Scientists detect deep Earth pulses beneath Africa

Research led by Earth scientists at the University of Southampton has uncovered evidence of rhythmic surges of molten mantle rock rising from deep within the Earth beneath Africa. These pulses are gradually tearing the continent apart and forming a new ocean.
The findings, published in Nature Geoscience, reveal that the Afar region in Ethiopia is underlain by a plume of hot mantle that pulses upward like a beating heart.The team's discovery reveals how the upward flow of hot material from the deep mantle is strongly influenced by the tectonic plates—the massive solid slabs of Earth's crust—that ride above it.

Over millions of years, as tectonic plates are pulled apart at rift zones like Afar, they stretch and thin—almost like soft plasticine—until they rupture. This rupturing marks the birth of a new ocean basin.Lead author Dr. Emma Watts, who conducted the research at the University of Southampton and is now based at Swansea University, said, "We found that the mantle beneath Afar is not uniform or stationary—it pulses, and these pulses carry distinct chemical signatures. 

These ascending pulses of partially molten mantle are channeled by the rifting plates above. That's important for how we think about the interaction between Earth's interior and its surface."The project involved experts from 10 institutions, including the University of Southampton, Swansea University, Lancaster University, the Universities of Florence and Pisa, GEOMAR in Germany, the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Addis Ababa University, and the GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences.