肯尼亚惊现巨大裂缝，未来非洲裂成两半恐无法阻止

Astonishing footage shows the huge crack that is threatening to split the entire continent of Africa in two.

令人震惊的画面显示，巨大的裂缝正威胁着要将整个非洲大陆一分为二。

The massive crevice in Kenya measures 50 feet deep and 65 feet wide and has destroyed part of the Nairobi-Narok highway.

肯尼亚的巨大裂缝有50英尺深，65英尺宽，已经毁坏了部分奈洛比-奈良高速公路。

Now, scientists who study tectonic plates are claiming the giant crack could rip Africa apart.

现在，研究构造板块的科学家声称，巨大的裂缝可能会撕裂非洲。

Lucia Perez Diaz, a postdoctoral researcher at the Universtiy of London, explained how this continental rupture could occur.

伦敦大学的博士后研究员露西娅.佩雷斯.迪亚兹解释了这种大陆断裂是如何发生的。

Diaz said: “The East African Rift Valley stretches over 1,800 miles from the Gulf of Aden in the north towards Zimbabwe in the south, splitting the African plate into two unequal parts: the Somali and Nubian plates.

迪亚兹说:“东非大裂谷从北部的亚丁湾延伸到南部的津巴布韦，绵延1800多英里，将非洲板块分割成两个不平等的部分:索马里和努比亚板块。

“Activity along the eastern branch of the rift valley, running along Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania, became evident when the large crack suddenly appeared in south-western Kenya.”

“东非大裂谷东部分支的活动，沿着埃塞俄比亚、肯尼亚和坦桑尼亚，在肯尼亚西南部突然出现大裂缝时就变得明显了。”

The process is known as “continental rifting” and requires huge forces to be exerted on the Earth.

这一过程被称为“大陆张裂”，需要在地球上施加巨大的力量。

Underneath the crust, a “magma plume” forms forcing the crust up and eventually splitting it.

在地壳下面，“岩浆柱”的形成迫使地壳上升并最终分裂。

Diaz added: “Eventually, over a period of tens of millions of years, seafloor spreading will progress along the entire length of the rift.

迪亚兹补充说:“最终，在数千万年的时间内，海底扩张将沿着裂谷的整个长度展开。”

“The ocean will flood in and, as a result, the African continent will become smaller and there will be a large island in the Indian Ocean composed of parts of Ethiopia and Somalia, including the Horn of Africa.”

“海水会涌入，因此，非洲大陆将变得更小，印度洋将会出现一个很大的岛屿，由非洲之角以及埃塞俄比亚、索马里部分地区组成。”

The active rift zone is spreading at a few millimeters per year.

活跃的裂谷区正以每年几毫米的速度扩张。

This means that in around 10 million years, a new ocean will emerge as the rip continues to tear Africa apart.

这意味着在大约1000万年的时间内，随着裂口继续撕裂非洲，新的海洋将会出现。