One of the world’s continents is breaking apart as expert issues warning

Breaking up is hard to do, but one of the world’s continents is going through the difficult process even if it’s going to take a lot of time.

While the current maps of the world are fairly accurate, in the fullness of time they’ll be rendered outdated by continental drift as the various different parts of the world move together and apart again.

One spot in the world where this is happening with particular drama is around the eastern coast of Africa, where two of our planet’s tectonic plates are pulling away from one another.

Experts reckon that this separation will eventually create a new continent that is split off from Africa.

The ground has split open in places, and in a process that could take millions of years a new continent and ocean will form (Julie Rowland, University of Auckland)

The ground has split open in places, and in a process that could take millions of years a new continent and ocean will form (Julie Rowland, University of Auckland)

On the one hand this continent splitting change isn’t expected to happen for millions of years yet, but on the other hand Professor Ken Macdonald of the University of California warned that rather than being many millions of years away, this split could be between one million and five million years away.

I know that sounds like a long time but it’s sooner than you think, and the professor told the Daily Mail that the separation would not only make a new continent but a new ocean.

He said: “What might happen is that the waters of the Indian Ocean would come in and flood what is now the East African Rift Valley.

“In the human life scale, you won’t be seeing many changes. You’ll be feeling earthquakes, you’ll be seeing volcanoes erupt, but you won’t see the ocean intrude in our lifetimes.”

The rift goes through Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania, and evidence of it already marks the land.

A fissure has already formed and while in some places it is only opening by a few millimetres a year, there are parts of the continent where the cracks in the ground are rather pronounced.

The East African Rift is being pulled apart. (USGS)

The East African Rift is being pulled apart. (USGS)

While the actual dramatic split and creation of a new continent and ocean are at least a million years away and we’ll all have shuffled off our mortal coils by then, the effects Professor Macdonald spoke of such as volcanoes and earthquakes are going to be a concern for a long time.

According to the Geological Society of London over time the East African Rift will ‘sink lower and lower eventually allowing ocean waters to flood into the basin’.

This change will redraw the map of east Africa, giving some countries a coastline they didn’t previously possess while splitting other nations in two and severing them from the mainland.

Of course, the changes here will take at least a million years to occur, so who’s to say that these countries will even be around or hold the same shape they currently do.

Featured Image Credit: CBS News

Topics: World NewsScience

World's largest iceberg twice the size of London is heading straight for a British island

World’s largest iceberg twice the size of London is heading straight for a British island

“Iceberg, giant iceberg!”

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

A trillion tonne iceberg which is twice the size of Greater London is headed on a collision course with a British island.

The world’s largest iceberg has been dubbed a ‘megaberg’, though it also bears the more official name of A23a, and it first broke free of the Antarctic coastline all the way back in 1986.

Thankfully, it was so large that it spent the next three decades wedged in the Weddell Sea, but in 2020 it had become unanchored from the sea floor and went on the move again.

The iceberg is about twice the size of Greater London (UK MOD Crown Copyright via Getty Images)

The iceberg is about twice the size of Greater London (UK MOD Crown Copyright via Getty Images)

It got stuck again in 2024 after becoming trapped in a vortex known as a ‘Taylor Column’, which is where rotating water traps an object in place to leave A23a stranded and in a spin for months.

Unfortunately, the world’s largest iceberg started moving again and according to Sky News, is heading for a British island.

Fortunately, that island is South Georgia, which is situated in the South Atlantic Ocean and is home to only around 30 to 40 people.

But this gigantic megaberg still poses a significant danger to the many penguins and seals that call the island home with British Antarctic Survey physical oceanographer Andrew Meijer concerned that A23a could ‘dramatically increase mortality rates’ among penguins.

Meijer was able to closely study this giant iceberg in 2023 when he was on board the RRS Sir David Attenborough (the one that was originally going to be called Boaty McBoatface) and described it as ‘a Game of Thrones-style wall of ice that towers above the ship’.

If the giant iceberg gets stuck in the shallow water around the island that could block paths penguins take to go and find food, meaning it’s a more tiring thing for them and they bring back less food for their chicks.

Yesterday (23 January) the BBC reported that this gargantuan iceberg was 173 miles away from South Georgia and is under constant monitoring.

While the iceberg first broke off in 1986 the journey it is currently on is likely to spell doom for A23a.

Experts fear the iceberg could be devastating for the penguins that call South Georgia home, since it may mean they can't bring as much food to their chicks (Sascha Grabow/Getty Images)

Experts fear the iceberg could be devastating for the penguins that call South Georgia home, since it may mean they can’t bring as much food to their chicks (Sascha Grabow/Getty Images)

That’s because the further north it travels the warmer the water it will move through is and the process of it melting and breaking up will accelerate.

Satellite images indicate that the giant iceberg used to be about 1,500 square miles and has since shrunk to about 1,350 square miles, with experts predicting that it will eventually break up into smaller chunks which may cause problems of their own both for the local wildlife and the ships sailing through the area.

Featured Image Credit: UK MOD Crown Copyright via Getty Images

Topics: UK NewsWorld NewsEnvironment

'Jacuzzi of death' in the middle of the sea kills anything that enters it

‘Jacuzzi of death’ in the middle of the sea kills anything that enters it

It was found only 10 years ago and it’s a graveyard of marine life

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

About a decade ago scientists discovered a ‘jacuzzi of death’ in the Gulf of Mexico, and even though we’re about to tell you it kills pretty much anything that goes in it you probably want a dip in there, don’t you?

This aquatic feature lies about one kilometre below the surface of the sea and this deadly jacuzzi contains a little pocket of toxic seawater that’s about 30 metres wide and four metres deep.

Pretty much anything which swims inside dies, which means there are some very unfortunate crabs and fish that ended up entering this jacuzzi and died because of it.

When a team of scientists found this thing they dubbed it the ‘Hot Tub of Despair’ because they saw various corpses of creatures that had gone in and never come back out again.

So why is this little underwater pond such a death zone for things that enter it?

Someone should have told this crab it was going to die in there (YouTube/EVNautilus)

Someone should have told this crab it was going to die in there (YouTube/EVNautilus)

It’s got a lot to do with salt.

This deadly jacuzzi is up to five times saltier than the water around it and that salty density has created an environment where the toxic chemicals hydrogen sulphide and methane gas are swirling around in the brine.

This is a life-ender for many sea creatures that try to explore the place, only to end up as a shrivelled corpse being pickled in the salty surroundings.

READ MORE:

SCIENTISTS DISCOVER ‘LOST CITY’ DEEP IN ATLANTIC OCEAN

PEOPLE LEFT ‘TERRIFIED’ OF DEEP SEA AFTER SEEING PREHISTORIC CREATURE

Not everything that takes a trip to this sub-aquatic hot tub ends up dying there, as mussels can survive such conditions and indeed the walls of the ‘jacuzzi’ are lined with them.

The water in this little pond a the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico is noticeably warmer than the water around it, which is why the scientists who discovered this phenomenon decided to call it things like a ‘jacuzzi’ and ‘hot tub’.

Never should have come here (YouTube/EVNautilus)

Never should have come here (YouTube/EVNautilus)

Such a thing is not unlike the ‘death pools’ experts found at the bottom of the Red Sea.

These places are deadly to marine life because there’s a precious lack of oxygen in them, meaning that any fish that swim inside become stunned and then die.

To make matters worse, those pools are also the favoured hunting grounds of aquatic predators that lurk around and wait for any marine life foolish enough to become stunned by the lack of oxygen.

Both the ‘death pools’ and this ‘jacuzzi of death’ do contain some forms of life that can exist in there, tiny little microbial bacteria which endure through these pockets of lethality.

Just be glad you’re not an unsuspecting crab in the Gulf of Mexico that crawls inside this place and then dies while having no idea why.

Featured Image Credit: OET/NautilusLive

Topics: ScienceWorld News

Expert issues urgent warning over carnivore diet after influencer shares the impact it had on her after six years

Expert issues urgent warning over carnivore diet after influencer shares the impact it had on her after six years

Carnivore diets are all the rage online – but how safe are they?

Brenna Cooper

Brenna Cooper

A diet which allows you to cut out eating fruit and vegetables in favour of meat and dairy may sound like fiction dreamed up by a stubborn teenager; however, it is in-fact a very real health trend being adopted by a growing number of adults.

But just how safe is the carnivore diet?

One person who’s built a huge following out of only consuming the two food groups is Bella, a former vegan who goes by the username @steakandbuttergal on social media.

In recent videos, Bella has credited her diet for regulating her menstrual cycle and improving her mental health.

“I haven’t eaten a single carb, piece of fruit or vegetable in six years and I’m not dying of low energy, nor have,” she tells her 421,000 Instagram followers in the clip.

The carnivore diet has sprung up on social media (Getty Stock Images)

The carnivore diet has sprung up on social media (Getty Stock Images)

Bella isn’t the only person to implement such a drastic diet, with several women interviewed by US magazine Women’s World also claiming to have lost as much as 145 pounds from eating only animal products.

Phrases such as ‘#carnivorediet’ or ‘meatfluencers’ on social media platforms are also filled with people claiming the lifestyle has improved their physical and mental health, with media personalities such as Joe Rogan, Jordan Peterson and others all championing meat filled plates.

However, it’s important to note there is currently very little clinical evidence – with a survey being conducted via social media on 2029 participants in 2020 – or supporting arguments in favour of a carnivore diet, despite individuals supposedly seeing short term improvements.

And several dieticians and nutritionists have even spoken out against eating such a restrictive diets, citing concerns about vitamin deficiencies and increased cholesterol.

“Instead of completely restricting yourself to a carnivore diet or a vegan diet, I would recommend concentrating on diversity and variety,” Reema Pillai, private nutritionist at Dietitian Fit, told LADbible.

But just how safe is it to cut out so many food groups? (Getty Stock Images)

But just how safe is it to cut out so many food groups? (Getty Stock Images)

Pillai went on to explain that eating only animal product ‘is not a healthy diet to maintain long term for the general population’ due to the exclusion of key nutrients.

One of these key nutrients is fibre, which Pillai explains can only be found in plant foods.

“There are numerous health benefits linked to the regular consumption of fibre including regular bowel health, reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, improved cardiovascular health and reduced risk of some types of cancers.” she said.

“Therefore, removing fibre from the diet is dangerous and will increase the risk of a multitude of health conditions, including heart and liver disease.”

The nutritionist went on to explain that complications from following restrictive diets may take years to show up, which could explain why promoters of the diet haven’t reported experiencing any adverse health impacts.

“Many of those who follow a carnivore diet are oblivious to health issues for a long time,” she said.

“For someone who is young and maintains a healthy body weight, cholesterol levels may not seem elevated until years into the future, where the extra consumption of saturated and trans fats has lead to a build up of plaque in the arteries, causing severe increases in cholesterol.”

Pillai continued: “Unless you have been advised to follow a certain restrictive diet by a qualified health professional, consider the overall diversity and quality of your diet before deciding to severely restrict food intake.”

Looks like the best – albeit the most boring – piece of diet advice you can do is play it safe and follow the food pyramid blu-tacked to the wall of our school classrooms.

What does the NHS say?

Guidance from the NHS, a healthy and balanced adult diet should consist of at least five portions of fruit and vegetables, high fibre foods such as potatoes, rice or bread, dairy (or dairy alternatives), a source of protein and unsaturated oils.

Consumption of eating red or processed should be limited to 70g of either per day, with Cancer Research UK warning that processed and red meats are carcinogens which have been linked to an increased risk of bowel cancer.

LADbible Group has reached out to steakandbuttergal for comment.

Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@steakandbuttergal/Dietitian Fit

Topics: Food And DrinkVeganYouTube

Expert issues 'very serious' warning ahead of next month's solar eclipse that can do 'permanent damage'

Expert issues ‘very serious’ warning ahead of next month’s solar eclipse that can do ‘permanent damage’

Staring at the sun is a bad idea, even if it’s a solar eclipse.

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

A lot of people are going to be looking up at the sky next month as we get treated to the sight of a solar eclipse.

Now before you get all excited about being able to see a true eclipse, we won’t get a direct view of it in the UK.

The last time Brits got to see one of those was 1999, and while it’s only partial this time the next one will show up around 8 April.

LAD: A Ring of Fire Sunrise Solar Eclipse
Credit: YouTube/APOD Videos
0 seconds of 2 minutes, 16 secondsVolume 90%

We will be able to see some of it in the UK, and the best viewing time will be from 7:52pm to 8:51pm, but we’ll be seeing a partial eclipse instead.

This time around the front row seats for this celestial show will be going to those across the Atlantic Ocean, and even then it’ll only be a total eclipse in one strip of the country.

While plenty will want to crowd around and see the eclipse, it is REALLY important to properly protect your eyes because whether the moon is in the way or not you’re still staring up at the sun.

Next month's solar eclipse path.

Yasin Demirci/Anadolu via Getty Images

Looking at the sun for even a few seconds can cause permanent damage to the eyes, and it might be hours before you understand the full extent of the damage you’ve done to yourself.

Encouraging people to use proper eye protection, expert Dr. Nicole Bajic warned that people could be doing serious harm to themselves if they didn’t shield their eyes – and your regular sunglasses aren’t going to be enough.

Speaking to Fox News, she said: “I know this is a very special event and we all want to partake, but the big overall message I want to push forward is don’t let a few minutes of viewing this cool event affect your vision for the rest of your life.

“The only safe way to directly peek at the eclipse is if you are in the path of totality and during totality, so that is when the moon is completely covering the sun.

“It’s really important to remember not everyone’s going to be in the path of totality, just a small strip of the US.

“If you go onto NASA’s website they actually have a great graphic that highlights which areas are gonna be in the path of totality.”

Make sure you're wearing proper eye protection.

Carlos Tischler/ Eyepix Group/Future Publishing via Getty Images

Indeed, you can hop onto NASA’s site right now and see this path which stretches across the US where people will be able to view a solar eclipse.

Everyone else looking at it will only be able to see a partial eclipse, but it’s still better than nothing and it’s still important to protect your eyes from catastrophe, so if you want to watch the eclipse get yourself a proper pair of eclipse sunglasses, which under normal conditions would render you blind to all but the brightest of lights.

The next opportunity for Brits to see a total eclipse won’t come around again until 2090, so it’s probably best to watch NASA’s livestream here.

Alternatively, if the catastrophic effects of climate change haven’t yet resulted in the seas swallowing up the Channel Islands yet you can see it there in 2081.

Meanwhile, other experts are concerned that there will be a rise in fatal car crashes due to the eclipse as the last time such a thing happened to the US in 2017 there were over 1,000 more deaths on the roads than anticipated in the days surrounding the eclipse.

Be safe, wear proper eclipse sunglasses and don’t blind yourself for a few minutes of wonder.

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