All articles tagged with #continental breakup
Geologists find the Turkana Rift in East Africa is thinner than expected and has entered the necking phase, signaling that Africa will keep splitting and eventually form a new ocean over millions of years, a process linked to unusually rich fossil preservation in the region.
Seismic data reveal the Turkana Rift in East Africa is thinning far more than previously thought, with the crust at the rift center about 13 km thick compared with well over 35 km away, signaling an advanced necking stage toward eventual continental breakup and ocean formation. The process began millions of years ago and will take millions more to unfold, while subsidence and sedimentation here also help preserve an unusually rich fossil record, influencing interpretations of human evolution and past climates.
Scientists report that the Turkana Rift in East Africa has thinned its crust to about 12.7 km along the rift axis, marking the necking phase—the last stage before continental breakup. The crust was thicker (about 35 km) at the flanks, and two prior rifting episodes weakened the region, leading to a faster extension of roughly 1.2 mm/year. If this trajectory continues, full separation and a new ocean basin could form in 5–10 million years. This study offers the first real-time observation of necking in an active rift and provides insight into both Africa’s geologic evolution and its fossil record.
Scientists report that the Turkana Rift beneath East Africa has thinned to a critical point, a stage called necking that signals the continent is gradually breaking apart and could eventually form a new ocean. Center rift crust is about 13 kilometers thick, with surrounding areas over 35 kilometers, and the thinning indicates continued rifting on a timescale of millions of years. This tectonic activity also helps explain why the region preserves an unusually rich fossil record of human evolution, as subsidence and sedimentation favored fossil preservation.
A new seismic study finds the Turkana Rift in East Africa has a thinner crust (about 13 km) than previously thought, indicating the East African Rift is further along in the process of splitting Africa into two continents, though the full breakup is not imminent and would take several million years.
A study by Tulane University and international partners reveals that parts of Earth's crust in the East African Rift are stronger and more resistant to breaking apart than previously thought, due to dehydration from a heating event 80 million years ago, which removed water and CO2, making the plates more rigid and less prone to deformation.
Deep beneath East Africa, rhythmic mantle pulses are causing the continent to split, with multiple mantle plumes fueling volcanic activity and shaping the region's geological evolution, ultimately leading to the formation of a new ocean.
Scientists have discovered rhythmic pulses of molten mantle rock beneath Ethiopia's Afar Rift, which influence the stretching and cracking of Earth's crust, potentially leading to the formation of a new ocean basin, and revealing a dynamic connection between deep Earth processes and surface geological activity.
Scientists have discovered rhythmic pulses in Earth's mantle beneath Africa's Afar region, driven by molten magma, which influence tectonic plate movement, volcanic activity, and the formation of a new ocean basin, providing new insights into Earth's dynamic interior and surface interactions.
Scientists have discovered rhythmic pulses in the mantle beneath the Afar region in Africa, where tectonic plates are rifting apart, leading to the formation of a new ocean basin. These pulses, detected through chemical analysis of volcanic rocks, suggest that mantle upwelling is influenced by plate dynamics, providing new insights into Earth's surface and interior interactions.
A recent study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth explores the formation of the East Coast of the United States during the breakup of the supercontinent Pangea. The study analyzes the structure of rocks and the presence of magma-derived rocks along the East Coast, shedding light on how the continent was pulled apart during Pangea's fragmentation. The research provides insights into the formation of passive margins, which are stable regions with minimal faulting or magmatism, and their vulnerability to geohazards such as earthquakes and erosion.