"This has profound implications..."
DJ Earth
Scientists have discovered a heartbeat-like pulse emanating from inside the Earth beneath the continent of Africa, which they believe will one day rip the continent into pieces.
In a new study published today in the journal Nature Geoscience, a team of European and African scientists explain how they used chemical signatures to examine this inner-Earth heartbeat, explaining that molten chunks of mantle — the rocky layer found between the Earth's surface and core — are surging together through rift zones, or weak areas of volcanos where magma is likeliest to break through our planet's crust.
These internal surges have settled into rhythmic bursts of pulsing plumes. Which, while fascinating to imagine, effectively means that bursts of molten rock are pushing against the African continent's crust — and over millions of years, will likely tear the continent apart, making way for a new ocean basin.
Researchers focused on the Afar region of Ethiopia, a volcanic area where multiple rift zones are located, collecting and analyzing around 130 samples of volcanic rock.
"We found that the mantle beneath Afar is not uniform or stationary," said Emma Watts, a Swansea University geologist and lead author of the study, in a statement. "It pulses, and these pulses carry distinct chemical signatures."
Deep Understanding
As the Independent notes, the research is significant because while scientists have believed for some time that the region's mantle was being pushed against its crust and causing it to expand, they didn't quite know why.
This new research offers scientists a deeper understanding of that process. What's more, it reveals that the Earth's plates actually have a huge influence on the movements of the molten magma located beneath them.
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