Something is ‘pulsing' beneath the Earth, scientists say – and it could tear a continent apart
Scientists have detected deep pulses in the Earth beneath Africa – and it could tear the continent apart.
The pulses are made up of molten mantle rock surging in rhythm, the researchers say. The plume of hot mantle is surging upwards in pulses that are like a heartbeat, they say.
Eventually, the continent will be torn apart and a new ocean will be formed.
That will take place over millions of years, as the tectonic plates are ripped apart at rift zones like those in the Afar region in Ethiopia. That is where scientists found the evidence of the unexpected behaviour.
'We found that the mantle beneath Afar is not uniform or stationary – it pulses, and these pulses carry distinct chemical signatures,' said Emma Watson, the scientist who led the study.
'These ascending pulses of partially molten mantle are channelled by the rifting plates above. That's important for how we think about the interaction between Earth's interior and its surface.'
In the research, scientists gathered samples from the Afar region, where three tectonic rifts meet. Scientists have long thought that mantle was being pushed up making the crust extend, eventually giving birth to a new ocean basin, but did not know how it was happening.
To better understand that process, they took those samples and combined them with existing data and models to understand the plume beneath the surface of the Earth.
They showed that there is one asymmetric plume beneath the surface.
'We have found that the evolution of deep mantle upwellings is intimately tied to the motion of the plates above. This has profound implications for how we interpret surface volcanism, earthquake activity, and the process of continental breakup,' said Derek Keir, a co-author.
'The work shows that deep mantle upwellings can flow beneath the base of tectonic plates and help to focus volcanic activity to where the tectonic plate is thinnest. Follow on research includes understanding how and at what rate mantle flow occurs beneath plates,'
The work is described in a new paper, 'Mantle upwelling at Afar triple junction shaped by overriding plate dynamics', published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Close-up images of The Red Planet's ridges from Mars Rover show ‘dramatic evidence' of water
Close-up images of a region of Mars scientists had previously only seen from orbit have revealed 'dramatic evidence' of where water once flowed on the Red Planet. The new images taken by NASA 's Curiosity Mars rover raises fresh questions about how the Martian surface was changing billions of years ago. Mars once had rivers, lakes, and possibly an ocean, NASA said. Scientists aren't sure why the water eventually dried up, leading the planet to transform into the chilly desert it is today. Curiosity's images show evidence of ancient groundwater crisscrossing low ridges, arranged in what geologists call a boxwork pattern, the space agency said. 'By the time Curiosity's current location formed, the long-lived lakes were gone in Gale Crater, the rover's landing area, but water was still percolating under the surface,' NASA said in a news release. 'The rover found dramatic evidence of that groundwater when it encountered crisscrossing low ridges.' 'The bedrock below these ridges likely formed when groundwater trickling through the rock left behind minerals that accumulated in those cracks and fissures, hardening and becoming cementlike,' the release continued. 'Eons of sandblasting by Martian wind wore away the rock but not the minerals, revealing networks of resistant ridges within.' The rover has been exploring the planet's Mount Sharp since 2014, where the boxwork patterns have been found. Curiosity essentially 'time travels' as it ascends from the oldest to youngest layers, searching for signs of water and environments that could have supported ancient microbial life, NASA explained. 'A big mystery is why the ridges were hardened into these big patterns and why only here,' Curiosity's project scientist, Ashwin Vasavada, said. 'As we drive on, we'll be studying the ridges and mineral cements to make sure our idea of how they formed is on target.' In another clue, scientists observed that the ridges have small fractures filled with the salty mineral calcium sulfate, left behind by groundwater. Curiosity's deputy project scientist, Abigail Fraeman, said it was a 'really surprising' discovery. 'These calcium sulfate veins used to be everywhere, but they more or less disappeared as we climbed higher up Mount Sharp,' Fraeman said. 'The team is excited to figure out why they've returned now.'
The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
Something is ‘pulsing' beneath the Earth, scientists say – and it could tear a continent apart
Scientists have detected deep pulses in the Earth beneath Africa – and it could tear the continent apart. The pulses are made up of molten mantle rock surging in rhythm, the researchers say. The plume of hot mantle is surging upwards in pulses that are like a heartbeat, they say. Eventually, the continent will be torn apart and a new ocean will be formed. That will take place over millions of years, as the tectonic plates are ripped apart at rift zones like those in the Afar region in Ethiopia. That is where scientists found the evidence of the unexpected behaviour. 'We found that the mantle beneath Afar is not uniform or stationary – it pulses, and these pulses carry distinct chemical signatures,' said Emma Watson, the scientist who led the study. 'These ascending pulses of partially molten mantle are channelled by the rifting plates above. That's important for how we think about the interaction between Earth's interior and its surface.' In the research, scientists gathered samples from the Afar region, where three tectonic rifts meet. Scientists have long thought that mantle was being pushed up making the crust extend, eventually giving birth to a new ocean basin, but did not know how it was happening. To better understand that process, they took those samples and combined them with existing data and models to understand the plume beneath the surface of the Earth. They showed that there is one asymmetric plume beneath the surface. 'We have found that the evolution of deep mantle upwellings is intimately tied to the motion of the plates above. This has profound implications for how we interpret surface volcanism, earthquake activity, and the process of continental breakup,' said Derek Keir, a co-author. 'The work shows that deep mantle upwellings can flow beneath the base of tectonic plates and help to focus volcanic activity to where the tectonic plate is thinnest. Follow on research includes understanding how and at what rate mantle flow occurs beneath plates,' The work is described in a new paper, 'Mantle upwelling at Afar triple junction shaped by overriding plate dynamics', published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
The Guardian
6 hours ago
- The Guardian
Harvard researcher accused of smuggling frog embryos indicted on more charges
A Harvard University researcher detained by Ice for months after being accused of smuggling frog embryos into the US was indicted on Wednesday on additional criminal charges. Kseniia Petrova, a Russian-born scientist conducting cancer research for Harvard Medical School, was indicted on Wednesday by a federal grand jury in Boston on one count of concealment of a material fact, one count of false statement and one count of smuggling goods into the United States. She had originally been charged with smuggling in May. Petrova was stopped at Boston's Logan airport by US authorities on her way back from France in February, over what appeared to be an irregularity in customs paperwork related to a packet from a specialist lab of superfine spliced sections of frog embryos, for research. She was arrested and ended up in detention in Louisiana. Petrova was told her visa was being revoked and she was being deported to her native Russia, despite saying she feared persecution for opposing the invasion of Ukraine She was ordered released on bail in May and transferred back to Massachusetts to face the federal charges. Despite the additional charges on Wednesday, Petrova will remain on pretrial release. A lawyer for Petrova could not be reached for comment. She said in an interview with the Associated Press in April that she did not realize the items needed to be declared and was not trying to sneak anything into the country. If convicted of the smuggling charge, Petrova faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. She also faces a sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on the charges of concealment of material fact and false statements. Her colleagues at Harvard have been dismayed at her treatment, saying her expertise in their research is 'irreplaceable', while Petrova said foreign scientists 'enrich' the US. She had described conditions in detention as overcrowded, with extremes of temperatures, constant noise and terrible food.
