Typically, spreading rates are measured in millimeters a year. I don't know what the spreading rate is for this rift.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18114-giant-crack-in-a...
"Ayele's reconstruction of events showed that the rift did not open in a series of small earthquakes over an extended period of time, but tore open along its entire 35-mile length in just days."
Once the rift reaches the red sea, we'd have the worlds skinniest ocean.
I want to know elongation rate. Is the whole rift spreading as one unit? Is it starting in the middle, and slowly working toward the red sea?
I found some information on the spreading rates. Seems the plates are spreading at rates of 15 mm/yr in the north and 6 mm/yr in the south.
Here are some other references: http://www.ees.rochester.edu/ebinger/Site/Publications_files... http://www.see.leeds.ac.uk/afar/index.htm