Unveiling Africa's Split: Scientists Discover Source of Unusual Continental Rift Deformation

New research using GPS mapping and computer models has shed light on the movement of the East African Rift System (EARS), a crack in the African plate that could eventually split the continent into two plates. The EARS is being driven by both shallow lithospheric buoyancy forces and deeper mantle forces, with the northward flow of mantle material contributing to the vertical crack while the rift is being split open from east to west. Although the split is occurring at a slow pace, the EARS is already seismically active, causing earthquakes and forming giant cracks in the ground.