Formation of an ocean is a rare event, one few scientists have ever witnessed. Yet this geophysical nativity is unfolding today in one of the hottest and most inhospitable corners of the globe. Visit the site in safety through this extraordinary photographic essay
This area marks the north end of the East African Rift, a3,500-kilometer-long zone of tectonic turmoil that is tearing the continent in two ( arrows on globe ) The detail shows a segment of the depression....[More]
AFAR DEPRESSION
This area marks the north end of the East African Rift, a3,500-kilometer-long zone of tectonic turmoil that is tearing the continent in two (arrows on globe) The detail shows a segment of the depression.
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Kevin Hand
GHOSTLY SALT DEPOSITS
Near Afdera volcano testify to ancient inundations in Ethiopia's Afar region. In the past 200,000 years the Red Sea flooded Afar's lowlands at least three times; the salt stayed behind as the seawater evaporated....[More]
GHOSTLY SALT DEPOSITS
Near Afdera volcano testify to ancient inundations in Ethiopia's Afar region. In the past 200,000 years the Red Sea flooded Afar's lowlands at least three times; the salt stayed behind as the seawater evaporated. One day the ersatz seascape will likely become the real thing.
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Eitan Haddok
RISING ABOVE
The highest point in sunken Afar is Erta Ale, or "smoking mountain" in the language of the local people. Erta Ale is the northernmost volcano in a long chain that follows the so-called East African Rift....[More]
RISING ABOVE
The highest point in sunken Afar is Erta Ale, or "smoking mountain" in the language of the local people. Erta Ale is the northernmost volcano in a long chain that follows the so-called East African Rift.
This rift is the not yet submerged equivalent of mid-ocean ridges--chains of under-sea volcanoes that produce new seafloor. Indeed, Erta Ale spews the same kind of basaltic lava that erupts at mid-ocean ridges; past expulsions have covered the surrounding plain with so much fresh basalt that vegetation struggles to take hold.
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Eitan Haddok
LAKE OF LAVA
Atop Erta Ale is one of the earth's few quasi-permanent lava lakes. The flux of heat from the earth's interior is rarely sufficient to keep rock molten under the cooling effect of the atmosphere....[More]
LAKE OF LAVA
Atop Erta Ale is one of the earth's few quasi-permanent lava lakes. The flux of heat from the earth's interior is rarely sufficient to keep rock molten under the cooling effect of the atmosphere. Even on Erta Ale the heat sometimes slackens enough so that portions of the lake surface "freeze" into a black crust.
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Eitan Haddok
LAKE OF LAVA Typically, though, blocks of basalt float like icebergs on the fiery liquid rock, which reaches 1,200 degrees C (2,190 degrees F). [Link to this slide] Eitan Haddok
LAKE OF LAVA Most of the Afar people do not approach the volcano, because it is thought to harbor evil spirits. Seeing an Afar warrior on the volcano's summit is unusual; this man, Ibrahim, was my guide. [Link to this slide] Eitan Haddok
LAKE OF LAVA Lava emerging from cracks in the lake is particularly spectacular at night, when the sight evokes the phantoms of local lore. [Link to this slide] Eitan Haddok
HELLISH HEAT
One hundred kilometers north of Erta Ale, near the Eritrea border, is the Dallol crater. There molten magma simmering below the surface fuels a vast plumbing network of superheated water....[More]
HELLISH HEAT
One hundred kilometers north of Erta Ale, near the Eritrea border, is the Dallol crater. There molten magma simmering below the surface fuels a vast plumbing network of superheated water. The result is a 1.6-kilometer-wide field of hydrothermal vents, geysers and hot springs that call to mind the similar but more accessible environment in Yellowstone National Park in the western U.S.
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Eitan Haddok
HELLISH HEAT
The mineral sulfur produces the lemon-yellow color in this earthly palette ( left ); blended with the signature red of oxidized iron, the sulfur stains turn orange ( center )....[More]
HELLISH HEAT
The mineral sulfur produces the lemon-yellow color in this earthly palette (left); blended with the signature red of oxidized iron, the sulfur stains turn orange (center). Only a few steps away from this vivid scene are drab, desiccated reminders of a hot spring's ephemeral nature (right). When an earthquake or other natural process clogs a vent's buried conduits, its minerals can lose their florid flush within a year.
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Eitan Haddok
LETHAL FUMES
The surreal landscape of the Dallol crater results as rain-water percolates deep underground, heats up as it contacts hot magma and rises to the surface through thick layers of salt, dissolving the salt as it travels....[More]
LETHAL FUMES
The surreal landscape of the Dallol crater results as rain-water percolates deep underground, heats up as it contacts hot magma and rises to the surface through thick layers of salt, dissolving the salt as it travels. Recrystallization of the salt at ground level can sculpt massive structures (left) or formations as delicate as an eggshell (right) . But the beauty of the sculptures can be deceiving: toxic vapors emanating from these so-called aeration mouths are yet another contributorto Afar's devilish reputation--and often require visitors to wear gas masks. More than once a surge of the ominous gas forced me to stop shooting photographs and don my mask for safety.
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Eitan Haddok
POISON OR ELIXIR?
Near reddish pools of bubbling-hot, iron-rich water, the strong odor of hydrocarbon is a telltale sign of danger. Animals sometimes stop for a drink--not realizing it will be their last....[More]
POISON OR ELIXIR?
Near reddish pools of bubbling-hot, iron-rich water, the strong odor of hydrocarbon is a telltale sign of danger. Animals sometimes stop for a drink--not realizing it will be their last. I saw several ill-fated birds swirling in the scalding pools. But I was comforted by the irony that one organism's poison is another's elixir. The same emanations that can kill birds, insects and mammals also nourish complex communities of microbes, which thrive in many of Dallol's acidic waters. Not surprisingly, these terrestrial hot-springs communities bear striking similarities to their counterparts along submerged mid-ocean ridges.
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Eitan Haddok
FATEFUL FLOODS
The salt sculptures on the opposite page and others that decorate Afar serve as a reminder that the birth of an ocean is not a singular event but rather an ongoing saga....[More]
FATEFUL FLOODS
The salt sculptures on the opposite page and others that decorate Afar serve as a reminder that the birth of an ocean is not a singular event but rather an ongoing saga. During the 30 million years this region has been stretching thin, global sea level has fluctuated, at times filling Afar with seawater. Most recently, about 80,000 years ago, the waters of the Red Sea rose high enough to breech the low hills east of Afar, carving deep canyons as they flooded the lowlands.
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Eitan Haddok
FATEFUL FLOODS
When sea level dropped and Afar was once again cut off from the sea, the floodwaters evaporated. Wind and water sculpted the salty traces of these past inundations over the ensuing millennia, sometimes carving bizarre formations called salt mushrooms....[More]
FATEFUL FLOODS
When sea level dropped and Afar was once again cut off from the sea, the floodwaters evaporated. Wind and water sculpted the salty traces of these past inundations over the ensuing millennia, sometimes carving bizarre formations called salt mushrooms.
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Eitan Haddok
FATEFUL FLOODS In other areas, alternating layers of salt and reddish marine sediment are visible in eroded canyon walls. [Link to this slide] Eitan Haddok
SALT OF THE EARTH
Salty traces of past deluges give the modern people of Afar a modest means to benefit from their baked and barren homeland. These nomadic herders collect the salt by hand, wielding wooden stakes and hatchets to break the thick layers into manageable blocks....[More]
SALT OF THE EARTH
Salty traces of past deluges give the modern people of Afar a modest means to benefit from their baked and barren homeland. These nomadic herders collect the salt by hand, wielding wooden stakes and hatchets to break the thick layers into manageable blocks.
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Eitan Haddok
SALT OF THE EARTH The closest places to sell or exchange the salt are located in the Ethiopian highlands to the west--about a six days' walk for the camel caravans used to transport this unlikely export. [Link to this slide] Eitan Haddok
MIRAGE OR HALLUCINATION?
Most years the greatest concern for the Afar people is finding adequate water. But the rains were unusually heavy in late 2006, and many of the salt fields remained flooded throughout my visit in January 2007....[More]
MIRAGE OR HALLUCINATION?
Most years the greatest concern for the Afar people is finding adequate water. But the rains were unusually heavy in late 2006, and many of the salt fields remained flooded throughout my visit in January 2007. This unusual environmental circumstance afforded one of the most lasting impressions of my visit to Afar: as the camel caravans waded through the floodwaters, they appeared from a distance as a surreal montage of the present and future of this ocean floor in the making.
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Eitan Haddok
YES! Send me a free issue of Scientific American with no obligation to continue the subscription. If I like it, I will be billed for the one-year subscription.
After me, these pictures compete in beauty with the best images taken by Hubble from Cosmos. What a pity that this beauty is constantly threatened by poverty and war!
How can the waters of the Red Sea rise and fall 80,000 years ago when the SUV was not even invented? How many times has Al Gore saved us from rising ocean levels?
"How can the waters of the Red Sea rise and fall 80,000 years ago when the SUV was not even invented? "
Could you point out to me who is saying the Earth's climate does not fluctuate over geological time? Geophysicist are very well aware that climate changes. They even have a mechanisms to explain these changes in climate. Why don't you go and read about Milankovitch cycles e.g.
What an incredible exploration!!! Beautiful photos of a place I will likely not visit in my lifetime. Interesting that the primitive people of the region have no knowledge of the energy resource available to them - non-carbon geothermal energy that is almost unlimited.
8. samuelEyassu
in reply to fire1fl06:10 PM 9/30/08
It is vivid that lack of knowledge and laziness to read would lead one to write, qoute, "the primitive people of the region have no knowledge ..." in this thread. We 've an obligation to correct such erroneous streotypes.
Do you know this is the place of human-origin? Where ancient civilization ignited? where modern civilization started?where you get ancient Ethiopic scripts of profound maths, astronomy and ethic and other philosphy thoughts written thousands years ago? Do you know this the place where modern architecture was invented? Do you know these people never exercised paganism?Do you know these "primitive people" are the first coloured people to defeat colonialism and fashism?
No You don't. As your only source of information is CNN or the intentional hate bubbling in your head? Read brother\sister! Reading is a good stuff!
The unfortunate manmade-natural events doesn't make people primitive!
well said sami. Some people do not know any thing about the world. They only think they are the only people who are civilized,yet they are the dumpest people in the world. They do not know even the name of the state bordering them. The problem with them is they do not read. Had they done so they would know that source of civilization was the red sea area, where the great Lucy is from. I am sure they need some explanetion who this Lucy is. They won't believe that the first written scripts where from Axum.
wel said Mr. Samuel, and I have nothing to add to it. I wish this ignorant could have thought of his vulgar words before pointing them to the people and nation that has contributed a lot than most of the nations in every respect, than his idols. I wonder how he managed to get into this website where little minded cretures like him don't bother much. Lastly, I would like to pass my appreciation to Eitan Haddok for his contributions and dedication to have taken all the hardships and introduce his observations to the world of intelects.
G. Abesha
Yes ,SamEyassu and Abatireg, appreciated . Reading makes a complete man. but grade 1 pseudo scientists like me need lots of material to read. but where is the time? was there nothing before Axum? As for climate changes Was the NPole not at Colombo and the equator round iceland once, if not due to wobble, then to a catastrophe, or shifts in the core centers? 2008 even BigBang is seeing modifications??? so what is knowlej? what dogma? ParallelUniverses say that right now there are other people jus like me typing this letter to you. Indian Vedas say this earth is the 14th one with 13 like me gone before ?All this is Illusion?
16. North49
in reply to samuelEyassu11:50 AM 10/2/08
What strange and wierd place do you live? These people are barely out of the stone age, still have a magicical view of how the world works. My advice to you is to buy your plane ticket and take a lesson plan with you let us know how it goes. Just like everything else over time it all changes and you can't do anything about it. Naive innocence, arn't you lucky.
Would the red deposits between the salts be Halobacterium halobium residues? It is an extreme halophile. Near where I live in Oregon USA there are great lava deposits layered with organic residues which also make a red layer between the lava layers. I appreciate Mr. Eyassu's comments. Xenophobia is common to most human cultures, as is the ignorance which fuels such things, so sad to say. I always hope to keep the discussion scientific, but often this is most difficult. Being rational requires work. People are lazy.
Well, if the area is already sinking and will become an ocean, why not build a canal to let the water in now? This might slow down the wars in the region. We could auction off the right to name the new ocean on ebay with the proceeds to be used to improve the living conditions of the peoples around the infant ocean. Instead of giving the people a fish to feed them for a day, we could teach them to fish the new ocean to feed them for life. There would probably be a huge influx of tourists with money to spend who want to see the new ocean form. The locals could build a tourist trap (resort) to separate the tourists from their money. This would fuel the local economy and pay for schools, agricultural developement, and infrastructure for further developement.
the ocean is a wonderful place and we should keep it pure and clean no matter what.also check out my website to enjoy interesting sites from around the world.it is updated every 2-weeks.
http://ran-the-monkey.livejournal.com/3805.html
also click on previous entry button on the top left page.
"Formation of an ocean is a rare event, one few scientists have ever witnessed."
Precisely who are these scientists who have witnessed the formation of an ocean? Even if there are only a "few," the existence of any such long-lived superbeings would seem like quite a journalistic scoop. I think Scientific American should come clean with us.
I enjoyed these amazing photos and article very much! (I subscribe to Scientific American's printed issue).
Thanks. Also I can tell you that the word 'afar' means
land, dirt, dust - in Hebrew.
Sincerely,
Israeli subscriber
SciAm's rhetorical style is increasingly popular in tone, albeit civilized and entertaining. One would expect this rhetoric in an esteemed popular magzine like National Geographic. In a scientific journal, however, I am looking for something more than the obvious, more than great photography, certainly more than "personal experiences" of the reporter. I am looking for detailed scientific explanations of phenonmena and that I found lacking in this otherwise very enjoyable photo essay.
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24 Comments
Add CommentAfter me, these pictures compete in beauty with the best images taken by Hubble from Cosmos. What a pity that this beauty is constantly threatened by poverty and war!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs for any beauty , if it is stained by politics and unpeace, it will be deteriorated and never displayed the orginal features any more.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThat has to be the dumbest first sentence ever published in SciAm.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHow can the waters of the Red Sea rise and fall 80,000 years ago when the SUV was not even invented? How many times has Al Gore saved us from rising ocean levels?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"How can the waters of the Red Sea rise and fall 80,000 years ago when the SUV was not even invented? "
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCould you point out to me who is saying the Earth's climate does not fluctuate over geological time? Geophysicist are very well aware that climate changes. They even have a mechanisms to explain these changes in climate. Why don't you go and read about Milankovitch cycles e.g.
DSSSSSSSSS
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat an incredible exploration!!! Beautiful photos of a place I will likely not visit in my lifetime. Interesting that the primitive people of the region have no knowledge of the energy resource available to them - non-carbon geothermal energy that is almost unlimited.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt is vivid that lack of knowledge and laziness to read would lead one to write, qoute, "the primitive people of the region have no knowledge ..." in this thread.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWe 've an obligation to correct such erroneous streotypes.
Do you know this is the place of human-origin? Where ancient civilization ignited? where modern civilization started?where you get ancient Ethiopic scripts of profound maths, astronomy and ethic and other philosphy thoughts written thousands years ago? Do you know this the place where modern architecture was invented? Do you know these people never exercised paganism?Do you know these "primitive people" are the first coloured people to defeat colonialism and fashism?
No You don't. As your only source of information is CNN or the intentional hate bubbling in your head?
Read brother\sister! Reading is a good stuff!
The unfortunate manmade-natural events doesn't make people primitive!
Thanks Eitan Haddok for all yor hard work!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAlso Thanks for adding this great article to the pool of human knowledge!
Politely yours,
Samuel
well said sami. Some people do not know any thing about the world. They only think they are the only people who are civilized,yet they are the dumpest people in the world. They do not know even the name of the state bordering them. The problem with them is they do not read. Had they done so they would know that source of civilization was the red sea area, where the great Lucy is from. I am sure they need some explanetion who this Lucy is. They won't believe that the first written scripts where from Axum.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWow, Etheopia rocks dude. Beautiful place and people.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisJiff
www.privacy.es.tc
wel said Mr. Samuel, and I have nothing to add to it. I wish this ignorant could have thought of his vulgar words before pointing them to the people and nation that has contributed a lot than most of the nations in every respect, than his idols. I wonder how he managed to get into this website where little minded cretures like him don't bother much. Lastly, I would like to pass my appreciation to Eitan Haddok for his contributions and dedication to have taken all the hardships and introduce his observations to the world of intelects.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisG. Abesha
"... the primitive people of that region..." What a refreshingly racist point of view.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this= why did sci am reject my comment
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYes ,SamEyassu and Abatireg, appreciated . Reading makes a complete man. but grade 1 pseudo scientists like me need lots of material to read. but where is the time? was there nothing before Axum? As for climate changes Was the NPole not at Colombo and the equator round iceland once, if not due to wobble, then to a catastrophe, or shifts in the core centers? 2008 even BigBang is seeing modifications??? so what is knowlej? what dogma? ParallelUniverses say that right now there are other people jus like me typing this letter to you. Indian Vedas say this earth is the 14th one with 13 like me gone before ?All this is Illusion?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat strange and wierd place do you live? These people are barely out of the stone age, still have a magicical view of how the world works. My advice to you is to buy your plane ticket and take a lesson plan with you let us know how it goes. Just like everything else over time it all changes and you can't do anything about it. Naive innocence, arn't you lucky.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWould the red deposits between the salts be Halobacterium halobium residues? It is an extreme halophile. Near where I live in Oregon USA there are great lava deposits layered with organic residues which also make a red layer between the lava layers.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI appreciate Mr. Eyassu's comments. Xenophobia is common to most human cultures, as is the ignorance which fuels such things, so sad to say. I always hope to keep the discussion scientific, but often this is most difficult. Being rational requires work. People are lazy.
Well, if the area is already sinking and will become an ocean, why not build a canal to let the water in now? This might slow down the wars in the region. We could auction off the right to name the new ocean on ebay with the proceeds to be used to improve the living conditions of the peoples around the infant ocean. Instead of giving the people a fish to feed them for a day, we could teach them to fish the new ocean to feed them for life. There would probably be a huge influx of tourists with money to spend who want to see the new ocean form. The locals could build a tourist trap (resort) to separate the tourists from their money. This would fuel the local economy and pay for schools, agricultural developement, and infrastructure for further developement.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisthe ocean is a wonderful place and we should keep it pure and clean no matter what.also check out my website to enjoy interesting sites from around the world.it is updated every 2-weeks.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://ran-the-monkey.livejournal.com/3805.html
also click on previous entry button on the top left page.
"Formation of an ocean is a rare event, one few scientists have ever witnessed."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPrecisely who are these scientists who have witnessed the formation of an ocean? Even if there are only a "few," the existence of any such long-lived superbeings would seem like quite a journalistic scoop. I think Scientific American should come clean with us.
I enjoyed these amazing photos and article very much!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this(I subscribe to Scientific American's printed issue).
Thanks. Also I can tell you that the word 'afar' means
land, dirt, dust - in Hebrew.
Sincerely,
Israeli subscriber
if it is true, we are lucky!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIF IT IS TRUE WE ARE LUCKY !
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSciAm's rhetorical style is increasingly popular in tone, albeit civilized and entertaining. One would expect this rhetoric in an esteemed popular magzine like National Geographic. In a scientific journal, however, I am looking for something more than the obvious, more than great photography, certainly more than "personal experiences" of the reporter. I am looking for detailed scientific explanations of phenonmena and that I found lacking in this otherwise very enjoyable photo essay.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this