Scientists have new evidence that the African continent is really starting to break up. A study published in Geophysical Research Letters shows that a powerful stream of hot material from the Earth's mantle is rising under the East African Rift, slowly tearing the lithosphere from the inside.
Scientists analyzed gases from a geothermal vent in the Menengai volcanic caldera in Kenya. The isotopic composition of neon in these gases turned out to be almost the same as in volcanic rocks in Tanzania, Ethiopia and even Hawaii. This means that all these regions may have a common deep source - a giant "plume" from the mantle, rising from the very edge of the Earth's core.
Such a jet gradually melts the Earth's crust and creates cracks. This is how the faults are formed, along which the continents are separated over time. Geologists have long known that the East African Rift System is expanding, but now it has become clear that the process is happening not only on the surface, but also deep inside the Earth.
If these processes continue, after millions of years Africa could split into two continents and a new ocean could appear at the site of the fault.