Centre which celebrates the 350th anniversary of the Royal Society. For further information about the Festival please visit: http://seefurtherfestival.org.
There will be an exciting new KS4 teaching resource available for this exhibit. For further information visit seefurtherfestival.org/resources .

-ENDS-

Notes for editors:

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6.  Between November 2009 and November 2010, the Royal Society is celebrating its 350th anniversary, promoting a spirit of enquiry, excitement and engagement with science.  The Society is working with organisations across the country to raise the profile of science and bring scientific activities to new audiences.  This includes:

• A unique ten-day science festival between 25th June and 4th July 2010, held at Southbank Centre in London.  It includes an enhanced version of the Society’s annual summer science exhibition, which gives visitors the opportunity to meet the scientists and engineers at the forefront of the UK’s research activities and to explore their work through interactive exhibits.  There are also collaborations with artists and performers, debates, broadcasting and the participation of audiences. 
• A comprehensive programme of public lectures, debates and discussion meetings, exploring some of the most fascinating and ground-breaking areas of science, at the Society’s premises in Carlton House Terrace.
• The Capital Science programme (London) – the Society is working in partnership with leading museums and galleries, as well as other organisations in London, to celebrate the Royal Society’s anniversary and explore the impact of science within the wider cultural landscape.
• The Local Heroes programme - the Society is working with over seventy museums and galleries around the UK to celebrate their local scientific heroes, whether they are pioneers of the industrial age, geniuses that changed the way we see the world today or contemporary scientists finding solutions to today’s problems.
• Publication of special editions of the Society’s scientific journals and a popular book, Seeing further: The Story Of Science & The Royal Society, edited by Bill Bryson and published by Harper Press, which covers the unique history of science and scientific issues of the last 350 years.
• A diverse range of other elements, including publication of a variety of policy reports, educational events and grants, research grants and international events and conferences
• More information about the anniversary year can be found at  http://royalsociety.org

For further information contact:
Nicola Kane
Press and Public Relations
The Royal Society, London
Tel: 020 7451 2508
Email: nicola.Kane@royalsociety.org

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