Get the latest Science News and Discoveries

A giant pulse beneath Africa could split the continent — and form an ocean


Beneath the Afar region in Ethiopia, scientists have discovered pulsing waves of molten rock rising from deep within the Earth — a geological heartbeat that could eventually split Africa in two. These rhythmic surges of mantle material are helping to stretch and thin the continent’s crust, setting the stage for a new ocean to form in millions of years. The pulses aren’t random: they follow patterns shaped by the tectonic plates above, behaving differently depending on how thick the plates are and how fast they’re spreading.

None

Get the Android app

Or read this on ScienceDaily

Read more on:

Photo of giant pulse

giant pulse

Photo of Africa

Africa

Photo of Ocean

Ocean

Related news:

News photo

Rethinking Human Origins: Study Debunks Theory of Climate-Driven Evolution in Africa

News photo

Scientists finally know why early human migrations out of Africa failed

News photo

Substandard anticancer medications in clinical care settings and private pharmacies in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic pharmaceutical investigation