Asia is no longer accreting new microcontinents, Pastor-Galán said, but the formation of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean was probably similar to what is seen today at the Red Sea, where the crust is spreading by about 0.4 inches (1 centimeter) per year. The Red Sea is part of a larger continental rift that could create a brand-new ocean in eastern Africa over tens of millions of years, though geologists don’t yet know whether other continental forces will prevent that ocean from fully opening, according to Eos magazine.
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Asia is no longer accreting new microcontinents, Pastor-Galán said, but the formation of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean was probably similar to what is seen today at the Red Sea, where the crust is spreading by about 0.4 inches (1 centimeter) per year. The Red Sea is part of a larger continental rift that could create a brand-new ocean in eastern Africa over tens of millions of years, though geologists don’t yet know whether other continental forces will prevent that ocean from fully opening, according to Eos magazine.