Source: Nature Geoscience| Mantle upwelling at Afar triple junction shaped by overriding plate dynamics
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Heartbeat
A strong and rhythmic pulse has been detected deep under Africa, beating like a human heart. This pulse is not only slowly tearing the continent apart, but could also lead to the formation of a new ocean.
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Geologically active
This rhythmic heartbeat was detected deep under the Afar region in Ethiopia, one of the most geologically active places on Earth.
Tectonic rifts
In Afar, three tectonic rifts, including the Main Ethiopian Rift, the Red Sea Rift and the Gulf of Aden Rift, meet.
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Molten magma
Under this landscape, the pulse, caused by molten magma, pounds the planet’s crust.
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Influenced
The molten material doesn’t move on its own; rather, it is influenced by the shifts and drifts in the tectonic plates.
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New ocean
The tectonic plates beneath Afar are slowly pulling away from each other. The crust will continue to thin out until it eventually cracks, giving way to the formation of a new Ocean basin.
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Africa is splitting
While cracks are already visible along the rift, it will take several million years for the continent to completely break apart.
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