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A failed Saharan Atlantic Ocean
Break-up of the supercontinent Gondwana about 130 Million
years ago could have lead to a completely different shape of the African and
South American continent with an ocean south of today’s Sahara desert, as
geoscientists from the University of Sydney and the GFZ German Research Centre
for Geosciences have shown through the use of sophisticated plate tectonic and
three-dimensional numerical modelling. The study highlights the importance of
rift orientation relative to extension direction as key factor deciding whether
an ocean basin opens or an aborted rift basin forms in the continental
interior.