Deep Earth pulses detected beneath Afar rift where Africa is slowly splitting apart
Scientists have detected rhythmic pulses of hot mantle material rising from deep beneath East Africa’s Afar rift system — a region where the continent is gradually breaking apart along three tectonic rift arms. Based on over 130 volcanic rock samples, the study shows that the mantle upwelling is compositionally varied and shaped by differences in crustal thickness and spreading rates across the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Main Ethiopian rifts.
