Ethiopia: A pulsating plume of molten rock is reshaping the African continent beneath the Afar region.

Arab Weather - A team of geologists has revealed an astonishing discovery in the Afar region of northeastern Ethiopia, one of the most geologically active areas on Earth. A pulsating plume of molten rock has been observed rising from deep within the Earth directly beneath the area where three major tectonic plates meet: the Nubian, Somali, and Arabian plates.

This plume, known as a "mantle plume," doesn't move smoothly like a conventional volcano. Instead, it rises upward in periodic, heart-like pulses, tearing at the Earth's surface and changing the chemical composition of rocks as it rises, giving scientists an exceptional window into how continents begin to split apart.

A new continent is forming

The Afar Triangle is one of the rare places on Earth where one can stand on land above the meeting point of three tectonic plates and observe up close how the Earth's crust is cracking. According to geological estimates, over millions of years, this rift will cause a portion of East Africa to completely separate from the main continent, allowing seawater to flow into the new gap and create a nascent ocean, similar to what happened when the Atlantic Ocean formed after South America separated from Africa.

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The study also revealed that the behavior of this volcanic plume changes depending on the thickness of the Earth's crust and the speed of plate divergence. In areas with thin crust, such as the Red Sea Rift Zone, the pulses move easily, much like blood flows through a narrow artery. In areas with thick crust, however, the pulses encounter greater resistance, becoming slower and more compressed.