Under the territory of East Africa, in the Afar region of the Ethiopian Rift, unusual geological processes are taking place that, in the distant future, could lead to the formation of a new ocean. Using modern analytical methods, researchers detected a powerful flow of hot mantle material—so-called a plume—in the depths of the Earth. This flow does not simply rise upward from within; it rises in rhythmic, wave-like pulses, like a heartbeat. These pulses directly affect the movement of lithospheric plates, leading to rifts and volcanic activity.
Researchers believe that such pulsating mantle flows can trigger the process of continental breakup. Although the emergence of a new ocean is a matter for the far future—estimated at 5 to 16 million years—scientists were able to provide a detailed description of this mechanism for the first time.
Perhaps, millions of years from now, a new ocean will appear where today’s Ethiopia is located. And for now, we are witnessing nature beginning one of the most large-scale processes of its kind.
