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Environment & Climate

A massive underground plume is helping pull the African continent apart

Researchers link unusual, rift-parallel ground movement in East Africa to deep mantle flow from the African Superplume.

Updated Sep 1, 2026 · 13:21 UTC1 reports

The short version

  • Researchers have connected anomalous ground deformation running parallel to the East African Rift System to northward mantle flow from the African Superplume.
  • The study suggest that continental rifting is driven by a combination of shallow lithospheric buoyancy forces and deep-mantle traction.
  • The findings are based on 3D thermomechanical models that successfully replicated over 12 years of precise GPS measurements and seismic wave patterns.

Key facts

  • Geophysicist D. Sarah Stamps spent more than 12 years using millimeter-scale GPS measurements to document unexpected ground deformation running parallel to the East African Rift System.[ScienceDaily]
  • A study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research used 3D thermomechanical models to investigate the driver behind this unusual parallel motion.[ScienceDaily]
  • The simulations, developed by lead author Tahiry Rajaonarison, indicate that the parallel deformation is linked to northward mantle flow from the African Superplume.[ScienceDaily]
  • The African Superplume is a gigantic upwelling of hot mantle rock originating deep beneath southwest Africa and extending northeastward.[ScienceDaily]
  • The research suggests that shallower lithospheric buoyancy forces drive the expected perpendicular stretching of the rift, while deeper mantle flow causes the parallel deformation.[ScienceDaily]
  • The models also successfully reproduced rift-parallel seismic anisotropy, which aligns with the direction of the plume's mantle flow.[ScienceDaily]

Sources