Overview

• Researchers confirmed that the mantle plume beneath Ethiopia’s Afar region pulses like a heartbeat by analyzing over 130 volcanic rock samples.
• The pulses produce repeating chemical bands that vary across the three rift arms—the Main Ethiopian Rift, Red Sea Rift and Gulf of Aden Rift.
• Variations in tectonic plate thickness and spreading rates influence pulse behavior, with faster-spreading rifts like the Red Sea exhibiting more regular surges.
• Deep mantle upwellings are closely tied to the motion of overlying plates, affecting patterns of surface volcanism and seismic activity.
• Over the course of several million years, this pulsing plume is expected to drive the breakup of the African continent and eventually form a new ocean basin.