A giant pulse beneath Africa could split the continent — and form an ocean

Beneath the Afar region in Ethiopia, scientists have discovered pulsing waves of molten rock rising from deep within the Earth — a geological heartbeat that could eventually split Africa in two. These rhythmic surges of mantle material are helping to stretch and thin the continent’s crust, setting the stage for a new ocean to form in millions of years. The pulses aren’t random: they follow patterns shaped by the tectonic plates above, behaving differently depending on how thick the plates are and how fast they’re spreading.