A massive plume deep beneath Africa is pulling the continent apart

A vast plume rising from deep inside Earth may be responsible for mysterious movements along the East African Rift. The discovery reveals how forces deep in the mantle are working alongside shallower geological forces as the continent slowly pulls apart. A massive plume deep beneath Africa is pulling the continent apart.

Com Computer models are helping scientists explain a puzzling pattern of deformation beneath the East African Rift System. The results point to the African Superplume, a vast upwelling of hot mantle material deep inside Earth, as the source of unusual motion that runs parallel to the rift as well as a matching pattern in the way seismic waves travel through the rocks below. Continental rifting happens when Earth’s rigid outer shell begins to stretch and thin.

That outer shell, called the lithosphere, includes the crust and the uppermost part of the mantle. As the lithosphere is pulled apart, it can behave differently depending on how quickly and where the stress is applied. Near the surface, rocks can fracture, producing faults and earthquakes.