“We found that the mantle beneath Afar is not uniform or stationary – it pulses,” said Dr Emma Watts, warning of a geological process that could one day split Africa in two.
A strange, heartbeat-like pulse deep beneath East Africa could one day tear the continent in two and create a new ocean, scientists have warned.
The phenomenon is driven by rhythmic surges of molten mantle rock under the Afar Triangle, where the African, Somali, and Arabian tectonic plates meet beneath Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti.
“We found that the mantle beneath Afar is not uniform or stationary – it pulses,” said Dr Emma Watts of Swansea University, who led the study published in Nature Geoscience.
Researchers analysed volcanic rocks, uncovering a “geological barcode” of repeating chemical patterns showing magma rising and falling over millions of years.
“The chemical striping suggests the plume is pulsing, like a heartbeat,” explained Prof Tom Gernon.
Prof Derek Keir added, “This has profound implications for how we interpret surface volcanism, earthquake activity, and the process of continental breakup.”